ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the potential of bazaars as historical objects for exploring processes of transculturation in the daily life of multicultural cities. Beginning with some general considerations on the nature of a bazaar and the transcultural character of its concept, it provides the bazaar as an urban microcosm and a contact zone of a multicultural society. The chapter focuses on markets as places of cultural encounters and social conflict. It argues that the bazaars of Harbin during the first half of the twentieth century represented a cultural microcosm which was characterized by diverse processes of cultural exchange and transculturation. The chapter highlights the potential of the concept of bazaar, particularly for the analysis of social and cultural practices within the daily life of a city. The development and everyday use of Sino-Russian Pidgin, which is closely linked to trade on the bazaars and streets, was certainly one of the most apparent manifestations of cultural exchange and transculturation in Harbin.
