Mention Brazil and most people will think of sunshine, football, the beach, bikini-clad beauties, samba music, delicious churrasco barbecue and carnival season.

But in addition to these colorful charms, the country has many other attractions. A trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil's biggest city, reveals a unique culture to explore, including something many visitors may not immediately associate with Brazil - antiques.

Brazil, which gained independence from Portugal in the early 19th century, has seen waves of immigration through its history. The influence of European immigrants can be seen in Sao Paulo's architecture, especially its churches, and in the lifestyle.

Many descendents of European immigrants have furniture and other heirlooms brought by their ancestors, and this has created a thriving market for antiques. In Sao Paulo, some old districts have many old furniture shops, while weekly flea markets in the city center attract locals and tourists eager for a bargain and to see different aspects of the city.

Xu Xiaoming has been living in Sao Paulo for more than 30 years, having moved to Brazil from Beijing with his wife. While he works in importing car parts, some years ago he became interested in buying collectables and curios from flea markets and stores.

His latest acquisition is a china clock in the shape of an open book with a Portuguese poem in it. The 40-year-old Brazil-made timepiece cost him 50 Brazilian reals (US$24).

"Unlike many Chinese and European antique collectors who are motivated by commerce, people in this country enjoy more the cultural aspects and practical uses of antiques," he says.

Xu found the clock in antique shop "Mil' Anos Antiguidades" (A Thousand Years' Antiques) on Avenue Sao Joao, in Sao Paulo's Santa Cecilia district. This street is famed for its antique stores, with no less than 20 standing door by door.

"Mil' Anos Antiguidades" has been run for years by Eliana and Jonathan, who buy and sell collectables.

"This shop has been here for more than 10 years. Most of the furniture and other items we sell are brought to the shop by people looking to sell them," says Eliana.

"Of course, I also go to markets to get something I like. In Brazil, you can find so many old things from Europe, especially Spain, Portugal, Germany and Italy," she adds.

From book shelves and tables and chairs to clocks and photo frames, Eliana says the shop sells "everything."

"A second-hand item has its stories, and this mystery attracts me," says Xu.

Xu is the regular customer, visiting almost every Saturday. The turnover of products is steady and almost every week there are new items.

Price and customer attitudes are important factors in this trend, according to Nie Renjie, a Shanghainese antique collector who runs a store in his home city specializing in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) furniture.

A long-time observer of the Brazilian antique market and regular visitor to Sao Paulo, Nie says the market there is quite different to China's.

"We have a common saying in the Chinese antique world: 'There may be no deals for three years, but a deal done can support a store for three years." (三年不开张，开张吃三年)

This indicates that in China antiques are always expensive, and rich people "play" with them for investment and speculation. Indeed, the very name illustrates this, says Nie. In Chinese, one word for antiques is gu wan - in which wan means "to play."

But in Brazil, customers entering an antiques store are usually looking for old furniture that they really want to use at home. In this spirit, when Xu moved to a new apartment five years ago, he bought a big wooden table and a shelf from Eliana's shop.

Next door to "Mil' Anos Antiguidades" is antique furniture store "D'Ouro Antigo" (Golden Antiques), run by brothers Richardo and Roberto. Descendents of Italian immigrants, the brothers' grandfather emigrated from Italy to Sao Paulo in the 1940s.

"We have a lot of old things at home, from furniture to silver plates and cutlery. All these things were brought by our grandfather from his hometown," Roberto says.

"We realized that there are many people like us living in this city. They have these old things at home and most are no longer used because more modern items are taking their place," says Roberto.

He started researching on the Internet to learn more about antiques in the family and city. Roberto explains that many locals pack away all the heirlooms left by European forefathers, especially when the older generations pass away and their descendents move to new houses and choose modern fittings and decor.

"It's sometimes not too expensive to buy packed away furniture and ornaments as a job lot. You can then dig around in those boxes and perhaps find treasures," explains Roberto.

However, as more and more people come to realize that their grandparents household items could be worth a tidy sum, prices have risen.

"A table which cost no more than BRL 200 three years ago, now goes for up to 1,000," says Nie. "The speed at which prices have risen is shocking."

At Sao Paulo's street markets shoppers have to contend with something else - the appearance of fakes.

The most famous and biggest Sunday flea market is held near Sao Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) on Avenue Paulista, an important commercial area.

Some 200 stallholders set up shop every Sunday, from early morning to late afternoon. There you can find everything from crafts to clocks, radios, typewriters, CDs, books and crystals. A recent addition is Chinese vases.

"It's hard to distinguish genuine antique Chinese vases from fakes, because there is possibility that some Chinese old vases were brought to Brazil by Europeans," says Nie.

"But I'm sure most of the vases on sale were made in recent years," adds the Shanghai antiques dealer.

Fakes and rising prices aside, exploring Sao Paulo's flea markets and antique stores is a fascinating day out where you can stumble upon everything from a bargain vase to a love letter written on a postcard from more than a century ago.

If you go

Avenue Sao Joao in District Santa Cecilia;

Flea Market in MASP, on Avenue Paulista;

Flea Market in Praca Republica (Republic Plaza)

Tips: The antique and flea markets take place most Sundays; Antique stores are usually closed on Sundays.