Forget the teahouses, noodle stalls and crammed bicycle lanes, the quintessential Chinese experience is found at the local clothing market, where bargains abound. It is capitalism Chinese style, although it is for neither the weak of will nor the naive. You have not really been to China until you have participated in the classic game of tao jia huan jia, of feigning exasperation, of working for-and even walking away from-that must-have item. The market lies at the figurative crossroads of the Chinese mind, where money and practicality converge. And for the uninitiated, the monetary prices come low but the emotional taxation can often be exorbitant.

Of course, for many foreign shoppers, haggling is just not worth it. Somebody clearly neglected to tell the Chinese that the customer is always right; and what's more, it often seems as if someone told them the exact opposite. By sticking strictly to fixed-price stores, one can avoid the hassle entirely, but it'll cost you in more ways than one. Forget for a second that the price tags in these stores are sometimes double or triple what you would pay for similar merchandise in the market. As a general rule, in either store or stall, clothing is presumed low quality until proven otherwise, and every item has an invisible "buyer beware!" emblazoned across it. The rules of the market are simple and time-honored: no returns, no receipts, and often no respect.

Indeed, there is a perverse satisfaction in bargaining once you submit to its myriad idiosyncrasies. And like anything else in life, practice does make perfect-or at least less susceptible to the common hoodwinking. There are few feelings that can compare to asking a friend, especially a Chinese one, how much he or she has paid for an item, only to find that you got it cheaper. While to Western eyes, haggling may seem low class and petty, it is a necessary, if paradoxical, fixture of the Chinese mindset. Without a doubt it is strange to see how fast traditionally venerated Chinese notions of modesty and trustworthiness go out the window when a sale is on the line. But only the foolhardy would mistake ruthless bargaining for ruthlessness.