Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SHOPPING
Dashilar & Xīchéng South is one of the capital's best neighbourhoods for shopping. Apart from Dashilar (
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HERE
) itself, Liulichang (meaning 'glazed-tile factory') is Běijīng's premier antique street, even if the goods on sale
are largely fake. The street is something of an oasis in the area and worth delving into for its quaint, albeit dressed-
up, village-like atmosphere. Alongside ersatz Qing monochrome bowls and Cultural Revolution kitsch, you can
rummage through old Chinese books, paintings, brushes, ink and paper. Prepare yourself for pushy sales staff and
overly optimistic prices. If you want a name
chop
made, this is a good place to do it.
At the western end of Liulichang Xijie, a collection of more informal shops flog bric-a-brac, Buddhist statuary,
Cultural Revolution pamphlets and posters, shoes for bound feet, silks, handicrafts and so on. Further west,
Mǎliándào Tea Market is an essential stop for tea lovers and buyers.
YUÈHǍIXUĀN MUSICAL
INSTRUMENT STORE
( Yuèhǎixuān Ménshìbù; 6303 1472; 97 Liliuchang Dongjie, 9.30am-6pm; Hepingmen)
Fantastic,
friendly emporium that specialises in traditional Chinese musical instruments, such as the
zither-like
gǔzhēng
(some of which come with elaborate carvings on them), the è
rhú
and
bǎnhú
(two-string Chinese violins), and
gǔ
(drums). It does great gongs and has many eso-
teric instruments from Tibet and Mongolia, too. It's on the eastern side of Liliuchang.
|MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
RUÌFÚXIÁNG
( Ruìfúxiáng Sīchóudiàn; 6303 5313; 5 Dazhalan Jie, 9.30am-8.30pm; Qianmen)
Housed in a historic
building on Dashilar, this is one of the best places in town to browse for silk. There's an in-
credible selection of Shāndōng silk, brocade and satin-silk. The silk starts at ¥98 a metre,
although most of the fabric is more expensive. Ready-made, traditional Chinese clothing is
|SILK
MǍLIÁNDÀO TEA MARKET
( Mǎliándào Cháchéng; 6334 3963; 6 Maliandao Lu, 9am-7pm; Běijīng West Railway Station)
South of
Běijīng West Train Station is Mǎliándào, the largest tea market in northern China. The four-
storey building is home to if not all the tea in China, then an awful lot of it. There are brews
from all over the country here, including
pu'er
and
oolong
. Although it's mostly for
wholesalers, the market is a great place to wander for anyone interested in tea and the
vendors are normally happy to let you sample some. Maliandao Lu itself has hundreds of
tea shops, where prices for tea and tea sets are lower than in the tea shops in tourist areas.
|TEA
