|
Shopping
There are more than 13,000 retails stores in the city.
Some of the more famous stores and bazaars are described here.
Wangfujing, a seven hundred-year-old commercial street, is located to
the east of Tian'anmen 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. Besides
modern department stores, the Foreign Language Bookstore is also in
this area. The Old-Beijing-Street is now seated underground, which was
built and decorated in Ming and Qing style. The outstanding
characteristic of it is the centralized well-known longstanding stores
selling shoes, caps, silk cloth, scissors, Chinese brushes and
ink-stick, jade articles, tea, desserts, pickled vegetables, roast
ducks and so on. The most popular sites for souvenir
photos are the sculptures on both street sides, reflecting life of old
Beijing. Qianmen Street is south of Tian’ anmen Square.
In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, it was a commercial center of
the old capital. Dazhalan is in the west, Xianyukou in the east, and
the Tianqiao Bazaar in the south. The old stores in this area, with a
history of over 100 years, still do a good business. The Liubiju
Pickle Shop, opened in 1530, retains traditional methods of preparing
pickled vegetables; Yan Song, a court official of the Ming Dynasty,
wrote its three-character signboard. Quanyechang Bazaar,
with over 200 stores and stalls, has been converted into the Xinxin
Garment Store, the largest of its kind in Beijing. Its competitors are
the Lantian Garment Store at Wangfujing, Xidan Garment Store on Xidan
North Street and the Zaocun Garment Store of Xisi. The
two centuries old Yueshengzhai sells flavored beef and mutton. Its
meat was served in the imperial dining room in the old days.
Xidan Street, one of the three major business districts, is located
directly west of Tian’ anmen Square. There are 200 shops on this
north-south street. The largest are the Xidan Market and Xidan Bazaar.
The bazaar includes a food store, bookstore, deli, and a general
merchandise department. It is the third largest department store in
Beijing. The eight-story Longfu Building (formerly
Dongsi People’s Bazaar) is Beijing’s largest commercial facility. Its
escalators move customers smoothly up through five floors of shopping
areas to the sixth floor exhibition hall. The Heping
Commercial Building, the fourth largest in Beijing, has a floor space
of 10,000 square meters. Of its six floors, the first three are for
business, and the fourth is an exhibition hall. Manufacturers from all
over the country display products there. There are also
over 40 smaller commercial centers and streets. They are located in:
East City District-Dongdan, Dongsi, Beixinqiao, and hepingli; West
City District-Xisi, Sanlihe, Xinjiekou, Baitasi, and Di’ anmen;
Chongwen District-Huashi, Tianqiao, Muxuyuan, and Yongdingmen;
Xuanwumen District- Caishikou, Hufangqiao, Baiguanglu, and Guang’
anmen; Haidian District- Ganjiakou and Haidianzhen; Chaoyang District-Sanlitun
and Guandongdian. The Beijing Friendship Store is a
major attraction for embassy personnel, foreign guests, and overseas
Chinese residents. It is conveniently located on Jianguomenwai Street.
Food, general merchandise, arts and crafts, jewelry, furniture,
carpets, and fresh flowers are sold here. They also
handle tailoring, dyeing and mending of clothes, and international
shipping. Purchases may be made through the mail. |
