Beijing shopping tours

Silk Alley：

（A new house for the silk ）
——market traders

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.

The Silk Market or Xiu Shui Shi Chang is where you can buy many clothe-items like North Face, Timberland jackets, even branded things like Prada. Naturally, not many are authentic. This is also the place to buy your Oriental cheongsam - the tight, figure-hugging Oriental dress.

Go EARLY to avoid crowds and remember to bargain.

Or, go LATE in the afternoon, just before closing (should be before sun-down) when vendors are keen to make their final sales before they pack up.

Hongqiao Market：

（Honqiao Market）

Hongqiao is a Beijing shopping favourite, not because it is relaxed but because it has just about anything you could possibly want. However, with the recent crackdown on fake branded products, many of these are carried under the counter.
Hongqiao is known for its pearls and there are plenty of pearl shops here: do remember that these are freshwater pearls though, which are a lower quality than saltwater pearls!

   Although the ground floor (and the basement fish stalls) are a seething mass of people al day every day, the crowds get less as you go higher up. There are some classy shops on the upper floors.Note that several buildings nearby are now part of an 'extended' Hongqiao and you may get better bargains there.There is a shop around the corner (actually behind the main Hongqiao - entrance where the car-park ramp comes out) which has vast amounts of toys, electronic games, sports goods and stationery.

   You name it, they have it. There are some nice silk tablecloths and napkins on the ground floor.
   Hongqiao is also good for binoculars.

   If you behave like a ditzy tourist, you will pay ditzy tourist prices. The trick is to know the going China rate for things, which is difficult to know unless you live here. Push hard, and walk away at least once.

Panjiayuan Market:

(Panjiayuan Market )

For many tourists to Beijing the Panjiayuan Market is a must see activity. Try to go there on a Saturday or Sunday if you are planning an itinerary for Beijing. I promise you that it's worth your extra time if you need one more day to make this feasible.

Panjiayuan is simply the best and biggest bazaar in Beijing. It has something for everybody from antiques to furniture and art as well as books and baubles. Even if you don't have any money left to buy something, Panjiayuan is still an entertaining place to browse and see interesting things. Photographers will find amusing subjects as well, especially the ethnic minorities selling their wares while dressed in their local costumes. I promise you will see something there that makes you smile, and that's makes it a relaxing getaway if you or somebody in your company is not so interested in shopping.

All kinds of souvenirs are available for sale. There are reproductions from the late Qing dynasty as well as real stuff from the Cultural Revolution era (1966- 1976).
Here is a sample of items I recall from memory: replica antique furniture, old books and maps, jade, old coins, swords, musical instruments, porcelain figurines, shadow puppets, Peking opera dolls, baskets, calligraphy, political propaganda posters, clay teapots, antique tin toys, Tibetan and other ethnic handicrafts, textiles, and trinkets from southwest China. The list goes on and on.

There also appears to be many replicas of the famous Sanxingdui bronze artifacts, a famous archeological site that was discovered near Chengdu in 1986.

The best buys are found among the Cultural Revolution items where authenticity is not likely to be an issue but you still must bargain hard for a fair price. I made the mistake of admiring one particular propaganda poster too much and the price skyrocketed after exhibiting excessive enthusiasm.

Liulichang:

(Liulichang)

Liulichang is the oldest street in Beijing. Situated outside Hepingmen, this cultural street known as ‘antique street’ by many foreign residents in Beijing. Liulichang is 750m long with a long history from Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Now, there are dozen of shop here. The area is really a good place to these who love the Chinese culture.

Ancient books, jade, gold, pottery wares, calligraphy, paintings, musical instruments, etc.