Downtown Changzhou has an antique market tucked away behind a Christian Church and where they are building the city center's subway station. Sometimes, I go here to kill time, but unfortunately, I have built up a reputation as an "easy mark" by some of the vendors that I am still trying to shake off. When I first started coming here, I didn't know how to bargain. I paid the first price quoted instead of doing the proper Chinese way of haggling: look angry and argue. As a result, I have been chased by shopkeepers who have frantically waved old propaganda posters at me. So, here is a pictorial. I will reserve comments until the last photo.
The last guy you see is my preferred vendor, and while he probably inflates his prices a little, he is smart enough to pay attention to what interests me. Every time I go back to visit him, he has acquired new things to pique my interest. I in the year I have been buying from this guy, the amount of old photographs, old communist propaganda, and printed matter has gone up. I have since learned that if I go with little cash in my wallet, I know I can scare off other predatory vendors a little more easily. It doesn't matter how much Chinese you know as a foriegner. Show a predatory vendor the inside of your empty wallet, and they will immediately leave you alone.