Shilihe Tianjiao Culture City
Colourful local market full of creatures and blooms
Flowers, birds, fish, and insects are said to be the four great pastimes of Beijing’s culture, and this market has them all: peonies and chrysanthemums in bright splashes of colour; birds fluttering and calling in bamboo cages or soaring skywards to perform tricks; goldfish in brightly coloured buckets; and crickets kept for their song, with the miniature paraphernalia to pamper them as much as any Pekinese.