Beijing Shopping

Beijing shopping – where to shop and what to buy

Beijing has gone shopping mad. Chinese people are getting rich faster than anyone else on the planet and are shopping like they know it.

All the big name brands are charging in to open their own stores and cash in on the boom, so Beijingers now have almost as good a choice of international luxury items as their New York or London counterparts.

Beijing Shopping – Markets and Department Stores

New shopping complexes spring up so fast that it’s almost impossible to keep track. However, at the same time as all this development, Beijing is still a good place to pick up some bargains – whether that be a piece of Chinese art, wardrobe-fulls of cheap clothing, carpets, kites or rip-off Nikes.

Shopping in one of Beijing’s many markets is an experience not to be missed. Click here for the lowdown on Beijing markets.

When you’re shopping in Beijing, bargaining is essential except in department stores shops and selling imported or luxury goods. Even here it might sometimes be worth a try. Check out our Beijing bargaining tips that could save you pots of money.

Beijing Shopping – Where to Shop

Sanlitun
Wangfujing
Jianguomen
Xidan

Beijing Shopping – What to Buy

So what do we recommend you put on your Beijing shopping list? There are lots of bargains to be had.

Pearls are extremely cheap in Beijing, and although they may not be the best quality, there’s not many people that can tell the difference. Other jewellery is also very reasonably priced, but go shopping for something you want to wear, not an heirloom to pass on to the grandkids.

Beijing Shopping – Buying Clothes

Clothes shopping is also exceedingly cheap in Beijing – not only for fake brands, there are also plenty of hip and trendy boutiques with their own designs. Beijing is also a great place to pick yourself up some a traditional Chinese silken qi pao, or have a Western style suit tailor made to excellent quality at a fraction of what you’d pay at home.

Beijing Shopping – DVD Shops

If you don’t mind the fact that they’re fake, Beijing is also a great place to stock up on your CD and DVD collection. Fakes are becoming rarer, but the industry is well entrenched in China and the government has not yet succeeded in stamping it out completely.

Beijing Shopping – Arts and Craft

Antiques, art and craft are all good buys. With antiques, bear in mind that they’re almost certainly fake, whatever the vendor says and in spite of the sticker proving they were taken away for storage during the Cultural Revolution. Shopping for art is not only very cheap in Beijing, art also makes a great souvenir and is easy to take home.

Beijing is also not a bad place to catch up on a little furniture shopping, beautifully carved hardwood at a very cheap price, but bear the cost of shipping (which the vendor will arrange) in mind when you order a solid oak four poster bed.

Other things to buy in Beijing:

Kites
Mao memorabilia
Silk scarves and pashminas