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Wangfujing is
a famous Beijing shopping street that is filled with tourists and is
located on the eastern part of the grand Palace Museum (commonly
known as Forbidden City). Wangfujing is a famous shopping area in
Beijing that features a solid stretch of colorful stores and you can
use this Wangfujing shopping guide to give a great shopping vacation
in Beijing. This famous shopping street in Beijing begins from
Wangfujing Nankou which houses the Oriental Plaza and the Beijing
Hotel and then moves to the northwards direction where you will see
the famous Wangfujing Xinhua Bookstore, the Beijing Department Store
as well as the Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore before ending at
the Sun Dong An Plaza. Use this Wangfujing travel tips to learn more
about the top shopping street in Beijing.
The Wangfujing
shopping street is the best place to shop for Chinese souvenirs and
authentic Chinese products. There are over three hundred famous
Chinese brand shops located at this Wangfujing pedestrian only
shopping street with famous Chinese brands such as Buyingzhai and
Neiliansheng shoe shops, China Photo Studio, Daiyuexuan writing
brushes store, Daoxiangchun and Xiangjugong cake shops, Jianhua fur
garment store, Jiguge antique store, Majuyuan and Shengxifu hat
stores, the delicious Quanjude roast duck restaurant, Ruifuxiang
silk store, Tianfuhao eating house, Tongshenghe shoe shop, Wangmazi
scissors shop, Wuyutai and Yuanchanghou tea houses. One of the top
places to shop in Wangfujing is the BGGC Wangfujing Gongmei Emporium
at 200 Wangfujing Street (Wangfujing Dajie) in Dong Cheng district
and famous emporium in Wangfujing is an excellent dealing art and
crafts department store which is known for its high quality
artwork and handicrafts. Wangfujing Gongmei Emporium can be seen
standing proudly on the southern part of Wangfujing Business Street.
This famous art emporium in Wangfujing which is a grand 5-storey
building in Wangfujing is called the number one arts and crafts
shop in the world by the local Chinese. Tourists will find some of
the best Chinese arts, crafts and jewelry products at Gongmei Emporium.
The first floor of the Wangfujing Gongmei Emporium is basically a
gold and jewelry mall. Shoppers can find a wide selection of gold,
platinum jewelry, pearls, silver jewelry and do not miss the famous
Gongmei Gold which is definitely worth its weight in gold. The
second floor sells mainly local Chinese handicrafts, traditional
folk handicrafts, various forms of folk crafts and souvenirs such as
Chinese chopsticks with carved patterns, Chinese hardwood fans,
collectible Chinese coins, notes and stamps, crystal glassware,
Chinese handmade lanterns, Chinese paper-cut art and wooden combs.
The ‘Oriental Life’ shop in the second floor displays traditional
Chinese family ornaments where you can shop for ornaments that
are made from rare stones, metal or wood. Missing out on the boxwood
mahjong set and jewelry box with carved flowers will make you regret
when you return home to your country. On the third floor you will
see wood engravings, handicrafts swords, pewterware, calligraphy
and paintings from top Chinese artists, oil paintings, Chninese
silk scarf, silk embroidery garment, red sandalwood furniture and
other interesting Chinese related gift items. If you are an art
lover, then you must surely buy the specially made calligraphy
tool sets that comes with an ink slab and paper, ink stick and a
writing brush is a must. The cloisonne collection which is an
ancient Chinese metal art combining bronze and porcelain ware with
traditional painting and sculpture is simply remarkable. Another
Chinese souvenir to take home is the fine embroidery from Suzhou
besides the astonishing batik garments and stunning silk shawls.
The jade items
in Gongmei Emporium are second to none. The Jade Culture Mall is
located on the fourth floor of the Gongmei Emporium which has a
huge collection of jade products and high quality jade ware. Some
of the top qualities jades that you can see find at Gongmei
Emporium include the Hetian White Jade and the Manchurian Jade.
