Mall Till You Fall: Xidan shopping 101
Xidan‘s consumer blitz of multitudinous mega-malls is the stuff of Beijing shopping legend. Here’s a quick field guide.
77th Street
This underground mall infused with soul is a cauldron of boundless zany creativity and energy. Looking for the perfect gift? The B2 level is crammed full of bizarre knick-knacks, jewelry, lamps, magic tricks and novelty items. 2U Box, located at the very bottom of the mall beside the escalators, follows a similar set-up to DIY flea market Fengguo Box and is always worth a look. There are also stuffed toy vendors – an oversized teddy bear, possibly bigger than your girlfriend, goes for RMB 210. Chances are you won’t walk away from this eclectic place without finding something to your liking.
Mon-Fri 10am-9.30pm, Sat-Sun 9.10am-10pm. B2/F and B3/F (the former Xidan Cultural Plaza), 180 Xidan Beidajie, Xicheng District. (6608 7177/7877) 77街, 西城区西单北大街180号原西单文化广场地下二三层
Joy City
This massive 13-story shopping monstrosity boasts over 100,000 square meters of retail space and the largest cinema in the country. Housed in a funky, angular building bejeweled by a layer of colored bulbs, this mall is home to big high street chains such as Zara, H&M, FCUK, Next, Uniqlo, as well as the minimalist Japanese brand, Muji. It also houses not one but two branches of the funky handmade accessory shop Fengguo Box. Hong Kong urban brand Bauhaus and sister line Salad are notable for their quality clothing and also carry a choice selection of hard-to-come-by international brands such as Sienna Miller’s Twenty8Twelve.
Mon-Fri 10am-10pm, Sat-Sun 9.30am-10pm. 131 Xidan Beidajie, Xidan, Xicheng District. (6651 7777) 大悦城商场, 西城区西单北大街131号
Grand Pacific Mall
Not quite as hip or flashy as Joy City; however, it does stock a superb range of jeans. It concentrates an astounding number of denim specialty stores like Levis Ladies, CK jeans, Armani jeans, Replay and Miss Sixty in one corner of the second floor. Find decent mid-priced shoe retailers such as Nine West and Steve Madden on the lower levels. And Arsenal fans, you can get everything you need to cheer your team on at their official store here.
Daily 10am – 10pm. 133 Xidan Beidajie, Xicheng District. (6612 6888) 君太百货, 西城区西单北大街133号
Xidan Books Building
On the basement level of the cavernous Xidan Books Building, you’ll find a boatload of English language classics and a broad, eclectic selection of new-ish paperbacks (usually many copies of each, which might be helpful to book club members), cookbooks, a big business/management section and an excellent selection of oversized books on art, architecture, and design. There’s even a bit of seating, and the English-speaking staff is usually friendly and helpful.
Daily 8.30am-9.00pm. C17 Xichang’an Jie, Xicheng District. (6607 8477) 西单图书大厦, 西城区西长安街丙17号
Xidan Minority World Market
Despite the name, no ethnic goods are sold here. Instead, vendors hawk typical market fare – a mishmash of commodities like watches, sunglasses, caps, bags – at dirt cheap prices, provided you’re game for a bit of haggling. The semi-outdoor market is housed in a traditional Chinese-style courtyard complex with an open square in the center which can afford shoppers relief from navigating the maze of stalls.
Daily 9am-7pm. North of the grassy hub of Xidan Square (between 77th Street Plaza and Xidan Shopping Center), Xicheng District. 西单民族大世界商场, 西城区西单广场绿地北侧(77街和西单购物中心之间）
Xidan Shopping Center
The ground floor is devoted to traditional candies and the second and third floors are very forgettable, but head upstairs because the selection gets steadily better. It gives way to trendy accessories, outfits and a “Korea City” covering the entire fourth floor. Even higher, you’ll find unique boutiques selling well-crafted wares such as Eleven Style (6/F, Shop 35). Mike Designs sells stylish homme options (6/F, Shop 8) or try Jun (6/F, Shop 18B) for dapper menswear.
Sun-Thu 9.30am-9.30pm, Fri-Sat 9.30am-10pm. 132 Xidan Beidajie, Xicheng District. (6602 5016) 西单购物中心, 西城区西单北大街132号
Zhongyou Department Store
The clothing stores here may seem a bit yawn-inducing, but this old school mall is rather expedient for beauty solutions. The first floor hosts an array of beauty cabinet stalwarts like MAC, Shu Uemura, Givenchy, Neutrogena, Max Factor and more. A descent into the second floor basement leads to Gavin Style, an ultra sleek hair salon. With all black furnishings and palatial couches that has it looking more like a club than a hair salon, staff are wonderfully welcoming and services are affordably priced. They also happen to stock one of the most comprehensive ranges of Kerastase products.
Mon-Fri 10am-10pm, Sat-Sun 9am-10pm 176 Xidan Beidajie, Xicheng District. (6605 8906) 中友百货, 西城区西单北大街176号
