Shopping in Beijing

The main shopping street in Beijing is at Wang Fu Jing. Only a small amount of cars are allowed down the street, which is of great relief to the public, because the place is crowded all day. From tourists and locals shopping, the area is just sprawling with shoppers out bargain hunting. There is the Beijing foreign language bookstore here, which has some great English books on sale. The Sun Dong An Plaza near here is a great place to go shopping, as it is one of the biggest shopping centres in Beijing. Around the Wang Fu Jing Night Market, you can tuck into fried scorpion for starters if your stomach will hold up. There is also some great hotels around here to give you a more appetising dish.

In the southwest of Beijing, you will arrive at Feng Tai District, which is mainly industrial, with lots of historical sites that are worth visiting such as the Feng Tai Park, The Marco Polo Bridge and the China Space Museum.

To the Northwest of the city, one arrives at Hai Dian District, which is also called the university district and has 2 universities located here that are considered the best in China. The area is very cool and arty and has a real vibrant atmosphere that caters for all the students needs. Hai Dian area also has a few Hi Tech companies in its locality. Lots of cheap restaurants are dotted around here as well as bars that offer great value to its student population. The bar called Solutions is very popular.

For more shopping, head over to Xi Dan and Xuan Wu where the locals shop and so you are more likely to find bargains over this side of the city. The small shops and stalls will offer you everything from shoes to CDs and quality clothes. The local shopping centres around this area are in plentiful supply, with such centres as Parksons, Xi Dan Sci - Tech and the Xi Dan Department Store.