Eric's Beijing Diary

Bulu took me to a little dump of a place in Guloudajie, where this guy sells clothes he has gleaned from various warehouses. I picked up an Air Force flight jacket. 77th Fighter Wing. No idea how this guy managed to get a hold of military surplus from the U.S. My guess is that it is part of some inventory left over after on of the recent factory closings. But that is only a guess. I really don't know. Better not say anything. If word got out that American pilots are wearing flight jackets manufactured in the Pearl River Delta, it wouldn't look good. It's dated 2002, so perhaps it is a style that has been replaced. No matter to me. Don't care that much about the style. What I do care about is that it's new, and it is warm as toast.

I am always hesitant about buying stuff from places like this, because so much of it is just fake brand name stuff. But this jacket is not fake. It had the American price tag (19.99), along with the U.S. government procurement number. They wouldn't have any reason to fake that. Couldn't bargain with this guy, though. I made a feeble attempt, but I really didn't put that much effort into it, because from everything I could tell, his take-it-or-leave-it price was less than what I would have ended up paying in a market where they start with a ridiculous price, and let you gradually whittle them down. 65 kuai. I can spare ten bucks.