Shopping A-Z

Antiques and Curios

The Panjiayuan Jiuhuo Shichang market was once the place to look for antiques, and it still is for bric-a-brac and oddities. If you're not in town on the weekend, visit Baoguo Si Wenhua Gongyipin Shichang market , which has similar curiosities in a more pleasant setting. Any cracked and dusty treasure you find is almost certainly fake, but you won't have trouble taking it home. Genuine antiques are not allowed out of the country without an official red wax seal, and pieces made prior to 1795 cannot be exported at all. "Certified" antiques are available at astronomical prices in the Friendship Store, at a few hotel gift shops, and in some of the nicer malls. But determined antiques lovers should look elsewhere.

Art Supplies

Liulichang has many small shops and stalls selling calligraphy brushes, brush racks, chops, fans, ink stones, paper, and other art supplies. The best bargains are found in the stalls toward the far west end. The most famous outlet is Rongbao Zhai, Liulichang Xi Jie 19 (tel. 010/6303-6090), although its prices are pushed ever higher by tour groups. Even if you can't afford the prices, take a peek at the gallery on the second floor. It's open daily 9am to 5:30pm. Many art-supply shops cluster around the National Gallery. Baihua Meishu Yongpin, located diagonally across from the gallery at Wusi Dajie 12 (tel. 010/6513-1721), stocks a wide range of modern art supplies and also has a reliable framing service. It's open daily 9am to 6:30pm. The largest art store in Beijing is Gongmei Dasha at Wangfujing Dajie 200 (tel. 010/6528-8866), although its prices are high. Open daily from 9am to 9pm.

Bookstores

The bookshop on the first floor of the Friendship Store offers a wide range of English-language magazines. Maps of anyplace in China can be found on the first floor of Wangfujing Shudian, Wangfujing Dajie 218 (tel. 010/6513-2842; open daily 9am-9:30pm). The finest library of English language books can be found at The Bookworm.

Cameras & Film

Color film and processing are readily arranged, but you're probably better off waiting until you return home or pass through Hong Kong. For black-and-white processing (the only choice for depicting Beijing in winter), try Aitumei Caise Kuoyin Zhongxin, Xinjiekou Nan Dajie 87 (tel. 010/6616-0718), open daily 9am to 9pm. Beijing is not the place to buy new cameras and accessories, but those looking for secondhand parts for their ancient SLR camera, or wanting to experiment with ancient Russian swing lens cameras, have the two excellent markets listed in this section.

Coins & Stamps

Coin collectors and philatelists rub shoulders in Beijing. The largest market is Malian Dao You Bi Ka Shichang at Malian Dao 15 (open daily 8:30am-5pm), tucked away behind the tea shops, just south of yet another Carrefour supermarket. Housed in a half-empty building that resembles an aircraft hangar, you'll find stamps and envelopes commemorating great moments in Chinese diplomacy (more than you'd expect), coins and notes of all imaginable vintages, phone cards (popular with locals -- there's even a Phone Card Museum), and a large range of Cultural Revolution memorabilia. To get here, take bus no. 719 from the Fucheng Men metro stop (203, exit A) to Wanzi, cross the road, and walk south for 5 minutes. Larger post offices also have special sections offering limited-issue stamps. Coin collectors should make the trip to the Ancient Coin Market (Gudai Qianbi Jiaoyi Shichang; tel. 010/6201-8073) at Desheng Men.

Computers

In a recent local soap opera, Zhongguan Cun (touted as China's Silicon Valley), to the northwest of Beijing, was depicted as innovative, dynamic, and even sexy. Alas, with an education system that stifles creativity and a legal system incapable of enforcing intellectual property laws, copying software remains China's forte. (And software engineers are seldom sexy.) Don't rely on pirated software, but computer games usually work and computer whizzes have been known to build a computer from scratch here. Take bus no. 808 from Xi Zhi Men.

Fashion

You wouldn't travel to Beijing for the fashion any more than you'd travel to Milan for the tea, although there are some interesting couture outlets emerging at Factory 798.

Food

Carrefours dot the city, but the most convenient supermarkets for travelers to stock up on snacks are above the metro stops, and include: CRC (Guomao [122, exit A] and Wangfujing [118, exit A]), Parksons (Fuxing Men [114/204, exit A]), Oriental Kenzo (Dong Zhi Men [214, exit C]), and Sogo (Xuanwu Men [206, exit C2]).

Jewelry

Hong Qiao Shichang, also known as the Pearl Market, has dozens of jewelry stalls (mostly pearls and jade) on its third and fourth floors. Unless you're an expert, this is not a place to make large purchases.

Malls

China's new generation of leaders would love nothing better than to wake up and find a more populous version of Singapore outside the gates of Zhong Nan Hai. This isn't going to happen, but window-shopping in modern shopping malls is all the rage with Beijingers.

Modern Art

Many branches of traditional Chinese art have been on the wane since the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907). So rather than encourage the 5,000-year-old tradition of regurgitation, look for something different. It's a much better investment.

Music

Despite numerous well-publicized and photogenic police crackdowns, pirated (daoban) CDs and DVDs are readily available in Beijing, and with the proliferation of illegal music download sites, even the pirates are doing it tough. If you want to support local music, it's best to go to a concert and buy the music directly from the band. The second floor of the Foreign Language Bookstore boasts a wide range of Chinese music. There's maddening cross-talk (xiangsheng), bland mando-pop, and even a small alternative (fei zhuliu) music section featuring local bands such as Thin Man and Second Hand Rose. The alternative philosophy doesn't extend to the Western music section, which relies heavily on Richard Clayderman, Kenny G, and Boyzone.

Silk & Tailors

The third floor of Yaxiu Fuzhuang Shichang is a fine place to look for a tailor.

Toys

Mass-produced toys can be found at the toy market (wanju shichang) behind Hong Qiao Shichang, or at Alien's Street Market. Check carefully before you purchase: There are no warranties or safety guarantees!

Buying Pearls

Most of the pearls on sale at Hong Qiao Shichang are genuine, although of too low quality to be sold in Western jewelry shops. However, some fakes are floating around. To test if the pearls you want to buy are real, try any one of the following:

Nick the surface with a sharp blade (the color should be uniform within and without)

Rub the pearl across your teeth (this should make a grating sound)

Scrape the pearl on a piece of glass (real pearls leave a mark)

Pass it through a flame (fake pearls turn black, real ones don't)

Oddly, vendors are generally willing to let you carry out these tests, and may even help, albeit with bemused faces. If you'd rather not bother (most don't), assume the worst, shop for fun, and spend modestly.