At the southeastern part of the Third Ring Road is a small, modest bystreet. The street ends at a four storey-building which is best described as a paradise for every four-eyed person.
Just while strolling down the narrow street, you will find ten or so glasses shops. These small shops contain everything necessary to make a pair of eyeglasses. The shops in the building, however, rarely handle the eye-testing and glasses- production. This takes place in a room in the building next to it.
If you have a pair of glasses with the correct strength for your eyes, be sure to bring these with you. In that case, their strength can be read and a similar pair can be made without you having to test your eyes. But if you do not have any glasses with you, you can still find a good pair. Just seek out a pair of frames you like, and the staff will help you with the eye-testing without any extra charge.
Some salespeople speak English. If you find a pair of frames in a shop with non-English-speaking staff, you can buy the frames there and then let a shop with English-speaking staff take care of the lenses. Prices are negotiable and range from about two hundred yuan and upwards, depending on which frames and lenses you choose.
Even though this place is not as large as the shopping malls at Zhongguancun, as far as electronics goes you will most likely find whatever you are looking for, whether that is laptops, printers or digital cameras. You can also find web cameras, MP3/MP4-players, computer speakers, USB memory cards, hard drives and any other hardware you might need for your computer.
Some shopkeepers speak English and are happy to help, even if you are looking for something that isn't sold in their shops. The prices are not always fixed so be prepared to bargain or at least negotiate even if the product has a price tag.
Despite the name, HongQiao Pearl Market has more to offer than only its three floors of pearls and jewellery. On the ground floor you will find lots of MP3-players, digital cameras, web cameras, memory cards, DVD-players and various other electronics articles. There is also a large selection of watches and also some silk products, underwear, socks, Mao kitsch, flasks, etc.
On the second floor you will find brand wear, traditional clothes, more silk products, shoes, suitcases and handbags. Many of the shops here offer exactly the same products, which means there are good chances to push the price down if you are good at haggling.
The third floor is divided into two sections. The first section contains traditional Chinese art, ornaments, porcelain and chopsticks. It is in the second section that the Pearl Market proper begins. It stretches to floors four and five, where the shops are somewhat more exclusive than on the third floor.
If you have children, make sure not to miss HongQiao Toy Market, which lies behind the right side of the main building. This building also contains office equipment, Chinese tea sets, red lanterns and some sporting goods.
In May 2008 the market Tianya HongQiao Jewellery Market opened just behind the HongQiao Pearl Market. This new market mostly contains the same kind of products as the original HongQiao Pearl market.
HongQiao Pearl Market is a market popular with both Chinese and international visitors from all the corners of the world. All shopkeepers speak English. Those on the first three floors tend to be quite persistent, whilst those on the top two floors are significantly less intrusive.
The asking prices are often quite high so it is important to haggle.
If you are starting to feel the urge for western food, or just feel like having a nice outing without having to leave central Beijing, we would recommend a visit to the Houhai Lake. Most part of the lake is surrounded by restaurants, bars and cafés, many of them offering both inside and outside seats during the warmer seasons. The widescreens are turned on during any larger sports events, and beer-drinking sports fans are gathered from every corner of the world to show their support in an orderly manner.
Boats are available for hire if you feel like taking a relaxing trip on the lake.
You can visit Houhai during the day, but it is really at its best in the night, when the restaurants are crowded with guests and the moon is shining above the lake.
Houhai is mainly a place for relaxing and lounging. There are, however, shopping opportunities here too. The side street of Yandai Xiejie have some interesting and original light shopping.
Visiting Panjiayuan is an experience in itself - whether you actually choose to buy something or not. The market is located a couple of miles east of the Temple of Heaven.
In the large courtyard, salesmen sit in rows with blankets filled with various jewellery, statuettes, vases, china, Mao-related items and more curiosities. To get the best experience, go there on weekend mornings, when the most salespeople are in position.
But even if you are not an early riser, there is a good chance that you will find something here. Besides those of the yard sellers who choose to stay until closing time, there are a hundred or so small shops around the yard. Here you will find art, pearls and jewellery, apart from more of what we already mentioned.
If you do not speak the language, it can be difficult to maintain any longer dialogue since most of the salespeople do not speak English. The negotiability of the prices varies a lot depending on the individual salesperson. Sometimes you hardly need to bargain at all. In the shops surrounding the yard, however, you should bargain harder.
Up until 2005, this market was called Silk Street and had the same location but was an outdoor market. Today, everything is covered by a roof and this market is probably the most visited by foreign tourists in Beijing.
Just like HongQiao Pearl Market offers more than pearls, Silk Market offers a lot more than just silk.
