Shopping in China
China is a fantastic shopping destination. From
bamboo chopsticks to Cultural Revolution memorabilia, whatever your
interest, you're bound to be able to buy it in China. As the world's
factory, you can find just about anything. These gift guides for
shopping in China give you helpful ideas of what to bring back to
your family, friends and co-workers. While you can find plenty of
junk in the markets - and don't forget, practically everything at
home is "made in China" - you might want to get something special.
And for some of the prices available, you might want to do all your
future Christmas and birthday shopping during your trip.
Shopping in Beijing
As
the capital city of the Five Dynasties of China, Beijing has a
history of over thousands of years. It was known as a metropolis
with developed businesses and a prosperous economy since ancient
times. Many skillful craftsmen settled the area long ago, and passed
down their excellent skills generation by generation. We can still
find the traditional handcrafts with typical eastern features in the
many business streets and markets. Cloisonné, Ivory Carving, Jade
and Lacquer are known as the four best traditional handiworks of
Beijing. In addition, Curios, Silk, Pearls, Snuff Bottles with
Pictures Inside, and Artificial Flowers are also worth buying and
well liked by tourists. Candied Fruits and confectionaries of all
kinds will make your mouth water, and are wonderful presents for
friends.
What to Buy?
Silk, Chinese Medicine, Ceramics,
Pearls, Jade Carvings, Embroidery, Antiques, Carpets, Chops, Lacquer
Ware, Painted Snuff Bottles, Paintings and Calligraphy Scrolls,
Cloisonne, Books, Kites...
Nice Places
of Shopping for Tourists
Detailed
information on different places of shopping including special
markets for special goods like antiques, arts and crafts, paintings
and calligraphy, silk and books and open markets, free markets,
small shops and some special shops
Wangfujing Street
Wangfujing, a
seven hundred-year-old commercial street, is located to the east of
Tiananmen Square and stretches from Chinese Art Gallery to the
Dongchan'an Avenue. It houses a wide variety of shops and boutiques
where you can find all kinds of commodities, some of which are of
world-famous brands. The recently finished Oriental Plaza (Dongfang
Guangchang) adds more charm to Wangfujing. Besides modern department
stores, the Foreign Language Bookstore is also in this area. The
Old-Beijing-Street is now seated underground, which was built and
decorated in Ming and Qing style. The outstanding characteristic of
it is the centralized well-known longstanding stores selling shoes,
caps, silk cloth, scissors, Chinese brushes and ink-stick, jade
articles, tea, desserts, pickled vegetables, roast ducks and so on.
The most popular sites for souvenir photos are the sculptures on
both street sides, reflecting life of old Beijing.
Xidan Commercial Street
Xidan
Commercial Street is on Xidanbei Dajie, west of Tiananmen Square and
is famous for commerce, entertainment, dinning, and finance and so
forth. Like Wangfujing, you also can see modern and old stores here.
Liulichang Culture Street For collectors of antiques, Liulichang
Culture Street is a place you should not miss. It only needs a few
minutes' walk from the south of Hepingmen subway station. It is a
traditional cultural market selling jewelry, antiques and ancient
calligraphies and paintings. Note that antiques over one hundred
years old are marked with a red seal and an export license must be
signed in order to take them out of the country. The best-known shop
in this street is Rong Bao Zhai, which was opened about three
hundred years ago, and it sells authentic works of paintings and
calligraphies. There are also shops with old watches and furniture.
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Dashilan
The oldest
commercial street in Beijing is Dasilan, the most famous and
peculiar prosperous street. Its history can be traced back to five
hundred and eighty years ago when the Emperor ordered to build
fences to prevent thieves from hiding. The fences built here were
quite peculiar and kept for a long time. Later, Big Fences became
the name of this street: Dashilan. Dashilan is situated on south of
Tiananmen Square, west of Qianmen Dajie, where many century-old
shops and restaurants stand. You can buy some traditional handcrafts
as well. Note that bargaining is always needed.
Silk Alley (Xiushui Street)
Silk Alley lies in Xiushuidong Jie off Jianguomenwai Dajie, near US
Embassy. It is a good place to buy cheaper goods and the resident
foreigners in Beijing come here frequently. Whatever you want to
buy, like bags, shoes, handicrafts or sweaters, you can bargain with
the owners.
