1 Panjiayuan

Face it, something typically “Chinese” is always appreciated back home. Pretty much all the antiques you could ever desire are on sale here. With offerings from wooden jewelry boxes to scrolls to jade and porcelain, this market is the perfect place to practice your bargaining skills and pick up more traditional gifts.

2 3.3

3.3, Sanlitun’s five-storey complex, is a great destination for buying trendy young fashions for women, ethnic clothing, larger-sized shoes, accessories, and lingerie, and, of course, its location makes it ideal for picking up a post-shopping beverage or two.

3 Shin Kong Place

For Beijing’s best cosmetics counters, a host of luxury brands, and a fantastic food court, head to Dawang Lu’s Shin Kong Place. The basement floor offers more affordable clothing brands as well as a stationary store and chocolate counters where you can find small gifts and stocking stuffers galore.

4 Wangfujing Foreign Language Bookstore

If the thought of clothes-shopping makes you cringe, bounce over to Wangfujing’s Foreign Language Bookstore for one of the best reading selections in town: western classics, and Chinese language learning materials, as well as gift-worthy books on Chinese art, travel, and history are all here.

5 Wangjing Mall

It’s all about location here. Residents of Northeast Beijing and Shunyi can avoid the traffic and crowds of downtown by heading to the Wangjing Mall, easily accessible from the Jingcheng Expressway, as well as the fourth and fifth ring roads. The shopping center features many international brands and is a great choice for women’s clothing and sporting goods.