In the basement floor you'll find shoes, belts, handbags and suitcases etc. On the first and second floors there are mainly designer clothes. Be careful to try on everything you buy here, to be sure you get the right size.
Silk products are sold on the third floor: ties, tablecloths, traditional clothes as well as dressing gowns, underwear and many other products made of silk, and children's wear. There are also tailors here, willing to make suits or dresses for tourists that often pay a little more than they should.
Floors four and five have jewellery, pearls, Chinese crafts and art, watches, electronics etc. Having walked all the way up here, you'll probably be quite tired of all the yelling salespeople pulling at you. In that case, continue to one of the restaurants on floors five and six, where you can sit down and eat something.
Since there are a great number of foreign tourists on this market, salespeople here are pretty good at speaking English. Moreover, they often know a few selling phrases in a number of other languages, like Spanish, Italian, German, French and Swedish. The salespeople are extremely pushy and the prices they suggest are high, so bargain a lot.
Jan. 21 Open 9:30-16:00
Jan. 22 - 24 Closed
Jan. 25 - 28 Open 10:00-18:00
Jan. 29 Open as usual 9:30-21:00
Sunny Gold Street Market is popular among tourists staying at Lido Hotel, which lies only a block away. If you happen to be staying in the neighbourhood, this market is definitely worth a visit, especially if you are looking for clothes or accessories.
Although the building itself is not particularly large, both floors are absolutely packed with merchandise. You can find clothes, purses, silk products, shoes, sunglasses, traditional Chinese clothes, some MP3/MP4-players and golf apparel, watches, jewellery, art, toys, and even a tailor.
The market is packed with tourists from the hotels nearby, resulting in many salesmen being pretty good speakers of English. The suggested prices are very high, so be prepared to drive a hard bargain.
The real name of the street is Maliandao, and you'll find it in the southwestern parts of Beijing. It stretches almost a mile in north-south direction, and it holds hundreds of tea shops, swarming on each side of the street and in the large tea markets.
Alongside cups and tins with green tea, jasmine tee, flower tea and oolong tea, you'll find tea cups, teapots, tea tables and anything else that can be associated with Chinese tea. Mass-produced cups and pots can be purchased cheaply, but there are also shops here that sell really expensive china produced by well-known Chinese potters.
Of all the indoor markets on Tea Street, two are more popular with tourists than the rest. The first one is the newly built market in the south. Some of the shops here claim to be open 24 hours a day. Unfortunately, we don't know anyone who has felt the need to buy tea in the middle of the night, so we can't give you any guarantees, but if you've tried it, please let us know about your visit! The other market is called Maliandao Tea City - or Tea Joy Market as the sign by the street says. It is a four-storey building where three of the floors are reserved for tea. On the fourth you will, quite unexpectedly, find DV cameras, SLR cameras and other photo-related goods.
If the weather is good, we suggest you to skip these indoor markets, at least to begin with, and give the shops in the bystreets, for instance those southeast of Tea City, a chance. These will give you a more authentic impression of Beijing than the polished marble floors of the markets - and it's very likely that the prices are lower.
In the large tea markets, you might have the good fortune to find some English-speaking salespeople. The chance is smaller in the shops in the bystreets, but that's usually not a problem since the salespeople are so helpful. The prices are negotiable, and sometimes you need to bargain a lot.
For many years, the shopping street of Wangfujing has been the pride of Beijing. Its glass facades are perhaps not that remarkable in today's Beijing, but the selection of products ranks among the city's most exclusive and it is said that Wangfujing is Beijing's only pedestrian street.
There are three large markets on this street: Sun Dong An Plaza, Beijing Department Store and The Malls at Oriental Plaza. They all sell mostly designer's clothes but you will also find jewellery, make up, wines and spirits, tea shops, cafés and a whole bunch of Chinese and Western fast food restaurants. The Malls at Oriental Plaza is known as one of the largest markets in Asia.
Anything else you might want to buy is available on the rest of the street.
There are two book stores. The larger one is called Wangfujing Bookstore and has some western literature on the third floor. The slightly smaller one, but with a wider selection of western books, is called Foreign Languages Bookstore. Toys and other children's stuff are available at Xin Zhong Guo Kid's Stuff/Children's Goods Store. A side street, west of Wangfujing, is called Wangfujing XiaoChiJie (Wangfujing Snack Street). Besides snacks, various sorts of souvenirs are available here.
