Hangzhou buy · Money and Shopping in Hangzhou
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Money and Shopping in Hangzhou
Money and Shopping in Hangzhou
Hangzhou China Silk Town on Tiyuchang Road. You can also get silk at other places in the city, but most of it will just be the fabric. It is open from 8AM to 5PM and is near the Zhejiang International Hotel. Bargain hard!
Night Market off Yan'an Road near Pinghai Road (right near Wushan) every night. Here you can find Mao memorabilia, jewelery, paper fans, pipes, luggage, handicrafts and other items that most Chinese cities have. Pirated DVDs and counterfeit handbags are for sale as well. You can also find a lot of those silk-screen printed paintings/embroidery things that the silk market also has. Bargain very hard - Many stalls sell the same stuff, so be prepared to walk away. Be careful buying "antiques" because they are probably new, and pearls. Often the pearl culturing process has been very short, and in fact the "pearl" is a plastic marble with only the thinnest of cultured skin.
Electronics Markets - Running west-east in north-west Hangzhou on Wensan Road are several indoor, multistory electronics shopping centers offering all manner of electronics including desktop computers, laptops, computer software (licensed and un-licensed), cellphones, mp3 players, and hundreds of peripherals and storage media. Pirated DVDs and computer games are offered as well, and if you are obviously a foreigner, vendors will shout "DVD! DVD!" at you to urge you to browse their selection.
Bird and Flower Markets - Several in town, Gucui Rd and Wener West Rd in the west, another on Jichang Rd in north, the interesting one is next to Wushan Square, downtown. On 3 or 4 floors, this market is stuffed with pets and plants. Also sections selling Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), with dried snake and seahorse, huge dried mushrooms and other strange things.
Tea - Dragon Well/Longjing tea is famous throughout China and worth getting if you like green tea. If you are staying with a Chinese host somewhere else in China after Hangzhou, bringing them a small box (or two) of higher-end Longjing Tea would make a great gift; however, bear in mind that these usually cost around ¥300/box (more at tourist stands). The Longjing village and tea fields area of Hangzhou (southwest of West Lake) are where Longjing tea is grown. Besides being worth a visit for the scenic sights alone, tea can be purchased here as well - fresh from the harvesters' bags if so desired. Many places across the city also sell tea, such as informal vendors and small shops easily identifiable by the boxes displayed inside or store names such as "西湖龙井茶" (West Lake Dragon Well Tea), as well as grocery stores and supermarket chains. Because of the fame of Longjing tea, fake and low-grade varieties exist. If you have no experience buying tea, purchase from a reputable-looking establishment or ask the advise of a knowledgeable native.
Clothes - Hangzhou has literally hundreds of clothes and shoes stores. The largest concentration of these are on Yan'an Rd and especially Wulin Rd, making a straight line of clothes shops stacked on top of each other between Wushan and Wulin Squares. Another popular clothing spot is "Song Mu Chang" (松木场) just north of the lake on Shuguang Road. All of these places require bargaining and often have a lot of fake ripoff clothes. For the real thing, try the department stores (ie Hangzhou Tower across between Yan'an and Nanshan Roads). You can certainly find cheaper clothes stores scattered throughout the city as you get farther from the lake if you really like to buy clothes.
Landscape paintings - There are several places to buy Chinese landscape paintings in the city, especially near Wushan Square and around the south/east side of the lake.
Carrefour has a supermarket in the downtown area east of West Lake (on South Yan'an Lu). In addition its large selection of groceries, it carries a wider variety of Western foods such as cheeses and breads than most other grocery stores in the city. What this really means is a single aisle of Western brands and foods. Do not expect a large selection. This is also a good place to purchase western liquor. French Gin is as ltttle as �55 per litre, Captain Morgan rum about �75 and Cointreau �135. How these prices are about half of duty free escapes this contributor.
Trust-Mart (好又多) is a superstore chain Westerners may recognize as being similar to Wal-Mart. Located in the shopping center near the Yellow Dragon Sports Stadium north of West Lake and the Baochu Pagoda area, the store has a large grocery section that boasts fresh meats, seafood, and produce as well as the normal selection of packaged food.
Bicycles of all prices and qualities are available from bike shops scattered across Hangzhou. Bargaining is necessary at all but large chain stores, and generally one gets what he or she pays for (the cheapest bikes will begin to rust and break quickly). The indoor Electric Bike Market near the corner of Wener and Xueyuan Lu offers a huge assortment of electric bikes/scooters and batteries, and Trust-Mart (see above) also has a reasonable selection of bicycles and a small selection of electric bikes/scooters. Any bike, regardless of the value, will be stolen if left unattended and unsecured. Be sure to buy at least one lock (two for expensive scooters and bikes) to protect your purchase. Scooters may also require a locking frame to guard the battery from theft. A cycling club based in Hangzhou.
Mall the new MIXC mall located next to the Qintang River in the new Central Business District has an enormous collection of high-end luxury brands including LV, Armani, Ferragamo and the like, but also has Hangzhou's best market for imported foods. "Ole" is located in the B2 level of the mall and be prepared to spend big. The cinema complex on the 3rd, 4th and 5th levels has 12 screens including the largest of the two IMAX theatre's in the city. Also on the 4th floor is a full Olympic size ice skating arena open daily from 10:30AM to 10PM. Ticket prices range from �50 for unlimited skating time on regular weekdays (�60 after 5:30PM) and �70 for 2 hour sessions on weekends and holiday. Price includes new Canadian rental skates, use of free locker and all safety gear (elbows, wrist and knee protectors and use of helmets). The rink is modern, clean and well trained and friendly professional staff. The skating school is reasonably priced and geared entirely for beginners. The 30m x 60m ice is resurfaced every 2 hours by a Zamboni machine.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Hangzhou
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Hangzhou - updated Apr 2024
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Hangzhou Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.