IV. Shopping in Beijing: Enjoy the Spree
As a modern metropolis, Beijing enjoys rapid economic development. Dozens of commercial streets spread all over the city. Be it famous traditional commercial streets, or unique themed streets, all provide you with convenient transportation, great diversity of goods, full set of supporting facilities, good environment and quality service. Hope you enjoy shopping in Beijing!
1. Wangfujing Commercial Area
On this famous commercial street with over 700 years of history, you can find numerous brands. The Gongmei Building, Foreign Language Bookstore, Lisheng Sports Goods, Beijing Department Store, Shengxifu Hatter's Shop, Tongshenghe Shoes, Hengdeli Clocks and Watches, and many other time-honored brands are all located on this street. Some modern shopping centers can also be found here, such as the Oriental Plaza, The Oriental Plaza Malls and APM. On the nearby Jinbao Street, besides lots of hotels, you will also find Jingbao Place, a shopping center mainly for luxury goods.
Major Shopping Malls: (1) Oriental Plaza (2) Beijing Department Store (3) APM (4) New Yansha Jinjie Shopping Mall
How to get there
By subway: take Line 1 to Wangfujing Station
2. Chongwenmen Commercial Area
Chongwenmen Commercial Area extends northward to Dongdan Park, southward to Liangguang Road, westward to Qi'nian Street, eastward to Huashi Street, and is adjacent to Wangfujing Commercial Area in the northwest. Chongwenmen Commercial Area is home to a number of large shopping malls, entertainment and leisure facilities, a lot of restaurants and small street shops and is an important shopping area in south Beijing.
Major shopping malls: (1) Glory Mall (2) New World Department Store (3) SoShow
How to get there: take Subway Line 2 or Line 5 to Chongwenmen Station
3. Central Business District (CBD)
Since its establishment, Beijing's CBD has witnessed astonishing changes at an astonishing speed. In just over 10 years, the former industrial zone with old plants built in the 1950s has developed into Beijing's largest, most international high-end business district.
Major shopping malls: (1) China World Shopping Mall (2) China Central Mall (3) Wanda Shopping Plaza (4) SKP Beijing
How to get there: take Subway Line 1 or Line 10 to Guomao Station
4. Chaowai Commercial Area
Chaowai Commercial Area connects the 2nd and 3rd ring roads with a planning area of 1 million square meters. With Chaowai Street as the central axis, it extends westward to Huapu Building and Full-link Plaza, eastward to Blue Island Tower. Only 6 kilometers from Tian'anmen Square, Chaowai is widely recognized as a high-end diversified commercial district.
Major shopping malls: (1) U-Town Shopping Center (2) Full-link Plaza (3) BuyNow Electronics Market (4) Blue Island Tower
How to get there: take Subway Line 2 or Line 6 to Chaoyangmen Station
5. Sanlitun Commercial Area
Sanlitun is so named because it was originally a farm house 3 li (1.5km) away from Beijing's city wall. The former Sanlitun was a typical example of Beijing's "night economy" and was full of prodigal atmosphere. When lights are turned on at night, friends flood to bars chatting and drinking. Today's Sanlitun is no longer only the synonym for its bar street. More and more leisure facilities and shopping malls are being built here. With the completion of the Sanlitun Tai Koo Li, a lot of international fashion brands have entered; and the newly-built comprehensive commercial facilities, newly-arrived enterprises, foreign companies and high-end residential apartments have attracted a large group of white-collar workers with both high income and high spending power. Thus, the former bar street gradually evolved into the Sanlitun Commercial Area, a new stronghold for trend-setters.
Main shopping malls: (1) Sanlitun Tai Koo Li (2) Sanlitun SOHO
How to get there: take Bus 113 / 115 / 431 / 701 / Express 16 (特16) / night 34 (夜34) / night 3 (夜3) to Sanlitun Stop
6. Dongzhimen Commercial Area
Dongzhimen Commercial Area's development is based on the layout of Dongzhimen transportation junction, which brings together 18 bus lines, urban railway and subway lines. The direct subway line to and from Capital International Airport makes Dongzhimen the first Commercial Area tourists arrive in Beijing. The two representative shopping malls, Ginza Mall and Raffles City, offer guests with overwhelming experiences. Besides, Guijie Food Street, located in this area, is a special attraction for foodies in Beijing. Along the 1442-meter Dongnei Street, there are countless restaurants and beverage shops. Almost all the popular food in Beijing are first sold on Guijie Street.
Major shopping malls: (1) Raffles City (2) Wanguocheng MOMA
How to get there: take Subway Line 2 or Line 13 or the Airport Express Line to Dongzhimen Station
7. Xidan Commercial Area
Xidan Commercial Area is home to a dozen buildings such as Xidan Shopping Center, Huawei Mall, Hua'nan Mall, Xidan Cultural Square, the building of Bank of China and Beijing Times Square. It is a traditional commercial area in Beijing and has always been a leading shopping center thanks to convenient transportation as it is located at the center of Beijing.
