Shopping. Well, browsing...

One of the very few but very tragic problems with our trip is that we have to carry all of our crap around with us indefinitely. In China, we've shopped and pawed and looked and discussed and can't really buy because the 14 pound gilt dragon I have my eye on ain't fitting in the carry on. But, we still browse and the Chinese do love them some retail therapy.
So, for those maybe going to Beijing, a rundown. Also, before you judge, a lot of these places are also architecturally interesting culturally important. Just saying.

Liulichang Hutong - A really beautiful and winding street selling all manner of calligraphy brushes and art supplies. Ancient shops run by ancient dudes practicing ancient arts. Also a couple of really nice
galleries in the mix. Worth a stroll.

Qianmen Dajie - 2 Thumbs down. Its the South Street Seaport of Beijing. The Inner Harbor, if you will. I'm pretty sure there was a Gap. Pass.

Panjiayuan Antique Market - So fun! So large! So needed more time! We ganged this up with the Glasses City day, they're real close together and not that convenient from the center of Beijing. The Antique market is AMAZING. You have your standard scroll aisle, your jade aisle, your books and trinkets and jewelry aisles. But the beauty part is the stalls around the edges where dudes with taste and a Type A personality have compulsively collected and cataloged their one special thing. One guy had a store that just sold pre-1950s
Chinese radios and antique cameras. One was selling mint condition vintage leather luggage. One had old maps. This place is a gem because its vast and fascinating, but mostly because it isn't there for the tourists. Regular Chinese people hit it on the weekends like any flea market in the US. No one tries to hassle you or talk you into shit you don't want or make you eat Peking Duck. I actually had to wake one guy up to ask him about a bracelet.

Xidan Shopping Center - For clothes, this is the right mid-market place. Its surrounded by chain stores but this 7 story mall was the beginning of the district and is still mobbed. Its Chinese style - mostly stalls rather than brick and mortar. You can't try stuff on that's on sale, prices seriously negotiable. Pretty good quality and some really cute stuff rather than just LV knockoffs and ugly Korean rhinestone-encrusted sunglasses. We went on a day that it poured and enjoyed the people watching, the browsing, and the food court.
There's also an arcade that looks to host some pretty fierce Dance Dance Revolution match ups.

Wangfujing Dajie - Close to the high rent district and not really our scene. Mostly big Western stores and high end Chinese department stores. The snack street right off of it was worth a wander. I especially enjoyed the sugar covered grape skewer.

Xizhimen - there is a 4 story department store right next to the Beijing Zoo that Ed and I hit when we realized we were going to a fancy restaurant with friends and were dressed like dirt bags. Ed got a button down for $10 and I got an awesome shirt on sale for $6. Most of the stuff is pretty ugly, but it is bottom of the barrel cheap if that's what you're after.

Oh, special not-so-insider's tip. If you don't want to interact with a salesperson in China, do NOT touch anything. A brush of a fingertip against the merch invites a lengthy and confusing interaction. It kind of goes like this: you pick something up, salesperson picks up something else that may or may not be tangentially related to the thing you picked up and then starts explaining things to you in Mandarin. You, eventually, put yours down and everyone walks away confused. Just look, and not directly if possible, for reals.

Shenyang seems to be a retail mecca, though I don't know if we'll have time to explore. No one loves a Cargo-Capri like the people of Northern China and I'm nearly convinced. Somebody help.