You might also want to enter the Beijing Arts and Crafts Museum
which displays over three thousand items of fine arts and craft
wares by famous Chinese artists. The top floor of the Gongmei Emporium
is a famous discount clothing market which showcases the latest
fashions and designs and is filled with locals looking for some
good bargains. If you are wondering where to buy the 2008 Beijing
Olympic souvenirs, then you must certainly visit the Wangfujing
Gongmei Emporium because it is the best place to buy the Beijing
2008 Olympic Games souvenirs and collectibles since Gongmei Emporium
is home to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Flagship Shop and also the
largest shop selling Beijing Olympic souvenirs. You can find the
various souvenirs for Beijing Olympics on the first floor and some
of the more popular 2008 Beijing souvenirs include the Beijing
Olympic commemorative coins, the five Fuwa Beijing Olympic mascots
and Beijing Olympic T-shirts. The Swatch Beijing 2008 Olympic
limited edition watches are also selling like hot cakes. To get to
Gongmei Emporium, take subway line 1 to Wangfujing Station. This
flagship store not only markets the Beijing Olympic merchandise but
also provides the latest Olympic information and licensed new
products release to Olympic fans.
For book lovers
who are searching for their favorite book or the latest arrival,
then the Wangfujing Xinhua Bookstore at 218 Wangfujing Dajie might
just be the bookstore for you. The Xinhua Bookstore is the largest
chain bookstore in China and the Xinhua Bookstore in Wangfujing is
the biggest bookstore in China. You can find all sorts of Chinese
classic story books, Chinese culture and language books, classic
English and American novels, current top bestsellers, English
dictionaries, guidebooks, imported fiction and nonfiction hardbacks,
latest magazines, reference books, short story compilations and
various digital reading materials. The Beijing Foreign Languages
Bookstore is frequented mostly by foreigners and displays a huge
collection of English books on Chinese art, economics, history,
language, literature and medicine and famous classic Western novels.
Another popular shopping destination in Beijing is to go the
Beijing Department Store in Wangfujing. This shopping centre in
Wangfujing is known for its huge selection of merchandise whereby
you can find almost anything that you need here. The Oriental Plaza
mall at 1 Dong Chang'an Dajie in Wangfujing is one of the largest
multi-purpose commercial complexes in China and this most recognized
and major landmark in Wangfujing is regarded by the locals as a
self-contained city-within-a-city. The Oriental Plaza is made up of
The Towers at Oriental Plaza and The Malls at Oriental Plaza. The
former is made up of eight grade-A commercial buildings, the
luxurious Grand Hyatt Beijing and four stunning blocks of superb
service apartments while the latter showcases five themed shopping
malls which will take your shopping and dining experience to the
next level. Branded shops such as Bally, Burberry, Givenchy, Jack
Jones, Max Mara, Paul Smith, Soda, Tag Heuer and Valentino can be
seen in the Oriental Plaza in Wangfujing. A huge CRC supermarket and
the popular Watson's pharmacy can also be found inside Oriental
Plaza. One interesting thing you will notice here is that the first
floor and the underground floor of the Malls at Oriental Plaza form
a unique two-floor indoor pedestrian street. The Sun Dong An Plaza
at 138 Wangfujing Dajie which is located on the northern end of
Wangfujing is another top shopping area in Wangfujing. You can
easily recognized the Sun Dong An Plaza which is a huge 6-storey
building with stunning glass elevators that houses many cafes,
designer clothing shops, restaurants and a large department store.
Do not miss the famous Mongolian hot pot restaurant inside the Sun
Dong An Plaza in Wangfujing. Other famous places to shop in
Wangfujing include the China Arts Building which showcases amazing
carved lacquer ware with various brocaded patterns and carpets with
spectacular patterns, Danyao Building, Gongmei Building and the
Wangfu Women Department Store. If you are hungry, go to the famous
Wangfujing snack street and discovers authentic Chinese snacks such
as the congee with lotus seeds and cheese, crispy sesame cake, fried
cake chips, rice cake, rice dumpling seahorses on skewers, silk worms
on a stick, starfish fried in shark oil, steamed bread and buckwheat
noodle and steamed corn bun. The Wanfujing pedestrianized shopping
street has become a top shopping destination in Beijing. Besides
Wangfujing, other famous downtown tourist areas in Beijing include
Dashilar, Liulichang and Xidan.
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