"Hello, lady. Underwear? Cheaper, cheaper!"

BEIJING — Saturday, Oct. 29 — There are dozens of places to shop in Beijing, and one of the best for bargaining is the four-story Pearl Market (Hong Qiao) near the Temple of Heaven.

There's nothing for sale in Beijing that you can't buy here — from fake Prada bags to Timberland wallets to Calvin Klein underwear, all at ridiculous prices.

I've had only two days experience, but the rule-of-thumb seems to be to pay no more than about half the initial asking price, and often less.

A enthusiastic clerk clapping her hands to the beat of rock music dropped the price on a Gortex North Face jacket (likely a knock-off, but maybe the real thing) from $50 to $25 when I took a quick look at it, then started to walk away. We ended up paying $16.50 each for two.

Leather purses and bags are popular items. Knock-off handbags in vivid green, maroon and blue leathers by Tod's were selling for $12. I bought a leather backpack for $6 after one stall owner grabbed me by the arm when I started to walk away and insisted on proving to me that the bag was leather by holding a lighter to it.

How to bargain

Part of the challenge and the fun is establishing the street price for whatever it is you want to buy.

My husband and I have been shopping for glass snuff bottles with delicate Chinese scenes hand-painted on the inside. The prices for the nicest ones start at around $60. After several rounds of negotiating with clerks by punching different prices into a calculator, we bought two at two different shops for $9 each.

When we saw a third one today at the Pearl Market, we knew what the price should be, and made our first offer at a few dollars under what we hoped to pay. In the final "last price'' negotiations, we raised our price a little. The stall owner lowered hers (but only after we began to walk), and everyone was happy.

We spent about $55 at the Pearl Market today. Our take included three watches, an Sony 8-gigabyte USB flash drive (a score at $13 if it works), one painted bottle, a small Chinese print, the leather backpack, a bronze bowl from Tibet and a beaded bracelet.

The important thing to keep in mind is that everything's negotiable when it comes to prices in Beijing, even hotel rooms.

This morning we moved to the Hu Fu International Hotel, a Chinese hotel at the top of Wangfujing Street. This is Beijing's main shopping street, not far from the Forbidden City, and it's a chance to try out living in a different neighborhood with a lively night market right outside the door.

The desk clerk offered us an immediate $30-a-night discount when we asked to see a room and another $12 discount when we said we'd take it. The rate for our "business suite,'' a double room with a living room and private bath is about $90.

Parla Italiano?

Wangfujing is a pedestrian street filled with smart department stores and giant shopping malls such as the Sun Dongan Plaza. Beijing is becoming an international city, and the shops inside Sun Dongan Plaza, one of the biggest stores, reflect that trend. There's Nike, Adidas, U2, Nine West and Starbucks, along with shops selling Chinese herbs and knock-off designer watches.

We stuck up a conversation in Italian with Rosalba Rondinelli, owner of the Romana Ice Cream Factory in the Sun Dongan Plaza. Rondinelli and her husband, both pediatricians, came to China as volunteers, and decided to stay. Rondinelli still volunteers, but she's also busy these running Romana, and an Italian chain of gelato shops with its first China branch on Wangfujing Street. Two scoops cost $1.25, and it's the real thing. Rondinelli imported all the equipment and her favorite flavor recipes from Italy.

Playing tourist

Beijing is a wonderful city to give in to the urge to be a tourist. We have four days here, and it won't be enough. If you're planning a trip, budget at least a half-day for the Forbidden City. The crowds are crushing, and my patience ran out within a couple of hours, but some people spend the whole day. If you're not on a tour, there are a couple of options. Explanatory signs are in English and you can rent an audio guide for $5. Or English-speaking students sell their services as private guides for about $25 for two hours.

A few sights are closed for renovations as Beijing gears up for the Olympics in 2008 - something to keep in mind if you're planning a trip as the date draws closer since more sights may close. Two important ones are the Temple of Heaven and the Wancheng Pavilion in Jing Shan Park where you can normally go for great views of the Forbidden City.

"Frog, frog, hello!"

One of the best things about the location of the Hu Fu Hotel is the Donghuamen Night Market that happens every day starting at 5:30 p.m.

Stalls lighted with red lanterns and manned by cooks dressed in red hats and aprons sell 100 different kinds of traditional Chinese street snacks for $1 or $2 per serving.

Everything that can be put on a stick and cooked on a grill is available, and the hawkers are relentless. Tonight we were offered frogs, squid, boiled goat head, grasshoppers, snake and snails along with the usual beef, chicken and shrimp.

Our actual meal, eaten from paper plates while walking around listening to the music piped in over boom boxes - included spring rolls, coconut milk, a beef sandwich sprinkled with fresh cilantro, black rice pudding, "Beijing pizza" (a disk of cornmeal crust topped with greens, egg and shrimp), steamed pork dumplings and melon. The cost was around $6. We may go out again before the night is over. I hear fried ice cream calling.