Bargain Shopping in Shanghai

For the avid bargain shopper, Shanghai can be a real utopia, or, if you don’t know where to go, a frustratingly expensive city. Don’t worry! We’re here to help you find out where to go to get products on the cheap while utilizing your bargaining skills.

One of the best places to bargain is Yu Gardens. Naturally, there are the nicer establishments inside the pavilion-like shopping arena. These you’ll want to avoid if you want to leave China with anything in your wallet. Instead, hug the fringes of the hutong. The more elaborate the superstructure, the higher the cost. We’re looking for the run-down looking buildings that don’t look inviting at all. Here’s how to find them. On the north side of Yu Gardens, you’ll see a side street running towards the Bund area. McDonalds is to the West. You want to head down the street to the East. You’ll notice two giant, Soviet-style buildings about 5 stories tall with hundreds of locals milling about outside with little carts or bundles of goods. Go inside and you’ll find a cheap market selling the same goods sold in Yu Gardens main area, for literally a fraction of the cost. Do you want Chinese style pillows, T-shirts or shampoo? Anything you can imagine as a small sale good is sold here. They even have pets and food outside for sale, but it is an unassuming looking place so very few foreigners find it. Once inside, you’ll literally have to push your way through the throngs of locals and bargain hard with the sellers, but it is fun and in the end, the best deals in the city are to be had here.

You can also walk around Yu Gardens to the South, then pass the new super-mall with the giant dragon bridge and keep walking East. This street is crowded with locals who do their clothing and shoe shopping here. You can find shirts for around 15RMB, or shoes for under 50RMB here, but you have to bargain hard. You’re not likely to find touristy items, but if you want some interesting local fashion pieces, this is the ideal spot for you.

Finally, if you are really feeling adventurous you can do what many expats refuse to do and go to Nanjing Road, towards the pedestrian area, and simply walk back and forth until someone approaches you selling bags, shirts and wallets. They usually carry a folded piece of paper with pictures of the items they sell. They will lead you back an alley and into an apartment building where they sell clothing or fake Gucci purses or the like. This is a perfectly safe thing to do, but the sales are high-pressure once you get to their apartment, and it can be uncomfortable and even a bit more expensive than Yu Gardens. However, it can also be fun if you do it in a small group.