Shenzhen Shopping
For the strong-willed, Shenzhen can be a shopping paradise. Jan Leung visits the best places for cheap products
Fake brands might be your main reason for hitting up Shenzhen, but the real shopping lies beyond Lo Wu Commercial Center. Follow our guide for tons of electronics, cheap clothes and some of the weirdest products you’ll ever see.
Electronics Street
Formerly an industrial zone manufacturing electronic parts, the Huaqiang Bei neighborhood has recently turned into a shopping hub, buzzing with more than 20 massive wholesale markets and 3,400 shops selling electronics and fashion products. Serious shoppers should be prepared to spend the entire day here.
SEG Electronic Market
46 Huaqiang Bei Lu, Futian
SEG is the biggest electronics mall in the area. Be warned that means there’ll be a lot of hawkers out front determined to sell you their pirated software and laptops. Once inside, you’ll find a large variety of more genuine products mostly divided by floors. The first two sell electronic components like switches, tapes and conductors – so stay away unless you’re a serious nerd or in the business. Instead, head up to the third to eighth floors for laptops and computer accessories like hard drives, memory sticks, GPS receivers and MP3 players. On the fourth floor, you’ll find products from big brand names like Samsung and Sony. Be warned: they aren’t necessarily as cheap as those in Hong Kong – some may even be more expensive now considering the rising value of the yuan. Don’t forget to bargain, bargain, bargain. See box for some of the weirder stuff we found here.
Cheap Clothes Central
Also in Futian district, you’ll find the Fumin Foreign Trade Centre, which is separated into two quaintly named parts – Man’s World and Woman’s World.
Man’s World
Fumin Foreign Trade Centre, Guaqiang Bei Lu
Man’s World was originally targeted at male customers, with stores selling mostly male clothing and gadgets, but it’s become more feminized with tons of stuff for the lady. On the first floor you can find leather stores selling pirated bags and local brands, with price tags as low as USD$30. There are lots of underwear shops, too, where you can nab some cheap brand-name boxers for as low as USD$1.50 – whether or not they’re real is another story. A salesman at one of the branded jeans shops did come clean with us, admitting most of his goods were pirated. The rest of the shops sell women’s accessories at reasonable prices.
Woman’s World
Woman’s World is a lot more vibrant. With rows of booths selling similar products, competition is fierce and the salesmen yell like brokers on the trading floor. The first floor sells mainly accessories, and the second, third and fourth floors are all about clothing. On the top floor, you’ll find the nail and hair salons and shoe counters. And things are extremely cheap: A manicure and pedicure with nail art costs no more than USD$15; while hair extensions cost USD$0.15 per strand. As for the shoes, most of them are around USD$15-USD$37.60. According to the locals, ignore any price tag you find, and ruthlessly go for 70 percent off, but expect to end up paying half the original price.
All The Giant Malls
Shenzhen has become China’s capital for huge shopping complexes. Our recommendations below.
The MixC Mall
1881 Baoan Nan Lu, 2585-6666, www.themixc.com
One of the biggest in town is The MixC Mall, which houses international brands such as Gucci, Mango, illy Coffee, Starbucks, and even a Taco Bell (yes, the Taco Bell), an Olympic-sized skating rink (USD$7.50for two hours on weekends and USD$6 from 10am-4pm on weekdays), and also a huge food court with international cuisine.
Citic Metro Arcade
Inside Ke Xue Guan metro station, 2593-8866, www.zxcityplaza.com/MTR.
The Citic Metro Arcade brought in Hong Kong designer William Tang to open a concept store (Zone D), while Hong Kong food critic Chua Lam exported some of the restaurants from his famous food court in Hung Hom, including Vietnamese joint Pho 168.
Other mega-malls to check out:
Obligatory Walk On The Beaten Track
Dongmen Shopping District
For many, the Dongmen shopping district is the only reason to come to Shenzhen. Established 300 years ago and therefore also known as “Laojie” (meaning Old Street – hence the name of the metro station nearby). It’s one of the best places for cheap tech and has a thriving market in DVDs and console games of dubious origins: just USD$0.75 for a major console games, and USD$0.90 for a DVD. The next question is whether you can get your bounty back across the border, especially now that police have stepped up custom checks. The choice is yours.