Go shopping in Beijing with suggestions, feedback, tips and pictures written by real travelers and Beijing eTours. Shopping in Beijing is becoming more convenient by the day. Every year new shopping centers and plazas are sprouting up all over the capital.

Wangfujing Street
Wangfujing is the most fashionable and trendy shopping street in the central Beijing. This street is considered as NO 1 street in China. A short walk south of the Forbidden City and east of Tiananmen Square, it's a cluster of international stores full of fanshionable clothes and narrow lanes ( hutongs ) of antiques and food stalls. There are also cinemas and large bookstores. The main street is a pedestrian street and ideal for walking. At the south end of Wangfujing Street, Oriental Plaza provides various shops and high fashions. Even if you don't need to buy anything, it's a good place for people walking and checking out the richer, more trendy side of Beijing. There is also a Christian church in the street, and you can find starbucks by the church. If you like Beijing snack, right next to this there is place full of all kinds of street food during night time.
ADD: East of Tiananmen Square.

Silk Market
Located to the east section of Changan Stree, it is a six story building that provides everything with a restaurant on the sixth floor. Silk Market is open from 8:30am till 9:00 am from October to March. For the rest of the year, it is open until 11:00pm. The best time to go shopping here is during the week (not weekends) in the early mornings. You need some time to get use to the bargain if you are not familiar with the bargaining system. Very often the opening prices are always 3-6 times higher than what they will eventually take for the product. If you are using western thinking about what the products are worth, then you will loose your money in the bargaining process. We found that there were better qualities in about every item and you just had to ask for them for better quality and they keep bringing out higher qualities of the same items. This was especially true for women's purses and all watches.
Add: East of Friendship Store on the Chang'an Street.

Hongqiao Market (Pearl Market)
Hongqiao Market is also named Pearl Market. The name of Pearl Market is a little bit misleading. This huge market actually provides everything ranging from small knifes, copy watches, sports wear, bags, shoes and actual jewelry. It looks somehow messed up. On ground floor you can find some electronics, basic photo equipment, copy watches and other small stuff. On second floor they have shoes, women's and men's clothes, bags and some sporting goods. At the top of the store they keep pearls, other jewelry and souvenirs (lamps, stamps, coins, kites, silk craft and many more).
Add: North or East Gate of the Temple of Heaven.

Panjiayuan Market
For many tourists to Beijing, the Panjiayuan Market is a must see free market. It is open on the weekens. So you manage to go there on a Saturday or Sunday if you are planning a travel plan for Beijing. 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 a funny place to walk around and see interesting things. Photographers will find amusing subjects as well, especially the ethnic minorities selling their wares while dressed in their local costumes.
Add: No. 200 West of Panjiayuan Bridge and south of the East Third Ring Road (between Panjiayuan Bridge and Huawei Bridge), in the Chaoyang district.

Xidan: Shopping Area among the Locals
Xidan Market is the shopping paradise for the locals ( local people in Beijing ). There is a department store with Starbuck and McDonalds. The shopping centre is crowded. Further north is the Xidan Market and bargain here is required. The store assistants speaks little or no english. Xidan has many shops that sell cheap men and women's casual clothing. Of course, you can find quality clothes there. This is more non-touristy shopping compared to Wangfujing and as a result, prices can be lower.
Add: 1km north of Entrance A - Xidan Subway Station of Line No.01.

Liulichang Antiques Street: Biggest Antiques Area
Liulichang is the oldest street in Beijing. Located outside Hepingmen, this cultural street is 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 lots of shops here. The area is really a nice place to these who love the Chinese culture. They sell such typical Chinese stuff as ancient books, jade, gold, pottery wares, calligraphy, paintings, musical instruments, etc.
Add: a few minutes' walk south of Hepingmen Subway station. The antique shops are on both sides of the major street.

Lufthansa Center
The Lufthansa Shopping Center has a very rich selection of the best goods you can buy at Beijing. Most people believe that people have to be ready for the extremely astronomical prices at the Lufthansa Center Department Store.
Add: 50 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District.

Laitai Flower Market
The Laitai flower market is one of the largest non-clothes markets on the east side of Beijing. But still you can find plenty of clothes in the huge underground market below it! Lai Tai is a good place for particulary cold days, as the good selection of flowers, plants and orchids are interesting, even if you are not buying, just walking around. At the back of the building, and on the right hand side, there are about 20 shops selling aquariums and aquarium equipment. Note that the best area for cut-flowers - at cut rate prices - is hidden away behnd those aquarium shops in a long hall running along the northern side of the building. The Chinese love their flowers and love their aquariums, so this is a nice place to see local people haggling over the prices.
Hours: Mon - Fri 9:00am to 5:30pm, Sat & Sun 9:00am to 6:00pm
Address: 9 Maizidian Xilu, Chaoyang District, Beijing