24 Best Shopping in Chaoyang District, Beijing

Once a delightfully chaotic sprawl of hundreds of outdoor stalls, the Silk Alley Market is now corralled inside a huge shopping center. The government has been cracking down on an increasing number of certain copycat items, so if you're after a knockoff Louis Vuitton purse or Chanel jacket, just ask; it might magically appear from a stack of plastic storage bins. You'll face no dearth, however, of fake Pumas and Nikes or Paul Smith polos. Chinese handicrafts and children's clothes are on the top floors. Bargain relentlessly, carefully check the quality of each intended purchase, and guard your wallet against pickpockets.

This complex has four stories of kitsch and curio shops and a few furniture stores, some of which may actually be selling authentic antiques. Prices are high (they are driven up by free-spending tour groups), so don't be afraid to lowball your offer. Ignore the overpriced duty-free shop at the entrance.

Easily the most reliable DVD store in the city, this store has plenty of oldies as well as the usual "just released in cinemas" Hollywood blockbusters. Look for the "CD DVD Shop" sign out front—the stall is otherwise unlabeled. Because of the many pirated titles among its merchandise, the shop is occasionally raided by police (this isn't be too arduous for them, as it's only a 10-second walk from the nearest station). If that's happened recently, you'll find largely bare shelves with nothing but the odd black-and-white classic on display. Usually normal service is resumed pretty fast. DVDs start at Y10 each; box sets range from Y60 to Y500.

Buy Now (or Bainaohui) is home to hundreds of stalls selling laptops, PCs, iPods, speakers, phones, and just about any electonic malarkey you can imagine. Both real and knockoff goods tend to be mixed in with each other, so choose wisely. Some stall owners will bargain, others won't, but it's always worth a try.

Chinese-American fashion designer Candy Lin owns and operates this gem. From her peaceful and professional store, she designs for both men and women—her label has attracted a celebrity following, including Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas and Taiwanese superstar Jay Chou. Expect lots of sharp tailoring, stark colors, and relatively high prices.

Nothing embodies Beijing's lusty embrace of luxury goods quite like China World Mall, which is home to a giant branch of the Hong Kong designer emporium Joyce. The average spend here must run into millions of yuan. However, for smaller budgets, there are plenty of cafés and affordable restaurants; the cinema is decent, and there's also a good ice rink for kids. The mall is open every day, from 10 am to 9:30 pm.

Prices begin at steep and climb to positively perpendicular at this boutique. A visit here is key for anyone wanting to get under the skin of the local fashion scene. Its stock reads like a who's who of rising Chinese designers, with clothes by Vega Wang, He Yan, Manchit Au, and many more.

Fei Space more than holds its own against the other galleries in the 798 Art District, with a funky interior design and eclectic selection of clothes and housewares. Some of the fashion brands are unique to the store (including the first foray into China by Topshop and Topman), and all of them are uniformly stylish—and expensive. That includes the collection of jeans by Victoria Beckham.

He Yan's design philosophy is stated in her label: "bu yan bu yu" ("no talking"). Her linen and cotton tunics and collarless jackets speak for themselves. With their earth tones, aubergine hues, peacock patterns, He Yan's designs echo traditional Tibetan styles.

Located just on the edge of Dashanzi (798 Art District), this complex is one of the city's many impressive "super malls." Light, airy, and with a few new stores still not open, the malls houses brands that include the GAP, H&M, and Sephora as well as the Parisian Bread and Butter and homebred earthy fashion house JNBY; there is also a branch of the excellent Page One bookstore. The indoor garden isn't much to write home about, but a gigantic outdoor park area often hosts family-friendly events.

Sitting above Walmart in this mall are cameras, tripods, flash memory, phones, and MP3 players (called MP-San in Chinese). If you forgot the USB cable for your digital recorder or need extra camera batteries, this is the place. Bargain hard and you'll be rewarded.

Spread over two floors, this newest addition to the popular Page One chain is huge, and when it opened, was open 24 hours a day. Soon, however, the realities of such an epic endeavor hit home (it's located on Bar Street), and normal business hours now apply. As the most comprehensive English language bookstore in the city, there's a little bit of everything here. The second floor has a large area dedicated to arty stationery, gadgets, and funky knickknacks, along with a large selection of children's titles and magazines in English. What isn't here? Many places to sit, so take your seat on a step on the wide staircase, along with the rest of the booklovers.

Every day the sun rises over thousands of pilgrims rummaging in search of antiques and curios, though you'll find the biggest numbers of buyers and sellers (all told, there are about 1,000 of them) turn up on weekends. It's a sure bet that not every jade bracelet, oracle bone, porcelain vase, and ancient screen sold here is authentic, but most shoppers come for the reproductions anyway. Behold the bounty: watercolors, scrolls, calligraphy, Buddhist statues, opera costumes, old Russian SLR cameras, curio cabinets, Tibetan jewelry, tiny satin lotus-flower shoes, rotary telephones, jade dragons, antique mirrors, and infinite displays of "Maomorabilia." If you're buying jade, first observe the Chinese customers, how they hold a flashlight to the milky-green stone to test its authenticity. As with all Chinese markets, bargain with a vengeance, as many vendors inflate their prices astronomically for waiguoren ("outside-country people").

