The best shopping for visitors tends to be in the city's markets, whether you are looking for traditional Chinese goods, colonial-era souvenirs or the latest Western fashions at bargain prices. Remember that antiques more than 150 years old can't be taken out of the country and that genuine, exportable antiques should all come with seals (which you may be required to show to customs officials).
Shops are open on Sundays, as are some banks (including the Bank of China).
Below is a selection of some of the better markets and stores:
Duo Yun Xuan Art Studio
422 Nanjing Dong Lu, a long-established art store not far from the Peace that continues to stock a fascinating range of paintings, calligraphy, stone rubbings and even traditional seals.
Dongtai Lu Antiques Market
Lots of wonderful things can be found here, from foreign-made clocks, radios and cameras to more traditional mahjong sets and leather-covered opium cases and hatboxes. The vendors are very business savvy so make sure you bargain the prices down.
Fuyou Road Market
Fangbang Lu (near intersection with Henan Lu), a four-storied store where antiques and not-so-antique goods are all for sale at highly flexible prices. The top two floors are filled with entrepreneurs with goods laid out on the floor: there are more bargains here than anywhere else, but you'll have to look hard. The bottom two floors have regular stalls and booths sticking to more conventional traditional goods: Mao-rabilia, socialist realist posters, watches, pre-1949 cigarette cards, jade etc.
Huating Lu Market
Running north from Huaihai Zhong Lu as far as Changle Lu (parallel to and east of Changshu Lu), the stalls here sell cheap clothes and shoes, many of them fake brands. It's always busy so take good care of your valuables. Prada and Gucci stores are nearby if you decide to buy the real thing.
Lao Zhou Hu Cheng Chinese Writing Brush & Ink Stor 90 Henan Zhong Lu. As you can guess, this is a calligraphy shop and its stocks everything you need for the traditional arts of painting and calligraphy. Worth wandering into just for the experience.
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