Shopping - Where to shop around Shekou

The thing that you will notice generally about shopping in Shekou, in-fact in the whole of China, is that items all seem to be grouped together in one place.  If you want to buy a computer then you go to the street where they sell computers, and that’s ALL that they sell in that area! This can certainly make it easier to find something you want as you don’t have to hunt all over, but if there’s a number of different items that you wish to buy then it can mean a lot of trekking around! Whatever you are looking for though, you can find a limited supply of just about anything in any of the shopping areas

Electrical
The best thing that can be said about buying electrical goods in China is that you will generally get what you pay for! If you see an iPhone at  half the normal price you can buy at home, then don’t expect it to be  genuine! Even if an item is the normal price, only buy from reputable  chain stores and ignore the small places! I find Sundan to be the best place to go, being Government backed you are about as sure as you can be of getting genuine articles!

Clothing
Clothing is plentiful in China, almost every other shop is aimed at selling just this, especially to women. However, if you want quality it will cost  you, and frequently more so than your home country. If you wish to buy cheaper items though they can be easily found anywhere!

Sizes are aimed more at locals so do not trust the size as being yours! Additionally identical items marked the same size will NOT be the same  so be sure you try all you buy!

Footwear
There are MANY shops selling shoes etc in Shekou. Prices are good but quality isn’t as good! Whilst you may pay a fraction of the price of other shoe outlets, the goods will also only last a fraction of the time! Barter hard for what you want, and be prepared to walk away if necessary

DVD’s
Copy DVD’s can be found everywhere, ranging from the latest movies to box sets of TV Series. You will find stalls selling these items outside just about every supermarket, inside most music CD outlets and in small shops aiming at western customers. Prices are cheap and generally the  quality is to DVD standard, with fully printed DVD faces and case covers. A word of recommendation though, too many may draw the interest of custom officials when you get home!

Souvenirs
There are many stalls in Shekou that were opened and aimed at the foreigners passing through (especially sailors at the local ports) that sell just  about anything you want! Hard bartering is the name of the game and if you can’t get what you want go to the next shop, there is plenty of  them!

Food
Forgetting about restaurants (which are covered elsewhere on this web-site), there are a number of outlets that have opened up tailoring for westerners and selling many things from home that you miss when you are here - but at a price! Shop around, it pays!

All that being said, if I want to buy anything I usually take myself off to “Old Street” (