There are more than 13,000 retails stores in the city. Some of the more famous stores and bazaars are described here.
Wangfujing, a seven hundred-year-old commercial street, is located to the east of Tiananmen Square and stretches from Chinese Art Gallery to the Dongchan'an Avenue. It houses a wide variety of shops and boutiques where you can find all kinds of commodities, some of which are of world-famous brands. The recently finished Oriental Plaza (Dongfang Guangchang) adds more charm to Wangfujing.
Besides modern department stores, the Foreign Language Bookstore is also in this area. The Old-Beijing-Street is now seated underground, which was built and decorated in Ming and Qing style. The outstanding characteristic of it is the centralized well-known longstanding stores selling shoes, caps, silk cloth, scissors, Chinese brushes and ink-stick, jade articles, tea, desserts, pickled vegetables, roast ducks and so on.
The most popular sites for souvenir photos are the sculptures on both street sides, reflecting life of old Beijing.
Qianmen Street is south of Tian? anmen Square. In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, it was a commercial center of the old capital. Dazhalan is in the west, Xianyukou in the east, and the Tianqiao Bazaar in the south. The old stores in this area, with a history of over 100 years, still do a good business. The Liubiju Pickle Shop, opened in 1530, retains traditional methods of preparing pickled vegetables; Yan Song, a court official of the Ming Dynasty, wrote its three-character signboard.
Quanyechang Bazaar, with over 200 stores and stalls, has been converted into the Xinxin Garment Store, the largest of its kind in Beijing. Its competitors are the Lantian Garment Store at Wangfujing, Xidan Garment Store on Xidan North Street and the Zaocun Garment Store of Xisi.
The two centuries old Yueshengzhai sells flavored beef and mutton. Its meat was served in the imperial dining room in the old days.
Xidan Street, one of the three major business districts, is located directly west of Tian? anmen Square. There are 200 shops on this north-south street. The largest are the Xidan Market and Xidan Bazaar. The bazaar includes a food store, bookstore, deli, and a general merchandise department. It is the third largest department store in Beijing.
The eight-story Longfu Building (formerly Dongsi People?s Bazaar) is Beijing?s largest commercial facility. Its escalators move customers smoothly up through five floors of shopping areas to the sixth floor exhibition hall.
The Heping Commercial Building, the fourth largest in Beijing, has a floor space of 10,000 square meters. Of its six floors, the first three are for business, and the fourth is an exhibition hall. Manufacturers from all over the country display products there.
There are also over 40 smaller commercial centers and streets. They are located in: East City District-Dongdan, Dongsi, Beixinqiao, and hepingli; West City District-Xisi, Sanlihe, Xinjiekou, Baitasi, and Di? anmen; Chongwen District-Huashi, Tianqiao, Muxuyuan, and Yongdingmen; Xuanwumen District- Caishikou, Hufangqiao, Baiguanglu, and Guang? anmen; Haidian District- Ganjiakou and Haidianzhen; Chaoyang District-Sanlitun and Guandongdian.
The Beijing Friendship Store is a major attraction for embassy personnel, foreign guests, and overseas Chinese residents. It is conveniently located on Jianguomenwai Street.
Food, general merchandise, arts and crafts, jewelry, furniture, carpets, and fresh flowers are sold here.
They also handle tailoring, dyeing and mending of clothes, and international shipping. Purchases may be made through the mail.
