- China Trip Planner
Shanghai Shopping
Shanghai is well known among Chinese as the place to shop in China. Ever since the 1930s the city has boasted the cream of China's department stores and today Shanghai is fast rivalling Hong Kong as a shopper's heaven. Naming Lu and Haifa Lu have always been the busiest shopping streets, but now it seems almost every side street is devoted to the art of retail therapy. Bring some extra spending money, you'll need it.
If you're in town for just a couple of days head to Dongtai Lu Antique Market for interesting souvenirs and to Xiangyang Market for cheap knock-offs and cheap CDs. Nanjing Donglu is worth a stroll for its silk shops and sense of history and Huaihai Zhonglu or Nanjing Xilu are worth a look for their insights into the moneyed Shanghainese.
If wandering aimlessly for miles poking into every boutique is your shopping style then stick to Nanjing Lu and Huaihai Lu, where you will find Western, Japanese and Chinese clothing boutiques wedged between the major department stores. If you shop purely out of necessity, the department stores listed in this chapter carry nearly everything, including the items sold in the jammed boutiques.
Shopping Tips 
Most shops in this chapter are open from 10am to 9pm; though government-run stores often close at 6pm. Yuyuan Bazaar and Dongtai Lu Antique Market are both best visited early in the day.
In most shops, after you've selected an item the sales assistant will write a ticket, then send you to the cashier, who will collect your money and send you right back to the salesperson, who will have your items bagged. It rarely happens that the wrong item ends up in the bag, but you should always check.
Most department stores will exchange items with a receipt, though smaller shops and markets have an every sale is final' clause. To save yourself a headache, make sure you scrutinise the item carefully and try on clothing before buying. Also make sure you have a legible receipt and get a business card.
Shipping & Customs
Most reputable shop will take care of insurance, customs and shipping for larger items, though find out first exactly what the dealer covers. Separate charges may materialise for handling, packaging, customs duty and quarantine, driving the shipping charges above the price of the item! Also consider how much it will cost to get the goods from the shipping port to your home.
Technically, nothing over 200 years old can be taken out of China, but few antiques in Shanghai are really this old. If you are buying a reproduction, make sure the dealer provides paperwork stating that it is not an antique. Dealers should also provide the proper receipts and paperwork for any antiques. Keep the receipts along with the business card of the dealer, just in case.
Shipping clothing, curios and household items on your own is generally not a problem and China Post has an excellent packing system for airmailing light items.
Shopping Streets
In the tradition of an Asian bazaar, Shanghai still has concentrations of goods in specific streets.
Changle lu & Maoming Nanlu Women's Chinese clothing and tailoring
Shaanxi Lu Shoes
Dongtai Lu Antiques
Fuzhou Lu The traditional art supplies, bookshop and brothel street of Shanghai (the brothels have gone)
Taikang Lu Chinese clothing stores
Maoming Nanlu Chinese dresses, blue cloth
Changshu Lu Chinese doming stores
Fenyang Lu Musical instruments serving the nearby music conservatory (there's even a Steinway & Sons branch)
Yishan Lu Home design
Huaihai Lu Department Stores
There are ton many department stores to mention on Huaihai Lu but the following are worth a look. Almost all have a food court and entertainment arcade on the upper floors and the top floors often have bargain tables.
Hong Kong Plaza Has a Megabite food court in the basement, Rojam disco on the top floor as well as a sparse selection of boutiques.
Isetan Six floors of great brand-name shopping.
New Hualian Commercial Building The place to go for kids, with brands like Cherokee, Sesame Street and Pooh, as well as Lego and Silver lit, spread out over three floors.
Pacific Department Store A pleasant store where you can find everything from baby strollers to air conditioners, as well as foreign and upscale Asian brand-name clothing. Strong on bargain dose outs.
Parkson Mid-priced foreign (Nike, Erie, Esprit, Revlon) and upscale Chinese brands. The basement has a well-stocked supermarket with foreign goodies and access to Shanxi metro station. The ground floor has an ATM.
Shanghai Central Plaza Loads of upscale clothes stores, plus a Deliverance, DHL, Starbucks and hair and nail salons. The basement connects to the Huangpi Nanlu metro station.
Times Square Upscale mall anchored by Lane Crawford and featuring all the glossies - Dolce & Gabanna, Gucci etc, plus designer Walter Ma. The 4th floor has a decent outdoor sports collection with genuine North face and Marmot hiking gear.
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