Leo wants to buy some gifts from China for his family, and Dani suggests they go to the Silk Market in Beijing to do some shopping. There is a train station very close to the market and they decide to go there by subway. Leo is soon asking the various market vendors for the prices of different silk scarves in Mandarin. This time, Leo must learn to take his haggling skills to a higher level. The market sellers are quick to counter his suggestion that the price is too expensive with claims that the quality is very good.
Leo learns the Mandarin Chinese phrases most commonly heard from market vendors when haggling in China. Dani prepares him with good phrases in Chinese to negotiate a good price. Of course, in China as in everywhere else, a good bargaining tactic is always to start walking away. Leo soon learns that as soon as he has agreed one purchase, the conversation instantly turns to whether he needs to buy anything else!
The Silk Market in Beijing is the main shopping attraction for the majority of visitors to the Chinese capital. Although originally a market for silk products, it now houses stalls and units that sell every possible product that a tourist to China could want. Speaking Chinese isn't a must here, as the Chinese sellers usually have a good grasp of English and some other languages. But having some key Chinese phrases might just give you a competitive advantage when the haggling starts!
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