Beijing : Shop Together
China is an interesting place to go shopping, and Beijing has a long history as a commercial and cultural center. There are plenty of shopping to be had in Beijing now. Mostly souvenirs, followed by rip-off designer ware, pirate dvds, fake Chinese antiques etc. Reasonably priced electronics. However, lack of standards require you to be very careful about what you buy. The return policy is non-existent in 98% of stores so they make you try your purchase out extensively before you leave the store. Credit cards are accepted in about 10% of stores but this situation is getting better as 2008 (Olympics year) approaches.
Dashilan
The oldest commercial street in Beijing is Dasilan, the most famous and peculiar prosperous street. Its history can be traced back to five hundred and eighty years ago when the Emperor ordered to build fences to prevent thieves from hiding. The fences built here were quite peculiar and kept for a long time. Later, Big Fences became the name of this street: Dashilan.
Hong Qiao
Located down the street from the Temple of Heaven, this is an indoor market with everything you can imagine - coats, jewelery, scarves, purses, little trinkets, etc. It's a good alternative to shopping at the outdoor street markets when it gets cold outside.
Wangfujing Street
Wangfujing, a seven hundred-year-old commercial street, is located to the east of Tiananmen Square and stretches from Chinese Art Gallery to the Dongchan'an Avenue. It houses a wide variety of shops and boutiques where you can find all kinds of commodities, some of which are of world-famous brands. The recently finished Oriental Plaza (Dongfang Guangchang) adds more charm to Wangfujing.
Dongdan Market Street
The street has experienced a boom recently, and is famous for selling imported goods. It is also known as the Silver Street, as opposed to the Golden Street-Wangfujing-about one block to its west.
Jewellery
Thailand is one of the world's leading exporters of gems and ornaments. If you know what you are doing, you can make some excellent deals in both unset gems and finished jewellery, If you are a first timer in jewellery shopping then make sure to never allow a tout or a new-found friend take you shopping.
Other major Westernized shopping areas include the section of Jianguo Men Wai Dajie between the Friendship Store and the China World Trade Center, and the neighborhood outside the Northeast Third Ring Road North, southeast of San Yuan Qiao around the new embassy district.
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