*Shopping for Clothes*
Even though Qinhuangdao is a small city, there are many malls and shops where you can buy clothes. The only problem is whether or not you like the style and design. This is because their fashion sense is different from ours.
When shopping for clothes, we usually check many shops and malls. TESCO is a famous shopping destination but clothes here are expensive. There’s also B Mall and others which I forgot to get the names. One of our favorite is Cache Cache because they sell cute clothes. Prices and quality are okay. The only problem is that there’s hardly anything that fits my size. For jeans, I buy at stalls outside TESCO because they sell cheaper and they have items which actually fit me. 😀 In Cache Cache, a jean may cost 290 yuan or higher. If there’s a sale, you can get a pair for 99 yuan. But on other shops, jeans cost 70 to 80 yuan.
I never really bought clothes in China especially during the summer season. I just bought winter clothes. Since I like wearing shirts, I found it really difficult to buy one because they would attach laces, bows, beads and other shiny things on them. There are also underground stalls where they sell cheaper items.
*Shopping for Shoes*
Same with clothes, there are many shops to visit. I like the shoes from 360. It’s a Chinese brand but has really good quality. It’s also cheaper than Li Ning. Li Ning is a famous athlete in China and he also designs shoes which are really cool by the way. But if you prefer brands which are known worldwide, you can visit Nike, Adidas and Converse as well.
Before I went home, my friend and I went to Converse because they had a sale. I was so happy because I was able to buy a pair of cool Converse shoes for my husband. This is the only size and pair left and I was really lucky the shoes fit him.
*Shopping for Jewelry*
When shopping for jewelry, I stick to the ones inside malls. I also ask my friends for some suggestions. Chow Tai Fook is a reliable and trusted jewelry shop and this is where I bought a pair of earrings for my mother. It’s a bit pricey but Chinese gold has good value so I think of it as an investment. It’s also a good and worthy souvenir.
China is famous for Jade and during my last month in China, we found a jewelry store that sells only Jade. And on that day, they were on sale! I bought for my mother a Jade bracelet; and, for my father and mother-in-law, a necklace with a Jade pendant.
*Shopping for Accessories and Other Things*
I’m not fond of accessories but I buy for cousins and outstanding students as gifts. My favorite would have to be the TEN YUAN STORE downtown. Everything is worth 10 yuan. Wristwatches for my two fathers were bought at a stall in another mall downtown and until now, they’re in perfect condition. Then, there’s also a place called Toolah downtown. It’s basically a shopping center. The first floor is where you find different stalls for bags, shoes, clothes, sunglasses, nail art, etc. The second floor sells only food but they’re crowded most of the time and really noisy. I wish I still have the pictures but I lost my flash drive so…:-(
For bags, I bought one from Mona Visa, not Mona Lisa. 🙂 I bought a floral one for mom-in-law. My husband wanted a camo bag. I found this shop in Yichang (Hubei Province) which sells only army-inspired things. I bought for him a dark green body/shoulder bag and a belt bag for my uncle.
For household items, there are stalls outside the university area where we can buy them. However, I bought mine downtown. It’s a small stall and I forgot its name but they sell really cheap items.
Head Trip 