Beijing Shopping, Shopping in Beijing, Beijing Shopping Guide, Things to Buy in Beijing.

 

Beijing has many shopping districts offering all kinds of goods from brand named things to local souvenirs of Jade and Antiques. The traditional shopping districts have been always Wangfujing Street, Qianmen Street, Dongdan and Xidan Commercial Street. There are also many outdoor markets which foreign travelers always considered to be a must see place. The Liulichang Street is renowned for paintings, Panjiayuan Market is for Antiques, Hongqiao market is for pearls while the Silk Market is for local souvenirs of Beijing.

 

Beijing Wangfujing Street

 

The 700-year-old Wangfujing (the Well of the Prince's Mansion) Street is one of China's oldest and most famous commercial areas, There are over 200 shops located along the 810-metre-long street and in an area of about 810 square meters. The street combines tradition, modernity, culture and commerce. With a group of sculptures depicting the lives of the people of Beijing in the old times was established in front of the modern New Dong An Plaza, a 70-square-metre relief sculpture recalling the operation of the 12 old famous shops in the area was set on the southern wall of the Women’s Department Store. Also the ancient well, from which the street got its name, was also symbolically restored.

 

Wangfujing Street came into being in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) more than 700 years ago. Wangfujing Street is said to have received its name in the Ming Dynasty more than 500 years ago. It was said that the emperor wanted all his 10 brothers to build their mansions in the place now known as Wangfujing so as to make it easy for him to keep a wary eye on them for fear that they might pose a direct threat to him. Therefore, the street was then named Shiwangfu, meaning mansions for 10 imperial brothers. Nowadays, the street is one of the busy shopping areas in Beijing.

 

Beijing Liulichang Street

 

Liulichang is a famous cultural street in Beijing established in the Yuan Dynasty. There used to be a colored glaze kiln and factory there; therefore, it is called Liulichang (colored glaze factory). In the Ming and Qing dynasties, most of the successful candidates in the imperial examinations at the provincial level who went to Beijing to participate in the imperial examinations gathered here, so there are many book and stationery shops that created a strong cultural atmosphere and became a book and antique market. In the period of the Republic of China, a large number of cultural famous persons developed such an indissoluble bond with it that looking for books and treasures there became a habit of many people. Many famous persons wrote inscriptions for book shops and cultural relic shops, such as He Shaoji, Lu Runku, Kang Youwei, Hua Shikui, Weng Tong, Liang Qichao and Shen Yimo, making Liulichang even more famous.

 

The present Liulichang has been reconstructed. The shops on both sides of the street are covered with blue bricks and gray tiles, and the brick carvings and colored paintings have a strong atmosphere of ancient streets. Many famous shops, such as Rongbaozhai and Chinese Bookstore are located on this street.

 

Location: Outside Hepingmen of Beijing from Yanshousi Street in the east to Nanbeiliu Lane in the west with Nanxinhua Street in the middle. The total length is 750 meter.

 

Qianmen & Dashilan Commercial Street

 

Dashilan is one of the famous commercial streets in Beijing. There are many famous century-old shops on the street such as Tongrentang. The commercial area outside Qianmen was formed in the Qing Dynasty when it was stipulated that people from other places must not stay in the city (within the present Qiansanmen Street) and the city gate of Beijing must be closed in the evening for the safety of the Forbidden City. People from other places had to live outside Qianmen. Thus, Qianmen Commercial Area was formed.

 

There is an old saying in Beijing:

Heading Majuyuan (hat shop)

Wearing Badaxiang (silk shop)

Stepping Neiliansheng (shoes shop)

Placing Sidaheng around the waist (native bank)

 

Thanks to its convenient location, Qianmenwai area has always been a place where there are many people from other places as well as large and small hotels and restaurants. The common characteristic of these famous old shops is that they pay attention to their reputation. For example, the founder of Tongrentang said, although the processing of drugs is complicated, we dare not use less labor; although improving the quality is expensive, we dare not use less material.

 

After six years of refurbishment, the new Qianmen Street was opened again in Sep of 2009 as the second pedestrian street in Beijing (the first one is Wangfujing Street). The new-look Qianmen Street, the most popular street during the Ming and Qing dynasties, has 103 stores, of which 81 are famous Chinese brands including Quanjude (Beijing Roast Duck), Tongrentang drug store, and Neiliansheng cloth shoes. International fashion brands have also opened stores on the popular commercial street, including Rolex, Zara, and Western food stores like Starbucks and Haagen-Dazs. The street has been modeled on its faade in the 1920s and 1930s.

 

Beijing Xidan Commercial Street

 

Xidan Street is one of the most famous traditional commercial areas in Beijing where companies in the general merchandise, food and beverage, entertainment and banking sectors can be found. A large number of merchants gather there, and the daily average volume of the flow of customers is more than 200,000. It is in a very important position in the commercial pattern of Beijing.

