|
|
 |
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.
This colorful market is a must for any new-comer to Beijing. Visitors
can select from more than 400 booths, where some 1,000 vendors are happy
to indulge in bargaining. First golden rule: never immediately pay the
asking price. Shrewd negotiation will see you pay a good deal less.
Second golden rule: smile and be courteous, and you'll usually get a
good response. Many "good buys" are available, especially in silk and
other garments, plus accessories ranging from scarves to leatherwear.
You will also find a huge array of souvenirs, but be ware of those
claimed to be genuine antiques. Silk Alley can be a fun place, the more
so if you have a Chinese friend with you to help you with bargaining. |
|
|
 |
Wangfujing Street
Wangfujing,
a seven hundred-year-old commercial street, is located to the east of
Tiananmen Square and stretches from Chinese Art Gallery 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 Oriental Plaza (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. |
|
|
 |
Liulichang Culture Street
Liulichang was reconstructed in 1984 and it
adapted a China Dynasty architectural style. It is located on the
southern side of Shinhwa Street, where there are many antique stores,
bookstores, furniture stores and even handicraft and porcelain stores.
Each store specializes in one item only. It used to be a place where
used products were sold and where merchants gathered. After the Emperor
Kangxi Qing Dynasty, it became a market for antiques, calligraphy
products and paintings. People could buy art supplies at a very low
price or they could see stores where their pictures were mounted.
Liulichang has been loved by literary men for over 200 years, and many
foreigners who love the Chinese culture visit this place. There is much
construction going on at Liulichang Street. |
|
|
 |
HongQiao Market
This market is located in the south central area of Beijing, just to the
east of the Temple of Heaven. It is an indoor mall with a seafood market
in the basement and about 3 floors up. It is filled mainly with cheap
electronic goods like portable CD players, VCD players, camcorders,
batteries, sunglasses, electronics, household phones. Even thermos
flasks and tea jars.
The items for sale are less brand conscious and
tend to be from real "no-name" Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Thai
companies. The quality does not look good but at the prices they're
going for, does it matter if it lasts just 6 months ? You could often
buy 10 of the items in question for the price of one real name brand in
a department store.
Our advice is, bargain for the deal, and don't expect quality. If you
are thinking of splashing out on something like a camcorder, best to
stick to Wangfujing or Xidan. If you just want a CD player or a cheap
camera, mp3 player, boom box, electronic dictionary, watch etc. HongQiao
is not a bad option.
As for seafood, we don't know anything, but the basement market is large
and many things are still alive till you buy them, so I guess it would
be called fresh. The selection looks comprehensive. |
|
