shopping
OK, so China is a Communist country…right? Upon arrival, you’ll see more Starbucks and KFC’s than you would find in any Western counterpart. While the politics of China are very much Communist, the commercial market of China is very capitalist and we’d be surprised if you noticed any difference between Beijing and Paris.
Mega shopping malls, walking outdoor streets, and the few remaining open-air markets all fight for a share of your hard earned dolarinos. You may wonder how so many places can exist, but it’s important to note that Beijing has 16+ million residents. At times, it may feel as if they’re all shopping at the same time as you!
Western-style shopping malls are replacing the traditional storefronts, Chinese department stores, and alley markets (hutongs). But there are still plenty of open-air markets and street-side vendors offering more traditional arts and crafts, collectibles, and clothing, usually at prices far below those in the big plazas and modern stores.
Beijing's Best Buys
Stores and markets in Beijing sell everything from cashmere and silk to knockoff designer-label clothing and athletic wear, antiques, traditional art, Ming furniture, Mao memorabilia, and enough miscellaneous crap to buy everyone back home at least one knockoff Nike jacket. Prices continue to be reasonable and cheap one-time-use luggage is widely available for hauling back your goods.
But beware of the knockoffs, whether you are buying a North Face jacket (referred to by the local expats as NORTH FAKE), pearls or Jade (most of the time it’s just glass).
Watch out for English-speaking youngsters who claim to be art students and offer to take you to a special exhibit of their work. It’s a scam. The art is assembly-line reproductions of paintings offered at prices several dozen times higher than their actual value. Plus, you’ll get the high pressure sale from the ‘students.’
Beijing's Top Shopping Areas
The most well known shopping area is undoubtedly Wangfujing Dajie, just east of the Forbidden City. The south section was turned into a pedestrian-only commercial avenue lined with clothing outlets, souvenir shops, fast-food restaurants, and the city's top two malls -- the Sun Dong An Plaza and Oriental Plaza. Dong Dan Bei Dajie, a long block east, is a strip of clothing boutiques and CD shops popular among fashionable Beijing youth. On the western side of town is the mirror image of Dong Dan, bustling Xi Dan, and further north, Xinjiekou Dajie.
Other major Westernized shopping areas include the section of Jianguo Men Wai Dajie between the Friendship Store and the China World Trade Center, and the neighborhood outside the NE Third Ring Road North, SE of San Yuan Qiao (around the new embassy district).
Beijing's liveliest shopping zone is the centuries-old commercial district southwest of Qian Men. Liulichang is an almost too-quaint collection of art, book, tea, and antiques shops lined up side by side in a polished-for-tourists Old Beijing-style hutong running east-west 2 blocks south of the Heping Men metro stop. It’s important to note, however, that almost everything you’ll find here is fake and overpriced. In a similar setting but more raucous, Da Zhalan is the working man’s alternative to Wangfujing Dajie. Located in a pedestrian-only hutong 2 blocks south of Qian Men, it’s jammed on either side with cheap clothing outlets, fast food joints and various other souvenir type collectibles.
Markets
Although malls and shopping centers are becoming more popular, the majority
of Beijing residents still shop in markets. Whether indoors or out, these
markets are inexpensive, chaotic and, for the visitor, tremendously interesting.
Payment is in cash, bargaining is essential, and pickpockets are plentiful.
Perhaps the most common item you'll find in the markets these days is not
silk, souvenirs, or crafts, but designer-label clothing, much of it knockoffs
with the upscale labels sewn in, although some items are factory seconds
or overruns (sometimes smuggled out of legitimate brand-name factories).
Before you stock up on too many fake items, however, check the U.S. Customs
website to see what you are allowed to bring home.
The most popular market is Yaxiu Fuzhuang Shichang; the best for jewelry is Hong Qiao Shichang; the most interesting is Panjiayuan Jiuhuo Shichang; but there are others worth browsing.
Silk Alley (Xiushui Jie) -- Herded indoors in 2005, Beijing's most famous market among foreign visitors is a crowded maze of stalls with a large selection of shoes and clothing (and very little silk). Vendors formerly enjoyed so much trade they could afford to be rude, but the knockoff boot is now firmly on the shopper's foot, as Silk Alley now sees only a fraction of the business of Yaxiu . Most of the original vendors are gone, unwilling (or unable) to pay the new steep rental fees. Good riddance. Under no circumstances pay more than ¥150 ($20) for a North Face (North Fake, the expats call it) jacket, ¥50 ($6) for a business shirt, or ¥100 ($12) for a pair of jeans. Stores which sport a red flag are purported to "subscribe to higher ethics." Yeah, right! Silk Alley is located on the corner of Jianguo Men Wai Dajie and Xiushui Dong Jie, above the Yong'an Li metro stop (121, exit A). It's open daily from 9am to 9pm.
