Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SHOPPING
|KITES
THREE STONE KITE SHOP
( Sānshízhāi Fēngzhēng; 8404 4505; 25 Di'anmen Xidajie, 9am-9pm; Nanluogu Xiang)
Kites by ap-
pointment to the former Qing emperors; the great-grandfather of the owner of this friendly
store used to make the kites for the Chinese royal family. There's a tremendous selection,
ranging from the cheaper and smaller ones (¥180), to huge handmade, hand-painted kites
decorated with dragons and multicoloured butterflies which you can see in the air for miles
around. You can also find the gear you'll need to fly your new kite here, as well as mini-
ature framed kites, which make great gifts.
77TH STREET
(77 Qīshíqī Jiē; 6608 7177; B2-3F, 180 Xidan Beidajie, 10am-10pm; Xīdān)
Descend the stairs into
this unique underground mall and see where ordinary teenage and 20-something Beijingers
go for their clothes and accessories. It opens out into a huge, circular, three-storey collec-
tion of hundreds of stores. As well as funky T-shirts, belts and bags, there are shoe shops
galore and a food court. It's lots of fun, but a madhouse at weekends. To get there walk
north on Xidan Beidajie from the subway and the entrance is 50m ahead - look for the 77th
Street sign.
|SHOPPING MALL
BĚIJĪNG ZOO MARKET
( Dòngwùyuán Shìchǎng; Xizhimenwai Dajie, 6am-5pm; Běijīng Zoo)
Another key shopping spot for
young Beijingers, this chaotic market sprawls across no less than seven buildings directly
opposite the Běijīng Zoo (hence the name) and takes in everything from cosmetics to
clothes, handbags and shoes. It's best for super-cheap T-shirts (from ¥30) and tops, knock-
off jeans and other streetwear. There's no English spoken here, and sizes might be a prob-
lem for the larger traveller, but the prices are far cheaper than any other market in town and
fashionistas will find a few diamonds among the dross. Kids' clothes are on the 3rd floor
and the better-quality gear is on the top floors.
|CLOTHES MARKET
BĚIJĪNG BOOKS BUILDING
( Běijīng Túshū Dàshà; 6607 8477; 17 Xichang'an Jie, 9am-9pm; Xīdān)
Massive emporium
crammed with tomes of all descriptions. The ones in English, and some other foreign lan-
guages too, are in the basement. The selection of English-language fiction is ever-improv-
|BOOKS
