Shopping or buying souvenirs for family or friends is an important part of one's visit to a foreign country. China is an interesting place to go shopping, and Beijing has a long history as a commercial and cultural centre. It was the place from which Marco Polo brought to Europe silk and noodles. Nowadays there is a bit more choice that in Marco Polo's time. You can choosing interesting things as you like.
Places of Shopping
Detailed information on different places of shopping including special markets for special goods like antiques, arts and crafts, paintings and calligraphy, silk and books and open markets, free markets, small shops and some special shops.
Wangfujing Street
Wangfujing, a seven hundred-year-old commercial street, is located to the east of Tiananmen Square and stretches from ChineseArtGallery to the Dongchan'an Avenue. It houses a wide variety of shops and boutiques where you can find all kinds of commodities, some of which are of world-famous brands. The recently finished OrientalPlaza (Dongfang Guangchang) adds more charm to Wangfujing.
Besides modern department stores, the Foreign Language Bookstore is also in this area. The Old-Beijing-Street is now seated underground, which was built and decorated in Ming and Qing style. The outstanding characteristic of it is the centralized well-known longstanding stores selling shoes, caps, silk cloth, scissors, Chinese brushes and ink-stick, jade articles, tea, desserts, pickled vegetables, roast ducks and so on.
The most popular sites for souvenir photos are the sculptures on both street sides, reflecting life of old Beijing.
Xidan Commercial Street
Xidan Commercial Street is on Xidanbei Dajie, west of Tiananmen Square and is famous for commerce, entertainment, dinning, and finance and so forth. Like Wangfujing, you also can see modern and old stores here.
Liulichang Culture Street
For collectors of antiques, Liulichang Culture Street is a place you should not miss. It only needs a few minutes' walk from the south of Hepingmen subway station. It is a traditional cultural market selling jewelry, antiques and ancient calligraphies and paintings. Note that antiques over one hundred years old are marked with a red seal and an export license must be signed in order to take them out of the country.
The best-known shop in this street is Rong Bao Zhai, which was opened about three hundred years ago, and it sells authentic works of paintings and calligraphies. There are also shops with old watches and furniture.
Dashilan
The oldest commercial street in Beijing is Dasilan, the most famous and peculiar prosperous street. Its history can be traced back to five hundred and eighty years ago when the Emperor ordered to build fences to prevent thieves from hiding. The fences built here were quite peculiar and kept for a long time. Later, Big Fences became the name of this street: Dashilan.
Dashilan is situated on south of Tiananmen Square, west of Qianmen Dajie, where many century-old shops and restaurants stand. You can buy some traditional handcrafts as well. Note that bargaining is always needed.
Silk Alley (Xiushui Street)
Silk Alley lies in Xiushuidong Jie off Jianguomenwai Dajie, near US Embassy. It is a good place to buy cheaper goods and the resident foreigners in Beijing come here frequently. Whatever you want to buy, like bags, shoes, handicrafts or sweaters, you can bargain with the owners.
