Believe it or not, Budapest has a Chinese market easily compared with any similar market in the suburbs of Asian cities. However be warned: Budapest's Chinese market is in one of the seediest parts of the city where shady guys abound. The market is dirty, chaotic, claustrophobic and frantically busy during weekends thus anyone not used to such places might experience a serious culture shock there.
The Chinese market is in Budapest's District VIII which has a tarnished reputation of being the most dangerous in Budapest. The market stretches along Kőbányai ut. You can get there by bus No. 9 from Deák Ferenc tér or by tram No. 28 from Blaha Lujza tér.
The market, which you will recognise by the big Chinese characters meaning 'Four Tigers Market', is squeezed between a rail track, a road and dilapidated factories and warehouses. It is basically a wholesale market but the sellers will be more than happy to sell you just a few pieces of clothes. The market is known among Hungarians as Józsefvárosi Kínai Piac (Chinese market in József's district), because they automatically regard all Asians as Chinese. However, the number of Chinese vendors at the market is decreasing in favour of Thais and Vietnamese. In any case language barriers are virtually nonexistent as business minded sellers know at least a few words in Slovak, Croatian, Serbian, German and probably some other languages, not to mention that they are all fluent in Hungarian.
It is hard to imagine the volume of (legal and illegal) business being done at the Chinese market in Budapest, but big money is certainly involved. We've seen dealers driving Mercedes-Benz cars and during the weekends it is practically impossible to find a parking space because the market is not only flooded with Hungarians hunting for cheap (fake) branded clothes but also with visitors from Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Slovenia. We spotted a car with Slovenian license plates and a shiny Caterpillar logo on its doors twice. Suspicious, right?
Apart from cheap clothes you can also get pirated DVDs and (probably stolen) mobile phones at the market. Gourmets wishing to thrill their taste buds with something exotic should head to the back of the market where a few simple, not nice looking stalls sell some of the most authentic Asian fare in Budapest.
Location: Pest VIII, Kőbányai út. Transport: tram No. 28, bus No. 9