Hong Qiao Shichang -- Also called the Pearl Market, Hong Qiao Shichang is located at Hong Qiao Lu 16 (tel. 010/6713-3354), just northeast of Tian Tan Gongyuan (Temple of Heaven Park) and north of Tiyuguan Lu. Hong Qiao began life as a fascinating curio market outside Tian Tan Gongyuan, but like most outdoor markets it was forced indoors and now sits above a malodorous wet market. Popular purchases include reproductions of 1920s Shanghai advertisements for "cow soap." Also popular is Cultural Revolution kitsch: Look out for flamethrower-like cigarette lighters that play "The East is Red" ("Dongfang Hong") when you light up. Elsewhere in the store, you'll need to bargain hard for brand-name clothing, footwear, luggage, watches, and pearls, which attract swarms of bottle-blonde Russian women. The toy market (wanju shichang), housed in a separate building at the back, is overlooked by visitors, so starting prices are more reasonable; there are candles, incense, and stationery. There's a post office on the fourth floor. From Chongwen Men metro (209, exit A) take bus no. 807 to Hong Qiao, and cross the footbridge. Open daily from 8:30am to 7pm.
Panjiayuan Jiuhuo Shichang -- Eureka! This is the Chinese shopping experience of dreams: row upon crowded row of calligraphy, jewelry, ceramics, teapots, ethnic clothing, Buddha statues, paper lanterns, Cultural Revolution memorabilia, PLA belts, little wooden boxes, Ming- and Qing-style furniture, old pipes, opium scales, and painted human skulls. The market is also known as the Dirt or Ghost Market. There are some real antiques scattered among the junk, but you'd have to be an expert to pick them out. Locals arrive Saturday and Sunday mornings at dawn or shortly after (hence the "ghost" label) to find the best stuff; vendors start to leave around 4pm. Initial prices given to foreigners are always absurdly high -- Mao clocks, for instance, should cost less than ¥40 ($5) rather than the ¥400 ($50) you'll likely be asked to pay. Handily located just south of Panjiayuan on the west side of Huawei Qiao, Curio City (Guwan Cheng; tel. 010/6774-7711) boasts four floors of jewelry (including diamonds and jade), old clocks, cloisonne, furniture, and porcelain, as well as curios and the odd genuine antique. International shipping is provided. Curio City is open daily from 9:30am to 6:30pm. Panjiayuan market is located on the south side of Panjiayuan Lu, just inside the southeast corner of the Third Ring Road. It's open Saturday and Sunday from noon until about 4pm.
Yaxiu Fuzhuang Shichang -- Whatever you may think of their business practices, Beijing's clothing vendors are nimble: Here you'll find refugees from two now-extinct outdoor markets, Yabao Lu and San Li Tun. Opened in May 2002, the market occupies the old Kylin Plaza building (Qilin Dasha) and retains at least one feature of the old Kylin -- excellent tailors can be found on the third floor. The fourth floor is a fine hunting ground for souvenirs and gifts -- there are kites from Weifang in Shandong, calligraphy materials, army surplus gear, tea sets, and farmer's paintings from Xi'an (laughably claiming to be originals by Pan Xiaoling, the most frequently copied artist). You can even treat yourself to a ¥20 ($2.50) manicure. The basement and the first two floors house a predictable but comprehensive collection of imitation and pilfered brand-name clothing, shoes, and luggage. The market has been "discovered" by fashion-conscious locals, and starting prices are often ridiculous. The market is just west of San Li Tun Jiuba Jie, at Gongti Bei Lu 58 (tel. 010/6415-1726), and is open daily from 9:30am to 8pm.
Shopping With The Locals
These markets are unknown to visitors and most expatriates. Asking prices are more reasonable than the markets listed above, and the quality of goods is often superior. Tianyi Xiaoshangpin Pifa Shichang is the ultimate "Made in China" shopping experience. You'll find it 4 blocks west of the Fucheng Men metro stop (203, exit A) at Fucheng Men Wai Dajie 259 (tel. 010/6832-7529), on the north side of the road. It's all here, crammed into hundreds of stalls in a spanking-new five-story building tucked behind the old market. The range of toys, sporting equipment, electronic appliances, and luggage is eye-popping. Open daily from 7:30am to 5pm.
Jin Wuxing Baihuo Pifa Cheng (tel. 010/6222-6827), a single-story wholesale market just south of Da Zhong Si metro (1302), is more comprehensive and more chaotic. They have everything. Open 8:30am to 7pm. Baoguo Si Wenhua Gongyipin Shichang (tel. 010/6303-0976), Panjiayuan in miniature, is more relaxing. This delightful market has been a site of commerce since the Qing dynasty, and is set in the leafy grounds of a Liao dynasty (930 -- 1122) temple. It offers mostly bric-a-brac, but vendors aren't pushy, and asking prices are reasonable. Coins, antiquarian books, and Cultural Revolution memorabilia abound. The market is liveliest on Thursday and Saturday mornings. From Changchun Jie metro (205, exit D1), walk south along Changchun Jie and take the third right onto a tree-lined avenue that ends at the east gate of Xuanwu Yiyuan. Turn left and follow your nose southwest through the hutong to Baoguo Si. It's open daily from 8am to 4pm.