 

At present, there are many large modern shops in Xidan Commercial Area, such as Xidan Market, Xidan Shopping Center, Xidan Scitech Shopping City and Zhongyou Department Store, and some old shops of the capital, such as Guixiangcun food shop, Wanli shoes shop, Yuanchanghou tea house, etc. Beijing Book Building is the place where book fans gather. Xidan Cultural Square with a floor area of more than 35,000 square meters is the largest venue for a variety of cultural activities with a good environment in the downtown area of the capital at present, integrating recreation, entertainment and shopping. The central area of the commercial street is the recreation square. Xidan Cultural Square with underground restaurants, markets, cinema, bowling alley, swimming pool, rock-climbing club and the largest mirror palace in the country has become the largest venue for cultural entertainment along Chang’an Street. Commerce plays a major role in Xidan Commercial Area, and various related service industries are developed synchronously, showing the trend of mixed operations. The market is oriented to different consumer groups, providing mid- and high-quality commodities and highlighting the distinctive feature of professionalism and completeness to meet the needs of people of all ranks.

 

Main commodities: general merchandises, clothes and ornaments
 

Location: It is located at the geometric center of Beijing to the west of Tiananmen Square from Xuanwumen in the south and the east side of Hengertiao in the east to Xinjiekouhuokou in the north and the Second West Ring Road in the west. The length of the core section is 880 meters, and the total length is 5.4 kilometers. The street runs through Xidan city-level commercial center and two district-level commercial centers of Xisi and Xinjiekou.

 

Beijing Panjiayuan Antique Market

 

Panjiayuan Second-Hand Market is a holiday market where second-hand goods, handicrafts, collections and ornaments are traded. The market is divided into 4 business areas: the large canopy area for handicrafts, the area for ancient and old furniture, the area for ancient and old calligraphic works, paintings, books and periodicals, and the business area for ancient architectures with more than 3000 booths and businessmen of more than 10 nationalities such as Han, Hui, Man, Miao, Dong, Uigur, Mongolian, Tibetan and Korean nationalities from 26 provinces, municipalities directly under the Central Government and autonomous regions, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Henan, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Xinjiang and Tibet. The main goods traded are furniture modeled after antiques, writing brushes, ink sticks, ink slabs and paper, ancient books, calligraphic works and paintings, old books and periodicals, agates, jades, emeralds, potteries, Chinese and foreign coins, bamboo, wood and ivory carvings, types of facial makeup in shadow plays, Buddhists’ keepsakes, national clothes, dresses, relics of the Culture Revolution and articles for daily use.On Saturdays and Sundays, it is crowded with vehicles, experts seeking treasures and novelties, and amateurs who only evaluate but do not buy. There are a variety of antiques, handicrafts and old household articles. You can find everything imaginable and see things you have never heard of. It is a good place for to sharpen your eyes.

 

Location: To the southwest of Panjiayuan Bridge, the southern part of the Third East Ring Road, Beijing

 

Business Hours: the business area for ancient architectures is open every day, and the large canopy area for handicrafts (goods spread out on the ground) is open every Saturday and Sunday.

 

Beijing Hongqiao Market
 

Hongqiao Market mainly sells pearl ornaments, clothes, shoes and bags. There are 5 floors above the ground and 3 underground floors with a total floor area of 32,000 square meters, more than 1000 stalls. With the gradual implementation of the overall plan for the comprehensive development and construction of the Hongqiao Market area, a commercial area integrating commerce, trade, food and beverage, tourism and entertainment will be formed there. With reliable commodity quality, reasonable prices, thoughtful services and good reputation, Hongqiao Market welcomes foreign friends, compatriots in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan and Chinese people of all circles.

 

Beijing Silk Market (Xiushui Market)
 

The Silk Market has very few silk for sale. It has five floors on the ground and three on the underground, with a building area of altogether 28,000 sq. m, and a capacity of thousands of stalls. They are mainly selling replica name brand stuff from bags, shoes, clothes, ornaments, artifacts and silks which are all private owned. Bargaining is an “obligatory course” for people looking for treasures there. If the goods sometimes seem less than the genuine thing, bargain hunters revel in the opportunity of picking up just about any item of clothing you can imagine for a fraction of what they would expect to pay elsewhere.

 

Beijing Salitun Yashow Market
 

This four-floor store offers all the Chinese clothing in various styles and colors. Ruifuxiang, a famous shop selling qipaos (traditional Chinese women dresses) is located on the third floor. They have lots of traditional silk products on sale, and you can have your qipao or suits tailor-made to your special requirements.

 

Next door to Yashow Market to the east it is the Sanlitun Village which is one of the most luxurious shopping places in Beijing with brand names such as Apple, Adidas, Nike and so on.