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There are many
famous shopping areas in Beijing. Beijing is a well-known shopping
destination in China where tourists can really get some good
bargains and cheap local products such as the famous Chinese tea,
fine arts and the latest fashions. Some common questions by
first-time travelers in Beijing include 'Where to shop in Beijing?',
'Where are the famous shopping districts in Beijing?’, 'Can you
please tell me the top shopping streets in Beijing?' and 'What are
the best places to shop in Beijing?'. Your Beijing shopping holidays
will never be perfect if you do not buy its cheap souvenirs or
browse among the many elegant shopping malls in Beijing. Use this
Beijing shopping guide to take you top shopping areas in Beijing.
One of the famous
places for shopping in Beijing is the Dashilan and New Qianmen Street
which allows you to shop in conditions similar to ancient Beijing.
The Dashilan commercial area and New Qianmen Street is located at
Qianmen (front gate) along subway Line 2. The buildings at Dashilan
depicts stunning ancient architecture whereby you will notice many
shops selling time-honored Chinese brands such as the Liubiju pickled
vegetables, Ruifuxiang silk and fabric, Yueshengzhai stewed pork and
Zhangyiyuan tea. This famous shopping district in Beijing is one of
the oldest commercial street in Beijing and it is also a good place
to get information about traditional Chinese medicine and buy traditional
Chinese herbs. There are some interesting silk shops and clothing
specialists shops to be found here and nowadays you can see cinemas,
karaoke bars and clubs competing with long-established traditional
Chinese stores for space in Dashilan. The Gulou East Street which is
located next to subway station of Gulou on Line 2 is another one of
the many famous Beijing shopping streets. Gulou East Street are for
visitors who are looking for the latest electronic games, gaming
software and traditional Chinese musical instruments since this Beijing
shopping street is filled with specialty games shops and music stores.
Top shopping
places in Beijing include Liulichang Street, Maliandao Tea
Street and Nanluoguxiang, South Gong and Drum Lane. Liulichang
Street which is also called the Glass Street is located next
to the Hepingmen metro station on the subway Line 2 (the loop
line). Liulichang was named as such because of the numerous colored
glaze factories in the area which later turned into a famous
commercial area in Beijing when traders started to open Chinese
antique stalls along the crowded hutong. Liulichang is a Qing bazaar
with traditional shops selling products related to the ancient
Chinese culture such as the ancient book, Chinese art and
calligraphy, ink stones, Chinese paintings, traditional Chinese
ornaments and jewelry. Some of the oldest shops in Beijing are seen
in Liulichang Street and remember to bargain before purchasing since
the initial prices quoted may be on the high side. The most popular
place to shop in Liulichang Street is the Rongbaozhai Bookshop
which sells a good range of authentic calligraphy and paintings
of both ancient and modern Chinese authors. Maliandao Tea Street
is a good place to shop for various types of tea. Tea lovers
can get to the Maliandao Tea Street which is located outside the
Guang'anmen in the west Second Ring Road by catching bus No. 46, 414
and 609. The 1,500 meters long street is the largest tea market in
Beijing where you will see over one hundred tea shops and tea stores
to shop for all the different variety of tea products from all over
China such as green tea from Anhui, longjin dragon from Hangzhou or
pu’er tea from Yunnan province. If you are lucky, you will also be
given first-hand tea tips on how to make genuine Chinese tea.
Nanluoguxiang,
South Gong and Drum Lane are among the top shopping streets in
Beijing which is located about a block east of Shishahai. The
history of this famous shopping neighborhood in Beijing goes as far
back t the Yuan Dynasty. Most of the shops at the Nanluoguxiang,
South Gong and Drum Lane sell fine silk shawls and beautiful Chinese
handicrafts designed by local Chinese artists. Most of the shops
in Nanluoguxiang are opened by local designers and artists. Some
excellent handmade potteries are found in shops such as Le Tian and
Shi Jie while Shanghai Tailor offers custom-made outfits. You can
even get craftsmen in Nanluoguxiang to design your very own
exclusive old Beijing paper-cut works. When you are here, you must
visit the t-shirt store called ‘Plastered’ and buy the famous
t-shirt which has Chinese characters of the famous Beijing cuisine
‘gong bao ji ding’ (kung pao chicken) printed on the t-shirt. The
top shops in Nanluoguxiang are its stylish clothes and handcraft
shops and you can make a visit to the Beijing Vulcan Culture & Art
Bookstore if you are looking for books on the amazing Chinese
culture.