Finally, you should be aware that Wangfujing is not the place to make a bargain. The prices are higher than elsewhere in the city, but on the other hand the quality is, for the most part, good. The street should be looked upon more as a tourist attraction and shows its best side after sunset, in the neon light. Then the food market, Donghuamen Night Market, will be open too. There, you can taste octopus, scorpion and other mysterious food, but also safer stuff like dumplings, exotic fruits and fried banana.
Some of the salespeople, but far from everyone, speak English. Most shops here have set prices, which usually makes bargaining useless, but there is no harm in trying.
It is smaller than its neighbour Bainaohui/Buynow Computer Shopping Mall, but still worth a visit if you are in the area and looking for anything in electronics.
In one section there is also a tea shop, some jewellery and other bits and pieces.
Few of the shopkeepers here speak good English but they are very friendly and happy to help.
In Beijing's north-eastern parts there are many universities. The Wudaokou area contains a particularly large number of students, which explains the popularity of Wudaokou Clothing Market amongst them. Therefore, the range of clothes is also targeted especially towards students.
The market is not the biggest in town, but the two floors are jam-packed with clothes, shoes and accessories. Many of the clothes are of the hipper/trendier kind and you will seldom find the same clothes in two different shops. Should you get tired of shopping you can head up to the top floor and get your nails painted for just a small sum. You can also find a few odd shops selling jewellery, sunglasses, posters, and simple electronics such as MP3-players, etc.
Few shopkeepers speak English but they are friendly and not very intrusive.
Many of the passages between the shops are narrow, so on afternoons and weekends it can get quite crowded at the market.
When you realise that Silk Market, Yashow Market and HongQiao Market all have the same supplies, it's time to try out the locals' own shopping districts. This is where the inhabitants of Beijing gather to pick up their gear.
In the northern parts of the "Xidan Beidajie" street there are lots of small shops. The area also has several markets and malls. We know from experience that it's very possible to spend whole days here and still have ground left to cover. Start by visiting the Xidan Outdoor Market, which actually is largely indoors. The prices here can be very low and the supply of clothes and accessories is not too bad either. Then visit one of the larger markets east or north of this area and remember to always bargain, on Outdoor Market too.
If you are looking for more exclusive shopping, a good choice is Grand Pacific, located west of Xidan Beidajie.
Some salespeople know a few relevant phrases in English, but most of them don't.
Some of the markets can be very crowded on evenings and weekends.
One of Beijing's old hutong areas is located next to the Houhai lake. This is where you'll find the picturesque side street Yandai Xiejie. Yandai is the name of a Chinese pipe that was traditionally sold on this street. The street is not very long, and not the right choice of destination if you are on the hunt for the latest fashion clothes. On the other hand, you will find small quantities of strange stuff like art, Mao kitsch, traditional Chinese clothing, jewellery, silk items, tea and teapots and a small selection of funkier designer clothes. One of the city's really good chocolate shops are also situated on this street – but don't expect their prices to be Chinesely low.
Some of the salespeople speak English a bit, and in a few of the shops you can, and should, bargain. The street is a chance to experience Chinese hutongs as well as a shopping street, and while you are there you should take the opportunity to visit Houhai Lake.
This market is situated at Sanlitun, the popular bar street in the east of Beijing. If you have been to the Silk Market, you will recognize the concept. Shoes, suitcases and handbags are sold in the basement. On floors one, two and three there are mainly designer's clothes, and on floor three there is also a tailor with a large selection of silk and suit cloths. This floor also holds some children's clothes and silk products.
Floor four has a little of everything. Mp3/Mp4-players and other electronic goods, watches, pearls and jewellery, some tea and tea-related stuff, Chinese ornaments and quite a lot of toys. A small beauty salon is squeezed in along one of the walls, offering you to get your eyebrows trimmed, your nails painted and your feet massaged. The prices are low and so is the quality, but after the long walk up to this floor, it can still be relaxing.
Since this market is mainly visited by foreign tourists, its salespeople speak English pretty good.
This market was closed in November 2008.
The Zhongguancun area is sometimes called China's Silicon Valley, because of its many universities and IT-based companies. It also has a score of really big markets, selling anything you can imagine in computers and electronics, and they are all within walking distance from each other.
One market that stands out in the crowd is Zhonghai electronic market, selling used computer stuff and notebooks, which could be convenient if you prefer low prices rather than getting the latest model.
The markets in this area really have anything you could possibly need for you computer. What is more, many of the markets offer cheap computer repair service.
Few of the salespeople speak English. If you find someone who does, however, they are often able to help you even if their store doesn't have what you are looking for. If you are planning to buy something a little more expensive, and don't speak mandarin, it can be wise to bring someone who does. Prices are negotiable.