Many foreign visitors are in trouble with bringing souvenirs for their friends and relatives in Beijing, where to buy is the most common question. The following will introduce the main places to buy souvenirs in Beijing.
Many foreign visitors are in trouble with bringing souvenirs for their friends and relatives in Beijing, where to buy is the most common question. The following will introduce the main places to buy souvenirs in Beijing.
Hongqiao Market is a good place to buy souvenirs. It would be easier to list what Hongqiao Market DOESN'T sell than to go through the remarkable range of goods crammed into this four-floor shopping paradise. On the lookout for fresh seafood, head for the basement and you are certain to find something. If you cannot find the suitcase or handbag you want, chances are it doesn't exist. That goes for electrical appliances. They have lots of real (and fake) pearls. When it comes to Chinese memorabilia at knockdown prices, Hongqiao is the first call for many streetwise locals.
Weekend shopping at Panjiayuan Antiques and Flea Market, the "dirt market," is a must. Getting up early on Saturday or Sunday will reward those with the energy to spare. True to say, it is not an antique market but more a second-hand and antiques-imitation market, there are some really wonderful things to see, particularly if you want anything associated with the Cultural Revolution. Under a huge roof resembling an aircraft hanger, you can hunt for genuine artifacts and learn how to haggle with relish. Arts and crafts from across the country are laid out on carpets and in tiny stalls.
A seemingly endless supply of bright, vibrant, colourful Chinese clothes and cloth is the major lure at the Yashow Market. Silk Alley, or Xiushui Silk Market, is favored in particular by Beijing's massive expatriate community, particularly those who are on the look-out for a bargain and who are not afraid to negotiate for a discount with wily vendors who expect nothing less. Suffice to say, 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 Curio City, not far from Panjiayuan, brings together row after row of vendors selling Chinese art and furniture. Patient browsing can be rewarded with a great bargain.
When it comes to books, the Sanlian Bookstore is among the best of the bunch. This is where to find anything from heavyweight academic books to Chinese translations of popular Western books.
Bibliophiles can also turn over a new page at Xidan Book Building, one of the city's most famous outlets. The only problem they face is making a choice from the Aladdin's Cave of fine reading material that surrounds them.