Chionggirl in Shanghai

I have heard that Qi Pu Lu is a marketplace like area that one can get bargains and have been wanting to go there. So today I did. Just hop on any taxi and tell the driver that you are going to Qi Pu Lu, and they will know where to take you.

There are a few buildings along Qi Pu Lu. Don't go to the old Qi Pu Lu building. It is now a unpopular place, and I nearly had a case of pickpocket again. Some men saw me coming their way and one of them decided to follow me. My alert radar picked up when he i saw him from the corner of my eye. So I quickly turned my trusty postman bag to the front (the same one that alerted me of the pickpocket when I was at JIng An Si). After I did that, the man walked ahead of me.

So where do you go if you want to check out the marketplace? You can go to Xin Qi Pu Lu (1st picture above) and Xing Wang Shopping Centre (no picture, cos I don't want to look too much like a tourist).  Simple rule of thumb is go where the young girls go, you can't go wrong with that.

Fortunate for me (haha!) the things that are sold there are either too small (I was looking for cheap boots, but... haiz... They don't have my size... WHY DON'T THE CHINESE PEOPLE SPARE A THOUGHT FOR US FOREIGNERS?!) , or they are too 'kawaii' (cute in Japanese) for me, as they are imported from Korea. So those of you who do not have the above, do be prepared to bleed if you go to Qi Pu Lu, cos you will really buy alot of things. THe prices are low (just keep quiet when you are browsing and hear how the owner negotiate with locals on prices and manage your expectations on the prices), and it will definitely interest the typical young Singaporean girl (for the rest of us, I think we have been Zara-fied, Mangon-ised, and Uniqlo-nised).

If not, they are selling some winter clothes which I am not sure if I need to buy as yet, since I am still learning how to be ready for the cold. I am pretty sure I will return to buy the coats and jackets cos they are quite nice, if you do not include the aunty-ish over-bling shops that are favoured by the 'buyers' of the other towns. There are also quite a number of shops that sell UGG boots and Dr Martens lookalike boots. I didn't bother to ask cos I am afraid of dissapointment :(

I did however, bought nice gifts to bring back home :D Heh. For those of you ladies who know me personally, you will get one from me when I am back home. :) I also bought 2 pcs of blankets from a roadside stall at RMB20 each. The same thing costs me RMB50 at Carrefour.

 

Qi Pu Lu is pretty crowded (just like what I always say, it's like Chinese New Year in Singapore). Look at the bridge above, it is packed with people, and its only 1pm! It is a very interesting marketplace, something like a few Bangkok MBK lined together in one area. I am surprised that there are no Caucasians found here, unlke Tao Bao Cheng, I wonder why. Maybe the guidebooks told them to stay away.

Well, at least now I felt kinda proud of myself. I have braved Qi Pu Lu! :)

One of my main goals for this 8 day holiday is to do shopping. There are many well priced products (translated as CHEAP) in this city and I must get to know them one by one. And so today I did.

I went to Shanghai Science and Technology Museum (the underground shopping at the metro station of the same name, on line 2) on Sunday and bought two fake bags, one Agnes B and one Tods, both seem like they will give way in a couple of months, especially the Tods one. Oh well, the positive side of this is that I can change my bags according to the seasons. Heh...

But they are bit pricey, I paid RMB300 for both. I consider it a price to pay to learn about cheap bargain purchases in Shanghai.

Today, I went to Taobao City 淘宝城 because my colleague recommended it to me. He told me it's the place you see alot of angmohs (Singaporean for 老外，Caucasians) carrying black carrier bags. Indeed it is. In my impression, and after some research, Taobao City is suppose to be the offline version of the famous tabao.com online shopping website. So with hopes that I can get things that I saw on taobao.com.

I proceeded to Nanjing Xi Lu (map and building picture: http://sh.city8.com/key_%E6%B7%98%E5%AE%9D%E5%9F%8E). There is a bus line that brings me directly to this road. You can also take Line 2 and alight at Nanjing Xi Road station and walk about 10 mins to reach there.

The place wasn't what I thought it would be. It's rather run down (the word 宝 has fallen off and no one has replaced the character) and was rather quiet. The centre reminds me of Bangkok's Marbukong Market (MBK is much busier) and some forgotten shopping centres in KL.

Because of my previous experience the day before, I wasn't interested in the bags that were sold there (lesser variety and everyone sells the same thing, almost). The only difference is that there are many shops here that sell Apple iPods. I didn't enquire because I am not very interested in buying them :) I was getting bored after the two floors (i was looking for boots but my big feet found none) and was going to leave, when i saw a lead in on the ground floor.

I stopped at a shop that sold nice looking sweater and I stepped in. I was sucked in there from that moment. After selecting a few nice sweaters, the young girl told me that all my intended purchases will cost RMB1580. As a fairly new shopper in Shanghai, I think its reasonable, but I was not willing to part with this amount of money for a load of sweaters.

The building has shut down its air con and it was getting stuffy. My mind was confused because of the lack of oxygen to the brain (it's true!). I had in mind to get a trenchcoat (i think it is) with a Burberry label on it and some sweaters.

The young girl told me that she had given me a wrong price for that coat and she is not willing to part with it. After some negotiation, I settled for that coat, 2 sweaters, a pair of suede gloves and a long knit top for RMB1100. I thought it's a good price, considering the Burberry lookalike has good workmanship on it (double lining!) and cost RMB460 originally (I went to Taobao.com to do a quick search later on and found that the coats of this nature cost about the same price online).

One thing I have learnt about shopping is that, you have to be firm in negotiating prices. Yours truly has always been the nice person and I seldom haggle with prices, sometimes, I think it is not necessary. The young girl who sold me my bargains today is a good businesswoman. I don't think any young girl her age in Singapore will be able to push a sale like that. They are good with words and will make you feel welcome. She even made me (okay 'made' is a little mean, 'asked' would be a better word) buy her and her colleague a drink when we left the building. Me being me, think its okay lah. Anyway, two cups of milk tea cost $10, won't kill me.

After the purchase, I felt rather troubled as I thought I could've got the tops at a much better price (H&M has similar designs at similar price). But after a few hours, the feeling went away. That's retail therapy for you. I even had a thought on the way home. I think women should be paid more because we help keep the world economy going with our shopping. Can I hear an Amen to that? :)

With this, I conclude my shopping post. I am sure I will be able to find new shopping haunts in the future. You will be the first to read about it here :)

Toodles!