The paper discusses motivations of visits of «Chinese» market by Blagoveshchensk city and region residents. «Chinese» market is seen as a trade company that combines independent sellers by providing space on a leasehold basis. Chinese-made products dominate here and trade is conducted mainly by the citizens of China. The study was conducted using the methodology of case-study main methods used are unstructured participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Additional data sources are the materials of local periodicals and information portals. Empirical object of the research is a two storage «Chinese» shopping center in Blagoveshchensk. The «Chinese» market as an object of study, statistical data describing the role of markets in post-Soviet Russia and the Far East, their distinctive features and socio-economic functions (provision of medium and low-income segments of consumers with cheap goods, the function of the logistics center for domestic trade, a marker of social stratification) are described. It is shown that change in status of the market did not lead to change in the form of trade. Rational motives of visit are revealed. They are large territory with a lot of retail outlets, cheap goods, and «disposable» items. The «economies of scale» means here an opportunity for the buyer to buy more goods at a lower price. It is shown that not only low commodity prices make the «Chinese» market attractive for customers. The image of the market is shown as an undesirable and unpleasant place. Moral justification for buyers are considered. Yet rational motives of «Chinese» markets visiting are imbued with symbolic meaning, which affects the assessment of the goods quality, and behavior strategies and bargaining. The image of the market however is not quite clear. People thus have conflicting motives to visit the market, which makes it both attractive and repulsive . The image of the «Chinese» market also affects the way the goods are perceived by other people, who consider the place where they buy certain things to be an important factor. So the goods purchased at the “Chinese” market aren’t thought to be trademark products, and the country of origin is also important. Examples of «conscumer resourcefulness» and various attitudes towards intruding or welcoming sellers are given. In general, to describe the phenomenon the following traditional concepts were applied: «economies of scale» in relation to consumption (not production) symbolic consumption in metaphorical sense. – the new subject matter (the consumption of low-quality products).