Shopping
The opening up of Beijing to the west has had a profound impact on shopping. A wide range of consumer goods (both local and imported) are now available and shopping malls, luxury brand outlets and car dealerships are mushrooming across the city. The new Jinyuan shopping mall is the city’s largest, while Oriental Plaza (underneath Grand Hyatt) also has a popular food court and supermarket. The China World Centre caters to those with upscale brand obsessions and large wallets. The main shopping area is pedestrianised Wangfujing Dajie, crammed with foreign brand outlets and department stores. The best clothes shops are on Dong Dan Bei Dajie, as well as Silk Alley, Xiushui Dong Jie off Jianguomenwai Dajie, which also has silk stalls. Here, prices are displayed but it is worth bargaining. Just along the road is the famous Friendship Store, which has several floors of tourist souvenirs, laquerware, jewellery and Chinese tea.
Collectors of antiques should make for Liulichang, a few minutes’ walk south of Heping Men subway station. This market is crammed with ancient-style shops, reconstructed in a traditional way and stocking a bewildering array of antiques and curios. Note that antiques over 100 years old are marked with a red wax seal and an export licence must be issued in order to take them out of the country. The weekend market at Panjiayuan Jiuhuo Shichang is an enormous, open-air place with great bargains on items such as jade, wood panelling, pottery and bric-a-brac.
Most shops are open daily 0900-2200.
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