It has been a great pleasure to shop in Beijing since it is rich in history and culture as well as it is increasingly internationalized and modernized. You can almost buy anything in Beijing ranging from luxurious LV bags to traditional handicrafts. Below are some of the top commercial streets that we strongly recommend you to visit.
Wangfujing Street (王府井大街)
The Wangfujing Street is considered to be the city heart nowadays. Starts with East Chang'an Avenue in the south and ends with China Art Gallery in the north, Wangfujing Street is a fairly long street and an end to end walk will take you around 30 minutes without looking at any stores. This 700-year-old commercial street is 810 meters (0.5 miles) long and 40 meters (43.7 yards) wide. There are more than 600,000 people every day come to the street and the number can be doubled during holiday. The street has two major shopping malls, one of which, Oriental Plaza, sprawls a further 2 blocks to the east (and another 15 minute walk). Wangfujing is also famous for its time honored stores with traditional commodities standing in the street for hundreds of years, including souvenir stores, food stalls and Chinese painting stores etc. Nowadays Wangfujing Dajie is a modern commercial street which is said to be the sister street of the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
Location: You can take the subway and get off at the Line 1 Wangfujing (118) station. Alternatively, you can of course take the taxi.
Xidan Commercial Street (西单商业街)
Xidan Street is one of the most famous and traditional commercial area in Beijing known as ‘the second Wangfujing’. It lies 2 kilometers west of Tiananmen Square and starting from Xuanwu Gate in the south, the commercial street is 5.4 kilometers (3.4 miles) long. The history of Xidan can be dated back to the Ming Dynasty and it has blossomed as a commercial center in the western part of Beijing City since then. There are many shopping malls in Xidan Commercial Area, such as Xidan Market, Xidan Shopping Center, Zhongyou Department Store, and some time honored shops like Guixiangcun food shop, Wanli shoes shop, Yuanchanghou tea house, etc. The central area of the commercial street is the recreation square. Xidan Cultural Square is the largest venue for cultural entertainment along Chang'an Street, congested of underground restaurants, markets, cinema, bowling alley, swimming pool, rock-climbing club and the largest mirror palace in the country. To let you know, the renowned Beijing Concert Hall and the Capital Cinema also lie on the street.
Location: It is located at the geometric center of Beijing. It starts from Xuanwumen in the south to Xinjiekouhuokou in the north.
The Silk Market (Xiushui秀水街)
Used to be an open air market full of featured stalls, the Silk Market has turned into a seven story building which houses everything from traditional Chinese handicrafts, antiques, calligraphy, carpets, table cloths, bed coverings, paintings, hand-knit dresses, toys and so on. Just as its name suggests, the Silk Market is also full of beautiful silk products (pajamas, robes, shirts, scarves) as well as textiles (cashmere scarves, clothes of all types, tablecloths, etc.), and other handcrafts. Everything here can be had cheaper than at any of the stores in the city, but remember to bargain for it.
Location: Silk Street located about 1km east of Friendship Store, Exit A from the Yonganli subway station of Subway Line 1.
Official Website: http://www.silkstreet.cc/templet/default/
Panjiayuan Market (潘家园)
Beijing Panjiayuan Flea Market is located at the southwest of Panjiayuan Bridge, South road of East third ring road, Chaoyang District, Beijing. Covering an area of 48,500 square meters, it is divided into six sections: Roadside stands, Ancient Architecture, Classical Furniture, Modern collection, Sculpture and Stone Engraving, and the Catering section. Trading mostly in antiques, handicrafts, ornaments, and other collectibles, Panjiayuan has annual revenue of several hundred million yuan. Having more than four thousand shop owners, this market has nearly ten thousand shop assistants in which sixty percent are from the other twenty-eight provinces and municipalities except Beijing. For many tourists to Beijing, Panjiayuan Market is always a must-go spot. The best bargains are to be found early on a Sunday morning.
Location: West of Panjiayuan Bridge (between Panjiayuan Bridge and Huawei Bridge), in the Chaoyang district.
Official Website: http://www.panjiayuan.com/