Famous areas to
shop in Beijing include the Panjiayuan Antique Market and Sanlitun
Bar Street. Panjiayuan Antique Market which is located near the
Jinsong subway station on Line 10 and it is also reachable by taking
public bus No. 34, 36 and 434. The Panjiayuan Antique Market is the
biggest market for folk art in Beijing and the best time to visit
Panjiayuan Antique Market is during weekend since you can find dealers
coming from all over China to sell their products. My travel advice
to travelers who are going to Panjiayuan Market is to get there early.
Panjiayuan Market is highly recommended for shoppers who are more
interested in hunting down the bargain and I want to inform you that
not all the antiques in Panjiayuan Market are genuine. If you are
unable to visit Panjiayuan Market, then go to Hongqiao Market which
is known for its fake designer’s goods. Beijing's famous Sanlitun Bar
Street which is a famous night spot located between Baijiazhuang
Road and Dongzhimenwai Street near the east Third Ring Road is also
a good place to pick a good buy or two. Besides the various bars at
Sanlitun Bar Street, shoppers will like the Yaxiu (Yashow) clothing
market which is well-known for its cheap clothing stalls. Yaxiu
clothing market is filled with cheap knock-offs and you can also
find a good selection of imitation and pilfered brand-name clothing,
shoes and luggage. Another top shopping destinations in Beijing is
the Shishahai Bar Street which is located near the north gate of
Beihai Park (Beihai Gongyuan) and this place is another good place
to do your shopping in Beijing. You can shop along the Xieyandai
Street which is a 200 meters long street filled with small shops
that sell fashionable clothing and accessories, unique stationery
and jewellery which are brought to Beijing from as far as Yunnan
province and Tibet.
My top shopping
areas in Beijing has to be Wangfujing Street and Wanfujing Food Street.
Wangfujing Street is easily the most famous shopping street in China
which is always packed with both tourists and local Chinese
shoppers. Wangfujing Street is located on the eastern corner of
Tiananmen Square and is easily the most prestigious shopping street
you will ever visit in Beijing. Tourists are usually taken to
Wangfujing Street as their first destination of their shopping tour
in Beijing since this pedestrians area is a good place to window
shop. It is easy to get to Wanfujing since it is located along the
routes of many buses and Wangfujing is on subway Line 1. The top
attraction in Wanfujing is the Oriental Plaza (Dongfang Guangchang)
mall which showcases many stores selling branded goods. Another
popular shopping mall among the shoppers is the Sun Dong An Plaza.
Other places of interest in Wangfujing are the shopping arcade in
Beijing Hotel, Beijing Department Store, Beijing Foreign languages
Bookstore, Palace Hotel, the Wangfujing Arts and Crafts Building and
the Wangfujing Xinhua Bookstore. Foreign visitors to Wangfujing
Shopping Street can get products from some of the top Beijing brands
such as the Shengxifu hat store, Tongshenghe shoe shop and Wuyutai
tea house. The Wanfujing Food Street is also another interesting
street for window shoppers who can filled their empty stomachs after
hours of shopping in Beijing. This is the best place to taste some
really excellent Chinese street food. It will be a sin if you miss
out on the ‘bingtang hulu’ (sugar-coated fruit) as this dish is one
of the most famous specialty in Beijing. With all these great shopping
destinations in Beijing, it is no surprising that Beijing is being
labeled as a shopping haven in China.
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