Zhanglan Village, Jiexiu

Zhanglan Village, Jiexiu

Zhanglan Town was established as Wuxian County during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (around 2500 years ago). As an ancient town with a history of thousands of years, Zhanglan was a bustling hub for merchants during the Ming and Qing dynasties, earning the nickname "Little Beijing." During the Qianlong era, the antique trade in Zhanglan flourished. The Shanxi merchants, who had amassed great wealth during the "Prosperous Age of Kangxi and Qianlong," also began collecting antiques as a form of investment and a popular trend, turning Zhanglan into a national hub for antique trading. "Every household treasures antiques, and every home appreciates antiquity" became a widespread phenomenon.

In the collecting world, Zhanglan is a well-known name, even famous overseas among treasure hunters. It is often said: "You can leave out the ancient city of Pingyao to the north or Mount Mianshan to the south, but in the treasure maps opened by some overseas collectors, Zhanglan is clearly marked."

Zhanglan Village currently has a population of about 15,000, but only one-third are locals—the majority are outsiders. These newcomers come here specifically to engage in the antique business. Every Friday, antique dealers from other regions arrive, mostly from Beijing and Tianjin, with considerable numbers also coming from nearby Hebei, Henan, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia. There are even those who travel from as far as Tibet and Hainan.

Every year from the 17th to the 19th of the ninth lunar month, Zhanglan’s Folk Handicrafts Exchange Market hosts a National Collectibles Fair. The fair mainly features antiques, porcelain, calligraphy and paintings, jade artifacts, cigarette labels, admission tickets, old wooden furniture, ration cards, Cultural Revolution memorabilia, and comic books. As the variety of traded items continues to grow, the scale of the fair has gradually expanded.

Walking down Zhanglan’s 500-meter-long north-south street, you’ll see one stall after another. At the southern end, the stalls extend and turn into the western street. The stalls are all small setups, with a piece of carpet on the ground covered in antiques. Most of the items are porcelain. Behind the stalls are various small shops, including clothing stores, convenience stores, hardware shops, hair salons, and restaurants.

The stall owners are mostly shrewd middle-aged men and women, though there are also elderly vendors and some young girls. Hurried outsiders, speaking different dialects, carry large bags, some with a thermos in hand. Many have already made finds: small items go into their bags, while larger ones are carried in hand—abacuses, screens, small stone lions, and more—as each person savors their discoveries.

Attraction Location

Zhanglan Town, Jiexiu City, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province