A strip of enclosed stores forms a perimeter around the surprisingly orderly rows of open-air stalls. Check out photographer Xuesong Kang and his Da Kang store (No. 63--B) for some fascinating black-and-white snaps of Beijing city life, dating from the start of the 20th century up to the present day. Also be sure to stop by the Bei Zhong Bao Pearl Shop (甲-007) for medium-quality freshwater pearls cultivated by the Hu family. Also here are a sculpture zoo, a book bazaar, reproduction-furniture shops, and an area stashing propaganda posters and Communist literature. Stalls start packing up around 4:30 pm, so make sure to get there on the early side.

Scattered in and around this giant, green pyramid-shaped "biodome" is a boutique hotel, a mall that doubles as a walk-through gallery, and one of the largest private collection of Salvador Dalí works on display outside Spain. For shoppers, stores by designers Stella McCartney and Mulberry rub shoulders with the likes of the GAP; meanwhile a branch of the world-famous Taiwanese dumpling-slingers Din Tai Fung is always worth a visit. Even if designer knickknacks aren't your thing, stopping by just to gawk at the sheer grandiosity of it all comes highly recommended.

Don't let the gray-brick and red-trim exterior fool you: The three stories of offices inside the Ritan Building are strung with racks of brand-name dresses and funky-fab accessories. Unlike the tacky variations made on knockoff labels and sold in less expensive markets, the collections here, for the most part, retain their integrity—perhaps because many of these dresses are actually designer labels. They're also more expensive, and bargaining is discouraged. The Ruby Cashmere Shop (No. 1009) sells genuine cashmere sweaters and scarves at reduced prices, while Fandini (No. 1011) carries a modern selection of typically "street" clothing for men and women.

Just east of the CBD, this sophisticated mall is a quiet, refined refuge—probably because the goods are too expensive for the masses; the luxury and mid-range brands include Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Agnès B, and Club Monaco. If you get peckish, there's an excellent dumpling eatery called Din Tai Fung.

This California-style, outdoor shopping complex has a rather enviable location alongside Chaoyang Park, a huge expanse of green space on the east side of the city. It's certainly something Solana's impressive lakeside strip of wine bars and terraces takes full advantage of. As for the shopping, it pulls in a decent list of names: H&M, Zara, Stradivarius, and Muji—as well as Demeter's always-interesting selection of scents—"wet dirt" fragrance anybody?

This trendy ceramics shop near the 798 Art District features the work of several talented Shanghainese designers who take traditional plates, vases, and vessels and give them a unique and delightful twist. Prices are surprisingly inexpensive.

The default destination for all expats, this fashionable complex, split into two zones, gets the nod for its great range of stores at all price points, cool architecture, and fun people-watching. Taikoo Li South houses the biggest Adidas store in the world, as well as branches of Uniqlo, Steve Madden, I.T, and the busiest Apple store you'll ever see. The newer and more upscale Taikoo Li North has designer stores such as Alexander Wang and Emporio Armani. There's also a boutique cinema and some great restaurants and bars.

Thousands of English-language books fill the shelves at this pleasant café in the heart of Sanlitun. Read for free over a coffee or a simple bistro meal, or join the lending library for a fee. The Bookworm is also a good spot to buy new international magazines and best sellers. This is a popular venue for guest speakers, poetry readings, film screenings, and live-music performances. The kitchen offers a three-course set lunch and dinner. For a quick bite, sandwiches, salads, and a cheese platter are also available.

Shopping-wise you'll find all the usual suspects here—Zara, JNBY, et al.—even if a lack of good dining spots ensures that you won't linger too long. However, visitors largely flock to The Place to witness its eye-wateringly gigantic LED screen, which bursts into life every hour in the evenings and shows some pretty stunning minimovies (the meteorites are the best!) before lapsing back into screensavers and commercials.

In this cramped-but-charming Sanlitun showroom, the fashion diva Gu Lin designs embroidered satin qipaos, cropped jackets, and men's clothing for stylish foreigners and China's xin xin ren lei (literally the "new, new human being," referring to the country's latest flock of successful young professionals).

The 798 Art District is home to a burgeoning collection of housewares, fashion, and design shops. The most innovative of these is an offshoot of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), located just one door down from the gallery. Clothes, posters, ingenious knickknacks, and artist Sui Jianguo's iconic (and pricey) "Made in China" plastic dinosaurs make it a must-visit for anyone in the area.