Shopping in Shanghai:
Tips and Info for the expatriate community

As a basic starting point, Shanghai has four main shopping areas; in Puxi there are Huahai Lu, Nanjing Lu and Xujiahui and in Pudong the largest - but by no means the only - shopping area is Lujiazui, incorporating the vast Super Brand Shopping Mall.

Famous streets and top sightseeing in Shanghai

The epicentre of shopping is definitely the several-mile-long Huahai Lu.

Here you will find the ever-popular and entirely infamous Xiang Yang copy market, a multitude of malls serving all needs and budgets, major brand outlets and the famous Xintiandi development.

Photo: enterasiaArt

You will need them to restore your energy thankfully there is no shortage of places to eat or drink. It is also well worth checking out the numerous clothing, shoe and interior design stores on Shaanxi Lu, which is the preferred place to shop for many expats.

Xintiandi is a renovated area near Huaihai Lu and is home to a large number of international boutiques with designer fashion from around the world. Visit the many trendy restaurants housed in Shanghai's restored past architecture .

Being the central business district, Nanjing Lu is a little glitzier than Huahai Lu and it is here that you will find the more expensive foreign brands. Japanese department store, Isetan sits alongside the glamorous Plaza 66, which in term rests against the ultra-expensive stores of the Shanghai Centre and City Plaza.

This western part (Nanjing XiLu) is usually a lot less crowded than Huahai Lu because there are not many bargains to be found. If you find yourself at City Plaza (large whitewashed, swathe of concrete), make sure you go to the road behind to check out the indoor market where you will find cheap but funky t-shirts, trainers and jeans.
As Nanjing Lu creeps towards the Bund, you will find the anchor stores of yesteryear like the Number One Food Store and old department stores. These are eternally busy with local bargain seekers, but the crowds can be too much even for the seasoned bargain-hunter and the

Photo: enterasiaArt

prizes not so great in any case. Step away from Nanjing Lu onto Fuzhou Lu where you will find a more relaxed pace among interesting bookstores, small stationary specialists, galleries, potters and cobblers. At the Bund, you will discover that the old colonial bank buildings have been transformed into upmarket ‘retail and dining experiences’ offering top brands at top prices. You certainly will not need to fight for space here.

At the bottom of the former French Concession, on the crossroads of Zhaojiabang Lu and Huashan Lu sits Xujiahui. This is mall shopping at its pinnacle. A maze of underground walkways connects several vast, towering malls. Here you will find Shanghai’s young, moneyed shoppers. Concentrating mainly on this market, you will find good value and high quality clothes for both sexes, sports equipment and sportswear as well as two bustling malls that specialise in electrical, computing and mobile phone equipment. However, don’t think Shanghai is like Hong Kong or Bangkok for gadgets - high import taxes mean that technological goods are often cheaper in your own country and that is certainly true of the US and even the UK. If you do need to buy something - haggle and haggle again!

Shopping in Pudong definitely centres on Super Brand Mall. And, why not, it is Asia’s largest shopping mall after all! Whatever it is you want you will find it here.
There is a huge supermarket in the basement which offers great value food compared to the western options.

Photo: enterasiaArt

There is nothing exciting or atmospheric about Super Brand Mall, you really could be in a mall anywhere but it does its job well and if you tire of shopping, the fifth floor offers heaps of choice for places to eat and drink. Some even boast a great view over the Bund.

The great thing about Shanghai is that it is flat and safe, so you are free to wonder day and night to discover the little tucked-away shops and stalls near to your home offering clothes, dvds, furniture, gifts or even fruit and vegetables. These will probably come to provide you with the mainstay of the things you need and by building up rapport with the shopkeeper, you can be assured of better bargains and a better service. Enjoy!