SYM

I have a 6 hour layover in Beijing coming up on Tuesday, from 1600 to 2200, and would like to pick up a (fake) ancestor portrait. I believe that the Panjiayuan stores (as opposed to stalls) are open weekdays, but wonder if they would all be closed by the time I can get downtown. Does anyone know when things shut down during the week? Any alternative suggestions for shopping? And if all else fails, how would you spend 6 hours in Beijing on a Tuesday afternoon (I've been there many times for sometimes lengthy stays, so I'm looking for something beyond the obvious).

jiejie

Panjiayuan closes 6 pm, nearby Curio City at 6:30 pm but the merchants will start winding down well before then. If your plane actually lands (if on time) at 16:00, you won't have enough time to get there and shop. I think the Liangma "Antique Market" is open until 7 pm and is not so far to get to from the airport--it's 3 traffic lights east of the Kempinski Hotel on Liangma He Lu, you'd come off the airport expressway at the east 4th ring road, exit for Liangma He Lu, and head west towards town. I haven't been there in quite a while, but I have seen artwork type "old ancestor" type portraits in there in the past. Not sure of any other place open later that could fill the bill. If the Liangma Antique Market fails, you're not that far from Nuren Jie (Lady Street) where there are a variety of eats, bars, etc. to grab something.

If your first plane lands at 16:00 and your next one leaves at 22:00, I'm not sure you have much time to do much else, and you definitely don't want to stray away from the east side of town lest you get stuck in traffic--really you only have about 2.5-3 useable hours if you exclude transport time. If your 16:00 assumes you are already hitting the central city after coming from the airport, well that's a different story and you have more options.