Antique market are where traders and collectors put their psychological strength and their antique knowledge to test the annual big antique fair in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province. [Photo by Xiang Mingchao/China Daily]

Zhu Yuanfang, 43, says he has learned plenty of lessons. Wading into the treacherous waters of the antique market a decade ago, Zhu also rented a room to sell items at Zhengzhou fair. "It's a rite of passage, everyone who has eventually emerged as a insider has to go through it," he says. "Instinct matters, as some people learn much faster than others. But on the whole, the trade exacts a price on almost everyone who has decided to break into it."

Zhu considers the monetary cost to be small compared with the amount of courage demanded of him to change career direction and dedicate himself to antiques. "Most people dabbled in the world of antiques thinking it will add some much-needed spice to life, it's only a matter of time before they realize that they have to stop or give their everything," he says. "It's a fling that in time that will either die, or grow into a full-blown love affair."

Zhu used to teach at a middle school in his hometown, a small city in eastern China's Zhejiang province. After juggling two jobs for several years, he quit teaching in 2012 in order to "wallow in my own garden of antiques".