Main shopping Malls: (1) Xidan Joy City (2) Hanguang Department Store (3) The Grand Pacific Mall
Location: Xidan Commercial Area stretches from Xuanwumen in the south to Xinjiekouhuokou in the north, with a toal length of 5.4 kilometers.
How to get there: take Subway Line 1 or Line 4 to Xidan Station
8. Financial Street Commercial Area
Financial Street Commercial Area is situated on the east side of the West 2nd Ring Road, extending from Fuxingmennei Street in the south to Fuchengmen Street in the north. Two world-renowned five-star hotels, Westin and Ritz-Carlton, are located in this area. Guests staying at these five-star hotels not only can buy high-end goods at Seasons Place but also negotiate business at the hotels' cafés.
Main shopping malls: (1) Fuxingmen Parkson (2) Seasons Place (3) Chang'an Market
How to get there: take Subway Line 1 or Line 2 to Fuxingmen Station
9. Gongzhufen Commercial Area
Gongzhufen Commercial Area is the oldest and largest city-level commercial center in the west of Beijing. Landmark buildings in this area include the Urban-Rural Trade Center and Cuiwei Department Store. Around them, you can find all types of street shops selling clothing, shoes, hats, cellphones, drinks and snacks, making the area a famous comprehensive business district. Gongzhufen Commercial Area situates at the intersection of the West 3rd Ring Road middle section and the west extension of Chang'an Avenue, therefore has large passenger flow and high popularity, giving the area a strong commercial atmosphere.
Main shopping malls: (1) Urban-Rural Trade Center (2) Cuiwei Department Store (3) CapitaMall
How to get there: take Subway Line 1 to Gongzhufen Station
10. Ya'ao Commercial Area (Asian Games and Olympics Commercial Area)
Ya'ao Commercial Area is not only home to most of the venues of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, but also a national forest park and thousands of well-developed medium and high-end communities. Once a hotspot in 2008, it has enjoyed rapid development in recent years with popular sites such as the Fifth Avenue, North Star Shopping Center, Sunshine Square, and Piaoliang Square.
Main shopping malls: (1) Longde Plaza (2) Piaoliang Square (3) Xin'ao Shopping Center
How to get there: take Subway Line 8 or Line 15 to Olympic Green station.
11. Zhongguancun Commercial Area
Zhongguancun Commercial Area is one of the fastest growing commercial areas in recent years. It has spread from the North 3rd Ring Road to the 4th Ring Road. With continuous industrial upgrading, business formats are also transforming from traditional department stores to modern shopping malls. Besides, Zhongguancun is most famous for its status as the largest distribution center of IT and digital products in northern China.
Main shopping malls: (1) EC Mall (2) Modern Plaza (3) Shuang'an Mall
How to get there: take Subway Line 4 to Zhongguancun Station
12. Wangjing Commercial Area
Located between Beijing's Northeast 4th Ring Road and the 5th Ring Road, Wangjing is an important commercial area where white-collar workers and foreign students love to flock to. In Wangjing, you can find restaurants selling all kinds of food, no matter it's Chinese food, Japanese cuisine, or Korean barbecue and snacks. You don't need to worry that you can't satisfy your appetite, only that you may not have enough time to enjoy them all.
Main shopping malls: (1) CapitaMall Wangjing (2) Wangjiao Shopping Square (3) Fangheng Shopping Center
How to get there: take Subway Line 14 (eastern section) or Line 15 to Wangjing station
13. Qianmen Street
Qianmen Street, with a history of more than 500 years, is located on the central axis of Beijing. After renovation, the street takes on a look reminiscent of the 1920s and 1930s. At present, in addition to well-known Chinese time-honored brands like Tianfuhao and Neiliansheng, there are also many famous international brands opening stores on Qianmen Street. On the west side of Qianmen Street is the Dashilar commercial street, which stretches for 275 meters from east to west. Established in 1420 (the 18th year of Yongle Emperor's reign in the Ming Dynasty), after more than 500 years of development, it has gradually developed into a commercial street lined with stores. Famous time-honored brands such as Tongrentang, Refosian and Zhangyiyuan all have shops here.
Main shopping malls: (1) Beijing Fun (2) Dashilar Shopping Center
Location: Qianmen street stretches between the 5th Memorial Archway of Zhengyangmen in the north and Zhushikou in the south, with a total length of 840 meters.
How to get there: take Subway Line 2 to Qianmen Station
14. Liulichang Cultural Street
Liulichang Cultural Street is a world-famous cultural and tourist block, a place that brings together products most representative of traditional Chinese culture, from ancient books, writing brushes, ink sticks, xuan paper and inkstones to antiques and collectables. Many traditional old stores are worth a visit. For example, Rongbaozhai, which is famous for its calligraphy and painting, and Chinese Book Store known for its collection of ancient books.
Main shopping malls: (1) SOGO (2) Fuzhuo Mall
Location: Liulichang Cultural Street extends southward to Hepingmen, westward to Nanbeiliuxiang, eastward to Yanshousi Street, with a total length of about 800 meters.
How to get there: take Subway Line 2 to Hepingmen Station.
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