 |
| Shanghai shopping, the Bund/ photo: Verghese |
SHANGHAI is often touted as a shoppers’ paradise – however you can expect hours of pavement pounding, foraging and bargaining before reaching true retail Nirvana. The good news for those who persist is that the local markets and boutiques can reward the dedicated shopper with awesome finds at prices to suit any wallet.
Like many fashion capitals, the city’s two main boulevards – Nanjing West Road and Huaihai Road – are lined with some of the best Shanghai shopping malls brimming with luxury brand stores and high street labels. Due to heavy import tariffs, the few found fondling the inflated price tags here are usually wealthy domestic customers. For your Dior, Chanel and Armani – best head to Hong Kong. If you don’t mind Pardas and Calvin Keins, there’s always rip-off Qipu Road Clothing Wholesale Market (168 Qipu Rd) or the back alleys surrounding Shaanxi Road (recommended only for the stout of heart).
Send us your Feedback / Letter to the Editor  Share This Page
Of more interest, are the retail enclaves scattered around the vibrant streets of the former French Concession and behind the Bund. Here, local designers present their wares – everything from handmade silk slippers and modern ceramics to organic cotton baby kimonos – offering trendy updates on classic Chinese styles. Other good buys in Shanghai include Oriental rosewood antiques, freshwater pearls and custom-made garments from the city’s legendary tailors.
Shanghai shopping – Nanjing West Road and Huaihai Road
 |
| Annabel Lee on the Bund/ photo: shop |
High end Shanghai shopping and the glossiest malls are clustered along Nanjing West Road, between Jing’an Temple and Shimen No. 1 Road. Next door to the working Buddhist temple, Jiuguang City Plaza (1618 Nanjing Road) houses Tiffany & Co, Omega and Kate Spade, as well as excellent Japanese supermarket Freshmart in the basement. Opposite this, rising above the interchange of three metro lines, Park Place will open late 2009 offering seven levels of international designer boutique shopping and dining.
Plaza 66 (1266 Nanjing Road) is chock full of luxury brands – Louis Vuitton, Dior, Prada, Cartier – on five marble-clad levels. Next door, Citic Square (1168 Nanjing Road) includes Armani, Bally and Marc Jacobs, while neighbouring Westgate Mall (1038 Nanjing Road) features Burberry, Ermenegildo Zegna, Coach and an Isetan department store. Between these are more moderately priced fashion outlets, such as Zara, Promod and Marks & Spencer.
Running parallel to Nanjing West Road through the former French Concession, Huaihai Middle Road is populated with European fast fashion flagships H&M, Zara and Mango along with clothing brands from China, Korea and Japan.
Funky shopping around Taikang Road
What started with a few artists and design agencies moving in to abandoned factory warehouses on quiet Taikang Road, has become Shanghai’s funkiest shopping district. The rabbit-warren of cobbled Shanghai ‘longtang’ (lanes) are flanked by traditional stone-gated residences housing an eclectic collection of fashion, furniture and lifestyle boutiques, craft workshops, jewellers, photography galleries and alfresco cafes. Amongst all this, elderly residents of the alleyways steadfastly go about their daily life, which presents eye-popping contrasts often as fun to observe as the goods on offer in bohemian shop windows. Most of the top Shanghai local brands now have a presence here – following are several good ones not to miss.
 |
| Suzhou Cobblers Shanghai/ photo: shop |
Nuo Mi (Lane 274, 12 Taikang Road) by young Chinese-American designer Lin Wen creates cross-culture women and children’s fashions in eco-friendly bamboo, cotton, soya and raw silk that feel as soft and slinky against the skin as they look. Urban Tribe (Number 14, Lane 248 Taikang Road) is a rustic-chic collection of fashion, pottery tea sets, handmade silver jewellery and black-and-white photography inspired by China’s hinterlands, Burma and India.
Japanese model turned designer Maki Hayazono’s two-storey boutique Rou Rou (Number 19, 155 Jianguo Middle Road) fuses contemporary streetwear with European tailoring and Asian detailing. The store's two labels – Rou Rou basics and the high-end Lotus Room – are frequently updated.
