Shopping, Beijing

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After visiting Liulichang Cultural Street, I continued walking south of Nan Xin Hua Jie. Then I saw the signboard " Zhang Jia Qiao Hu Tong ", so I followed the signboard to explore this part of the Hutong in Beijing. This part of the Hutong is very original with old and ancient alleys, typical low rise brick buildings, mostly residential. I continued walking toward east of Tie Shu Xie Jie, and then connected with Dashilan West Street. When I reached Dashilan street, I felt like I reached the downtown of ancient Beijing. There are slightly higher commercial buildings with shops, banks, the famous Daguanlou cinema, restaurants, hotels, and etc. There are very similar to Qianmen street, but those buildings looks more original without much restored.

I went into this restaurant, Tian Hai (Sky Sea Restaurant). It was amazing, the waiter and waitress wearing traditional ancient uniforms serving foods in this restaurant of a historical building. The customers and staffs were friendly talking in original Beijing dialect.

Don't miss the Daguanlou Cinema...

In Chinese: 大栅栏街 (Da Shan Lan Jie)

Dad used to buy some old traditional things,such as Chinese writings, paintings, stamps...
The translation of this writing is: "The duty of the sage ruler is not to do things, but rather to undo or not to do at all". That is the belief of China Taoism. A chinese has written a book to say that, Taoism by Lao Tzu is actually much or less the same as the one in bibel. So I like Lao Tzu more than Confucius. And he is the teacher of Confucius.
If u want to buy something like that, or jade, china...come here:

Located on Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District, near the northeast embassy area,just west of Sanlitun Jiuba Jie, is open daily from 9:30am to 8:00pm， is similar to the Silk Market, It's an indoor 4-floor store,Beijing's clothing Bazaar .It is also as crowded.
It's full of fake designer, jeans, shoes and ladies wear and so on. You can find a lot of clothing and daily necessities on the first and second floor. Good tailors can be found on the third floor. The fourth floor is a fine hunting ground for souvenirs and gifts -- there are kites from Weifang in Shandong, calligraphy materials, army surplus gear, tea sets, and farmer's paintings from Xi'an.

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At the Silk Market, shopping isn't an activity. It's an experience, a first-class mental and physical workout.

Shopping in China is great theater. And the Silk Market is pretty much the Carnegie Hall of Beijing.

Here's what the Fodor's tour guide said about it: "The intensity of the bargaining and the sheer number of goods available are pretty much unsurpassed anywhere else in the world."

You can find just about anything you want here but the main items are silk goods, jeans, luggage, men's suits and knock-off women's accessories, like purses and shoes. There's also a healthy collection of kitschy "Maomorabilia."

The vendors are the real gems at the Silk Market. Ninety-five percent of them are young women, and they are more aggressive than mixed martial arts champions. The narrow lanes between the market stands serve as the perfect gauntlet for their attacks. From the moment you enter, they are in your face, offering all manner of crafty come-on lines: "Mistah, you be good husband. Buy you wife scarf." "Sir, you handsome. You want T-shirt. Me make you deal." "USA, No. 1." And on and on it went, down ever lane, around every corner.

Silk Street is a large modern shopping centre that contains over 1,700 vendors who, mostly, sell counterfeit designer brand clothing and shoes. As well as this, their are stalls selling traditional Chinese handicrafts, antiques, calligraphy, carpets, table cloths, bed coverings, paintings, hand-knit dresses, toys, electronic gadgets, trinkets, and fine jewellery. Opened on March 19, 2005, and replacing the old alley-based Xiushui Market, the shopping centre attracts thousands of foreign tourists looking for counterfeit bargains. The place can feel very intimidating with vendors trying to attract you into their area. Remember to bargain as hard as you can and don't, by any means, accept their first price. It's all a 'game' and you remember that and that the items they sell aren't legitimate.

Open: 9am-9pm.

i have been to the Pearl Market several times and it is always good.

There are 5 floors of different goods. The pearl floor is the main attraction of the market. Here you can get pearls at ridiculously cheap prices (however always check the quality). Many sellers will also tailor make pearl jewellery to your needs. I always walk away with some pearl item when I visit.

The other floors have various goods such as:
- Fake designer bags, wallets, belts
- Shoes
- Fake designer jackets, shirts, jeans, jumpers, t-shirts, dresses
- 'Traditional' chinese tablecloths, bedspreads, placemats, etc (although the silk market is better for these things)

TIPS:
- You MUST bargain at the Pearl Market. Do it with a smile, a laugh and never get angry or offensive. It is a lot of fun if you don't take it seriously. Everyone will get ripped off at some point, so just take it as part of the experience.
- Never feel bad, even if they look sad and tell you that your price is so low they can't feed their family. If that were true they would not sell it to you for that price.
- Always check the quality of the products. Gently pull the seams, check the zips, and on handbags always check handles.
- If you are willing to pay more for a better product ask for "Triple A" quality. These are the very best fake designer goods and are never on display. They cost more but look better and last longer.
- Beware of pickpckets. They are known to frequent the Pearl Market after tourists.

If you are on a tour, you are almost guaranteed to have the opportunity to visit a factory to see how cloisonne enamel is made. Afterwards, there will be a retail opportunity to buy some!

It is actually quite interesting to see how the designs are made with copper wire and then filled with powdered glass.

The inevitable shop at the end of the tour has some beautiful items, but they are not cheap, so be careful about your budget.

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It is amazing how often you will have a stall holder hold out their hand and say, “I remember you!”
Other favorites…
“Oh, you are killing me.”
“You are breaking my heart because you don’t buy from my store.”
“Real, not copy.”
“I have special morning price for you.”
“I have special afternoon price for you.”
“OK, how much you pay.”

Let’s face it.
A Polo "brand" or Jeep "brand" polo-shirt is approx 50 Yuan.
A "brand name" hand bag is approx 100 Yuan.
Leather "brand name" belts are approx 25 Yuan.
Polo "brand" short sleeve shirts are approx 70 Yuan.
"Brand name" watches are approx 100 to 120 yuan.

How do I know? That’s what I paid!