ShoppinginBeijingDetailedinformationondifferentplacesofshoppingincludingspecialmarketsforspecialgoodslikeantiques,artsandcrafts,paintingsandcalligraphy,silkandbooksandopenmarkets,freemarkets,smallshopsandsomespecialshops.WangfujingStreetWangfujing,asevenhundred-year-oldcommercialstreet,islocatedtotheeastofTiananmenSquareandstretchesfromChineseArtGallerytotheDongchan'anAvenue.Ithousesawidevarietyofshopsandboutiqueswhereyoucanfindallkindsofcommodities,someofwhichareofworld-famousbrands.TherecentlyfinishedOrientalPlaza(DongfangGuangchang)addsmorecharmtoWangfujing.Besidesmoderndepartmentstores,theForeignLanguageBookstoreisalsointhisarea.TheOld-Beijing-Streetisnowseatedunderground,whichwasbuiltanddecoratedinMingandQingstyle.Theoutstandingcharacteristicofitisthecentralizedwell-knownlongstandingstoressellingshoes,caps,silkcloth,scissors,Chinesebrushesandink-stick,jadearticles,tea,desserts,pickledvegetables,roastducksandsoon.Themostpopularsitesforsouvenirphotosarethesculpturesonbothstreetsides,reflectinglifeofoldBeijing.XidanCommercialStreetXidanCommercialStreetisonXidanbeiDajie,westofTiananmenSquareandisfamousforcommerce,entertainment,dinning,andfinanceandsoforth.LikeWangfujing,youalsocanseemodernandoldstoreshere.LiulichangCultureStreetForcollectorsofantiques,LiulichangCultureStreetisaplaceyoushouldnotmiss.Itonlyneedsafewminutes'walkfromthesouthofHepingmensubwaystation.Itisatraditionalculturalmarketsellingjewelry,antiquesandancientcalligraphiesandpaintings.Notethatantiquesoveronehundredyearsoldaremarkedwitharedsealandanexportlicensemustbesignedinordertotakethemoutofthecountry.Thebest-knownshopinthisstreetisRongBaoZhai,whichwasopenedaboutthreehundredyearsago,anditsellsauthenticworksofpaintingsandcalligraphies.Therearealsoshopswitholdwatchesandfurniture.DashilanTheoldestcommercialstreetinBeijingisDasilan,themostfamousandpeculiarprosperousstreet.ItshistorycanbetracedbacktofivehundredandeightyyearsagowhentheEmperororderedtobuildfencestopreventthievesfromhiding.Thefencesbuiltherewerequitepeculiarandkeptforalongtime.Later,BigFencesbecamethenameofthisstreet:Dashilan.DashilanissituatedonsouthofTiananmenSquare,westofQianmenDajie,wheremanycentury-oldshopsandrestaurantsstand.Youcanbuysometraditionalhandcraftsaswell.Notethatbargainingisalwaysneeded.SilkAlley(XiushuiStreet)SilkAlleyliesinXiushuidongJieoffJianguomenwaiDajie,nearUSEmbassy.ItisagoodplacetobuycheapergoodsandtheresidentforeignersinBeijingcomeherefrequently.Whateveryouwanttobuy,likebags,shoes,handicraftsorsweaters,youcanbargainwiththeowners.