Several photography studios include one of the street’s original tenants, photographic historian Deke Erh. The sprawling Deke Erh Art Centre (Number 2, Lane 210 Taikang Lu) presents his images snapped around Shanghai and rural China, as well as books he has published on the city’s fading architectural heritage. Gang of One is a tribute to the rags-to-riches tale of Wang Gangfeng, a former factory worker whose wonderful portraits of characters and street life around China now hang in the Musee de l'Elysee in Switzerland. On with our Shanghai shopping romp.
The small Duke Gallery (Number 8, 274 Taikang Road) presents a fun collection of contemporary Chinese art and sculpture. Stealing the show is Mongolian artist Guo Qipeng’s ‘Boy Scout’ series of chubby lipstick-red ceramic kid soldiers playing different instruments.
Two of Shanghai’s most promising young designers, Jenny Ji and Helen Lee, also have boutiques at Taikang Rd. La Vie (Number 7, Lane 210 Taikang Lu), stocks the heavily tailored and deconstructed fashions of Jenny Ji, who studied fashion in Milan before returning to her hometown. INSH (200 Taikang Road) carries the hip, streetwise fashions of designer Helen Lee, while her namesake boutique, further down the alley (Number 3, Lane 210 Taikang Road) showcases a more mature line.
 |
| NEST at Taikang Rd/ photo: shop |
Shirt Flag (Number 7, Lane 210 Taikang Road) and Produc-T (Number 11, Lane 248 Taikang Road) offer fun, limited edition t-shirts with Shanghai inspired slogans. Kava Kava Home (Number 6, 274 Taikang Road) contains updated reproductions of antique Chinese furniture in vibrant hues of aqua, mint and red.
If your Shanghai shopping diary includes sparkling accessories and baubles, three interesting jewellery stores worth checking out are Marion Carsten (Suite 106, Bldg 3, Lane 210 Taikang Road) by a Shanghai-based German jeweller whose striking contemporary designs use bold combinations of sterling silver, leather and pearls. Red Dawn (Suite 105, Bldg 3, Lane 210 Taikang Road) showcases beautiful baubles by homespun talent Dawn Zhu made of jade, pearl, coral and carved woods. For men, JIP’s smart collection of industrial-style accessories combining edgy tungsten, titanium and carbon fibre are designed by an international team of artists but manufactured in southern China, which keeps the line surprisingly affordable (Number 51, Lane 210 Taikang Road).
In the building that started it all – the International Artist Factory – Nest occupies an airy loft space where nine locally based clothing, home wares and product design companies have formed an eco design collective, championing cutting-edge design, sustainable materials and responsible manufacturing. For cottage industry in action, visit Harvest Studio downstairs (Suite 18, Bldg 3, Lane 210 Taikang Road). Here, Miao minority women from southern China gossip as they hand embroider ethnic-styled cushions and clothing. Also in the building, Cosmos Design (Unit 112, Bldg 3, Lane 210 Taikang Road) features contemporary home accessories by Cosmo Chan made from rich brown zisha ceramics, popular in the Ming dynasty.
When your Shanghai shopping binge gets too much for you, release you own creative energy with easel and acrylic paints at Jam Art Space or grab some excellent pho noodles at Pho No.1 Vietnamese Cuisine (Number 13, Lane 248 Taikang Lu).
 |
| Design Republic on the Bund/ photo: shop |
Prime Shanghai shopping – The Bund
The gentrification of Shanghai’s iconic riverfront Bund has seen luxury brands – Giorgio Armani at Three on the Bund, Dolce & Gabbana at 6 Bund and Cartier, Patek Philippe, Ermenegildo Zegna and Boucheron at Bund 18 – move into the former colonial banking HQs.
These are interspersed with local designer boutiques in the side streets, including Suzhou Cobblers (Room 101, 17 Fuzhou Road), selling handcrafted silk slippers in updated colours and patterns, and Annabel Lee (Number 1, Lane 8 Zhongshan Road E1), whose range of embroidered silk decor and accessories are displayed in a museum-like flagship behind a large red door.
Design Republic’s retail showroom founded by Shanghai-based architects Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu showcases contemporary furnishings from top international designers, along with their own pieces that are currently all in the rage in many of the city’s high-end restaurants (G/F, 5 Zhongshan Road E1). Meanwhile, on the second floor of Bund 18, Gabbiani (2/F, Bund 18, 18 Zhongshan Road E1), sells hand-blown glassware by the designer of those iconic red Venetian chandeliers hanging in the Bund 18 lobby.
