Shanghai, China Hotels and City Guide

Shanghai - Shopping

Shopping in Shanghai

Since the first half of the 20th century, Shanghai has developed into China's largest commercial city, and along with that has come enormous shopping opportunities for visitors to enjoy. Shanghai is one of the most prosperous cities in the world, and because of that, anything you can imagine is available for purchase there. The sheer abundance of shops in the city selling both local and imported goods is astounding.

Shanghai's Shopping Areas

The major shopping areas in Shanghai are pedestrian-only Nanjing East Road, Huaihai Road, and Xujiahui. These three districts are all sought out for their mid-scale to high-end department stores and boutiques. Nanjing is famous as a main shopping street in China and certainly the busiest shopping center in Shanghai. It boasts over 600 shops including many very old shops, famous shops and stores with unique features, such as round the clock shopping. Huaihai Road has become as popular as Nanjing Road with its nearly 400 shops. In addition, the Yuyuan Market is a favorite among many due to its atmosphere of Old Shanghai.

Cultural Street on Fuzhou Road is lined art stores selling materials for Western and Chinese arts and crafts. There are also more than 30 bookstores, some of which are over 100 years old.

The renovation of Shanghai’s riverfront Bund district has brought in luxury shopping to the region. Designer labels such as Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Cartier and Patek Philippe now all enjoy beautiful views of the Huangpu River.

The French Concession is the area of the city Shanghai once designated for the French colonialists and consists of today's Luwan and Xuhui Districts. It is a great shopping area, with fashionable boutiques selling everything from designer handbags to pricey silks.

Shops by Type

Shanghai's Traditional Chinese Clothes

If you are searching for a traditional Chinese Cheongsam dress there are about 20 boutiques on Changle and Miaoming Road selling these beautiful gowns, most of which provide tailoring services.

Shanghai Fashion Store
650-690 East Nanjing Road, Huangpu District
The Shanghai Fashion Store is world famous, time-honored, five-story department store, offering a luxurious selection of traditional Chinese clothes, among many other fine goods.

Silk Stores in Shanghai

Jiangnan Silk Museum
International Shopping Center
Take a tour and learn how silk is produced from the cocoons of silk worms, and turned into the beautiful fabric we all know and love, and then purchase some beautiful items to take home. The showroom offers everything from clothing to bedspreads.

Shanghai Silk Mansion Company Ltd.
This is the biggest retail and wholesale center for silk fabrics in Shanghai, earning it the name "the king of silk” around the world. There are 10 stores throughout Shanghai.

Art and Antiques

Curio Street
Dongtai Road
The Curio Street on Dongtai Road is an antique-hunter's haven. Just over 200 meters long, the street is packed with more than 125 shops offering an incredible assortment of art and antiques. The main products are China wares, bronze and jade pieces, bamboo and wood carvings, calligraphy, paintings, Chairman Mao memorabilia, ancient ink, and paper, brushes, pens, and ink slabs. Please do your research if you are searching for true Chinese antiques, as many things are more in the collectable range. Haggling is expected.

The Art District at Taikang Road
Taikang Lu
Dozens of art galleries, trendy cafes and high-end boutiques have taken up residency in what was a somewhat run down area. Don't miss the International Artists Factory, a 4-story building that sits off the main road on Lane 210.

Shanghai's Markets

Shanghai Yatai Clothing and Gifts Market
The biggest and best of the markets is in the basement of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. There you can bargain for just about anything imaginable among the nearly 500 shops. Take Metro #2, and when you find something you are ready to buy among the massive throngs of shops, remember to pay only about a third of the original asking price.

The Jin Wen Flower Market
225 Shaanxi South Lu
The largest and oldest flower market in Shanghai with a huge area devoted to flowers, plants and accessories, both real, silk and plastic.

Jiangyin Flower and Bird Market
18-28 Huangjiajue Lu
The largest of its kind in Shanghai, this market is 200 meters long and boasts over 100 stands.

Confucius Temple Book Market
215 Wenmiao Lu, Huangpu District
A great chance to visit the splendid Confucius Temple and pick up a bargain book. A variety can be found at this market, including cartoons, novels and magazines dating from older times to the present.

Qi Pu Lu Clothing Market
168 and 183 Qipu Lu
Also known as Cheap Lu, this is the largest clothing market in Shanghai. It is in the Zhabei District, and is the closest thing a visitor will get to purchasing clothes, handbags, accessories, shoes, and jewelry at wholesale prices. Be aware that the designer labels are usually copies.

Yuyuan Bazaar
269 Fangbang Middle Road
This bazaar, in the Huangpu District, offers a remarkable selection of traditional Chinese items including paintings by folk artists, pearls from the Taihu Lake, calligraphy, old bank notes and woodcarvings.

South Bund Fabric Market
399 Lujiabang Road
This market has three floors of gorgeous fabric and expert tailors all under one roof. This is a wonderful place for the seamstress, or the person who wants to have an outfit tailor made while in Shanghai.

Cyber Market
Middle Huaihai Road
Cybermart is the place to shop for all sorts of electronics, including DVD players, iPods, laptops, digital cameras and camcorders, as well as blank CDs, DVDs, memory sticks and software.

Shanghai's Shopping Malls

All malls are open daily from 10AM to 10 PM

Super Brand Mall
168 Lujiazui Xi Lu
Located in Pudong's Lujiazui district, the Super Brand Mall is a large scale, urban shopping center with 13 floors offering more than 100 international fashion brands and a diverse range of resturants and entertainment.

The Grand Gateway
2118 Hua Shan Road
The largest shopping in the Xujiahui district, this mall has seven floors offering nearly 250 shops and restaurants. The Gateway caters to local clientele, apparent by the many Chinese stores and distinctively lower prices than many of the other malls.

Plaza 66
1266 Nanjing Xi Lu, east of Portman
Plaza 66 is the tallest building in the city, having 66 floors, the first five of which are the Plaza. Several leading fashion brands have chosen to display their clothes at The Plaza, including Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Cartier, Chanel, Dior, Fendi, Prada and Versace.

The Orient Shopping Center
8 Northwest Cao Road
This shopping center has three floors displaying cosmetics, jewelry, luggage, men's and women's fashions, office supplies household goods, children's wear, shoes and toys. There is even a children's play area.

Shanghai Westgate Mall
12F Westgate Tower, 1038 West Nanjing Road
Many locals shop here for the famous designer names such as Giovanni Valentino and Burberry, Guess, Clinique, Nine West and Versace. The mall is ten levels of shops, many of them high-end apparel boutiques.

International Shopping Center
Located at the intersection of Huaihai Zhong Road and Chengdu Road
This mall has a beautiful layout, with gardens among the buildings. On the 6th floor, there are all kinds of specialty stores, making it an ideal place for customers to enjoy the elegant environment. There are also a couple of duty-free shops supplying imported goods.

Bailian Shimao International Plaza
819 East Nanjing Road, Huangpu District
Eight stories of shopping with high profile names such as Givenchy, S. T. Dupont, Cerruti 1881, and Brooks Brothers. Also an array of restaurants and cafes.

Central Plaza
381 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near MadangLu
The spacious, elegant feel of Central Plaza has encouraged many high-end international brand name retailers to open flagship stores in Shanghai, as well as several restaurants offering a diverse choice of cuisine.

Dimei Plaza
Xizang Nan Lu, People Square
It's the first completely underground shopping mall in Shanghai, where young people love to shop for trendy, competitively priced clothes.

Shanghai Tax Refunds

There is currently no tax refund available to tourists.

Hotels in Shanghai, China