Shopping in Shanghai
Shanghai is hailed as the "Shopping Paradise" and "Oriental Paris".
So if you come to Shanghai, shopping should not be missed any more
than its other charming attractions. Providing the very best of
shopping has become an indispensable part of Shanghai's tourism
industry.
Shopping areas in Shanghai are clearly
divided into "Four Streets and Four Cities". Nanjing Road (including
East Nanjing Road and West Nanjing Road), one of the four streets,
enjoys the reputation of No.1 Commercial Street in China. Developed
from the beginning of the 20th century, Nanjing Road has clusters of
a wide variety of shops from those that are centuries old, to
special ones and modern malls. In these modern times, Nanjing Road
is not out done by its numerous competitors but becomes more and
more prosperous. Huaihai Road, no less famous than Nanjing Road, is
celebrated for its elegance. It features top-end designer brands
from all over the world. North Sichuan Road offers good inexpensive
merchandise and is always the first choice of ordinary people. Food
and tourism are well provided for on Middle Tibet Road, one of the
Four Streets.
Parkson Shopping Center on the
Huaihai Road is worth visiting. Here you will find reasonable prices
and many special offers in the form of discounts and other
promotions. Even the brand-name clothing is reasonably priced
here.
Maison Mode, located at No.1312, Huaihai Road, claims to be
the aristocrat on this street. You will find the leading designer
brands such as Gucci, Ferragamo, Hugo Boss, Bally, Kenzo, etc. here.
It is no exaggeration to say that the reputation of Huaihai Road is
enhanced by the presence of Maison Mode.
Yuyuan
Shopping City, Xujiahui Shopping City, New Shanghai Shopping City
and Jiali Sleepless City are the bustling "Four Cities" in Shanghai.
Yuyuan Shopping City is the venue for specialist Chinese goods
ranging from small articles, local crafts and the like to antiques,
jade wares and gold and silver jewelry. The newly-established
shopping and entertainment plaza, Xujiahui consists of large stores
where you can obtain both costly and middle-range priced goods in
abundance. New Shanghai Shopping City is on the grand scale and
offers the best facilities and amenities. Located in the middle of
Pudong Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone, it is surrounded by a
variety of retail outlets. Like a bright pearl on the landscape,
Jiali Sleepless City facing Shanghai Railway Station, and on the
Subway line 1, is a bustling commercial area.
Shopping in Guangzhou
Guangdong Province is famous as an export industry region. Guangzhou
is one of the coastal cities open to foreign investment in China,
and it has grown rapidly as a financial center, administrative
center, and export center in Guangdong Province. Guangdong Province
is especially known for its export oriented industry and electronics
industries. So if visitors to Guangdong want to go shopping for
inexpensive electronics, clothing, computers, and thousands of other
products, this is a good place to come. It is one of China's export
centers. Thousands of African business people can be seen in
the major wholesale areas buying export goods. There are about the
best supermarkets in China, and thousands of outlets of various
products. While in Guangzhou, why not check out what is available to
take with you. The 16th Asian Games will be held in Guangzhou from
November 12th to 27th. Visitors to Guangzhou during that period will
be offered a great chance to watch the games.
Local Products
Cantonese
Embroidery: Cantonese embroidery is well-known for
its bright colors, vivid patterns, and creative ideas.
Jade
Sculpture: For some reason, Chinese have always
loved jade items, from burial clothing for emperors to pendants many
Chinese now wear. Jade ornaments include jade bracelets, jade rings,
and jade earrings. Jade decorations people might want to decorate
their houses or offices with include jade paperweights, jade flowers
and plants, jade figures, and jade birds and animals. Jade vases,
jars and other decorative products are also popular.
Wang Laoji
(王老吉): This is a popular herbal tea because it cools
people off in Guangzhou's hot weather and is also helpful to cool
people off after eating spicy food. It is sweet and slightly bitter,
but it somehow actually helps to take away the burning sensation
after eating food with lots of red pepper such as Sichuan cuisine.
People also use it as a medicine to relieve fevers and other
"heat"-related health issues. It can be bought in cans just like
cola for about 3.5 RMB or about 50 cents USD and is sold almost
everywhere pop is sold. It is also served as a tea in cups in little
tea shops.
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