Shanghai boutique shops in the French Concession
For more Shanghai designer brands and eye candy, cruise the leafy streets of the former French Concession that are lined with tiny boutiques by aspiring local talent. The best stretches lie along Changle Road (between Rujin Number 1 Road and Chengdu Road) and Xinle Road (between Donghu Road and Maoming Road). Julu Road and Jinxian Road contain a smattering of interesting boutiques, while Shaanxi Road is shoe heaven if you fit a size 37.
Streetwear fans will love Source (158 Xinle Road), The Thing (60 Xinle Road), Fly (704 Changle Road) and Eno (139-23 Changle Road). Hong Kong designer Joel Chen’s Pursue by Joel (142 Xinle Rd) offers trendy tailored menswear and women’s evening dresses using quality materials. Pursue’s larger location behind Xintiandi (365 Zizhong Lu) has a fitting studio on the second floor that can whip up custom pieces in around three weeks. Also on Zizhong Lu, is an outlet of Studio PI (Post Industrial), where European-trained designer Lu Min creates recycled daywear and unique party pieces with an almost-gothic feel (347 Zizhong Lu).
 |
| La Vie at Taikang Rd/ photo: shop |
Shopping in Xintiandi lanes
The refashioned traditional lanes and shikumen houses of Xintiandi, on the corner of Huangpi Road and Madang Road, are very popular with travellers on account of the wide array of high-end shopping, dining and entertainment options. Global fashion brand Shanghai Tang (Unit 15, Xintiandi North Blk, Lane 181 Taicang Road) features men’s, ladies and children's apparel, home furnishings, accessories and novelty gift items with a colourful nod to Chinese culture. Exquisite cutting and inspired design are reflected in the high-end prices.
The massive flagship store of homegrown label Simply Life (Unit 101, 159 Madang Road), stocks pan-Asia furniture and house ware, including an exclusive range of hand-painted fine bone china from luxury local brand Asianera. Delightful Shanghai Trio (Number 1, Unit 5, Xintiandi North Blk, 181 Taicang Road) blends Chinese motifs with classic French styling in its range of adorable baby wear, bags and accessories.
Shanghai tailors for Western-size fits
For those frustrated with the search for Western-size clothing – Shanghai’s legendary tailors can whip up a custom-made wardrobe in a matter of days. Start with a trip to the South Bund Fabric Market (399 Lujiabang Road), where three air-conditioned levels offer vast reams of fabric and trimmings at bargain prices. Bring your favourite pieces and have the onsite tailors sew made-to-measure replicas. Expect to pay approximately Rmb600 for a suit including material and workmanship.
Shanghai shopping – pearls and antiques
Shanghai is close to China’s freshwater pearling areas of Jiangsu province and is therefore a great place to buy these precious gems. Mark this down in your Shanghai shopping diary. Shanghai Hongqiao International Pearl City (3721 Hongmei Lu) is a multi-level pearl emporium. Most of the action is found on the third floor, where vendors sell a wide array of fresh water pearls and semi-precious stones, along with inexpensive crystal and plastic beads. Buy readymade jewellery or create your own custom designs, which can be strung on the spot.
 |
| Xintiandi lane/ photo: shop |
The five-storey wholesale antique market at Cang Bao Lou (457 Fangbang Middle Road) and charming outdoor Dongtai Road Antique Market (Dongtai Road, by Tibet Road) are good places to scavenge for Cultural Revolution memorabilia, Buddhist statuary, art deco furniture and even opium pipes. Although many of the wares are ersatz, this is still great souvenir territory and keen eyes will occasionally spot a genuine antique prize. Bargain hard.
For antique rosewood furniture head to the warehouse showroom of Hu & Hu Antiques in far-flung Hongqiao (1685 Wuzhong Lu). The sisters-in-law Hu have a massive collection of well-restored Chinese antiques and customised reproductions, delivered fuss-free thanks to their fixed-pricing policy and international shipping.
And if all this frantic Shanghai shopping hasn’t left you with an anorexic wallet and swollen feet, then strap on your (probably new) dancing shoes and head on out for a night on the tiles.
Send us your Feedback / Letter to the Editor
|
