Local Specialties and Souvenirs
Beijing's 'Four Famous Representative Arts' are cloisonne,ivory carvings, jade objects and carved lacquer wares. They are handmade folk art. You may also find lifelike flour or clay figurines, colorful kites, exquisite paper-cut, Chinese knots and others in the street.

Traditional Chinese Medicine
Chinese medicine and pharmacology are important component parts of China's splendid national culture. Chinese medicine and pharmacology have made tremendous contributions to China's prosperity throughout the country's history of several thousand years. They are noted worldwide for their outstanding curative effects, strong national character, unique method of diagnosis and treatment, systemic theories and vast accumulation of historical records and materials, making it common wealth of the medical treasure-house of mankind. Chinese medicine and pharmacology have shown great vitality for several thousand years. They are also a valuable complement to the modern techniques of medicine and pharmacology.

Tongrentang Drugstore: it was built in the 8th year of Emperor Kangxi, it mainly sells pills and plasters. There are Ten Famous Medicines, such as Zaiao Pill, Nvjindan and so on.

Cloisonne
Beijing Enamel Factory (No.10,Anlelin Road, Yongdingmen wai, Beijing), founded in 1956, is the biggest and most professional factory in making cloisonne ware all over the country of China. It is the assigned tourist handicraft making enterprise which is named by the National Tourist Bureau.

   

Silk Shop
Yuanlong Silk Shop. Situated north of Tiantan Park (Temple of Heaven), Yuanlong silk shop has a prestigious history but started from small beginnings back in 1932.

Now Yuanlong Mansion, with its 4-storey shopping area, offers customers a wide selection of genuine silk products.

On the first floor of the Yuanlong Mansion, there are silk bed wares, quilts, hand-embroidered ties, purses and handkerchiefs as well as carpets. The carpets are made with traditional paintings of dragons, animals, birds, flowers and Buddhas.. The best weaved carpet can cost up to 62,000 yuan (US$7750) but is prized by collectors.

The second floor specializes in fashionable embroidered dresses, pure silk garments and accessories. The silk museum on the side wall gives a vivid picture of the silkworm's life, a complete story of the Silk Road and a detailed introduction to different embroideries such as Su Xiu (from the Suzhou area) and Beijing embroidery.

Silk and satins are sold on the third floor, including spun silk, brocade, raw silk, tussah silk, plain heavy silk and printed satin silk. Brocade materials are suitable for making traditional Chinese costumes and women's cheongsam while plain heavy silk is especially fine for full evening dresses. Shop assistants will help you find your favourite from numerous rolls of beautiful silk materials.

Yuanlong silk shop also provides a tailoring service, overseas purchasing on correspondence and mail delivery.

Chinese Painting and Writing
China National Art Gallery. No. 1 Wusi Dajie, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Shopping area
Wangfujing Street
Wangfujing Business Street lies in Dongcheng District, the center of Beijing. Here and Tiananmen Square are 1 kilometer apart. It is a beautiful walking street. Here is the well-known Beijing Department Store, the famous Dong'an Market, the biggest arts and crafts shop in China, the biggest Xinhua Bookstore, the Foreign Languages Bookstore, Lisheng Sports Shop and Medical Appliances Shop. Also, here are some famous old shops, such as Shengxifu hats shop, Tonghesheng shoes shop, New World silk shop, Hengteli watchmaker's shop, Baicaoshenrong drugstore and Jiguge historical relic shop, etc.

Xidan Street
Xidan Business Street is in Xicheng District, the center of Beijing. Here and Tiananmen Square are 1.5 kilometers apart. It is developed after the found of China. Here is the famous Xidan Market, Xidan Shopping Center and some old shops, such as Shengxifu hats shop and Jingyi glasses shop.

Qianmen-Dashilan Street
Qianmen-Dashalan Business Street lies in the southern city of Beijing. It is to the south of Zhengyangmen and to the west of the central line. This is an old walking shopping street that has a long history. There are a lot of famous shops that all have more than one hundred years' history, such as Liubiju sauce and pickle shop, Tongrentang drugstore, Ruifuxiang silk shop, Neiliaansheng shoes shop, Zhangyiyuan tea shop and so on.

Note: The summer hours for most Beijing shopping malls are 9:00am to 21:00pm, and in winter they are closed either a half or one hour earlier than in summer. Many larger and Tourism Appointed stores will accept credit card payment. Bringing some cash is always necessary in the event that you'd like to buy something from the street vendors.

Special Markets
Hongqiao Pearl Market is an indoor mall with a seafood market in the basement and about 3 floors up. Located near the Temple of Heaven on Tiantan Street, this market offers antiques, clothing, porcelain, produce and much more. Shop all three floors in the main building, but don't miss the antiques hidden behind the pearl stalls on the third floor.

This big market offers everything, from pocket knifes, copy watches, sports wear, bags, shoes to actual jewelry. It is somehow chaotic - but so is every market in China (the ones locals visit are even harder to pick through). On ground floor you can find some electronics, basic photo equipment, copy watches and other small stuff (pocket knives, thermos for tea...). On second floor they have shoes, women's and men's clothes, bags and some sporting goods - remember when bargaining - they are all fakes! At the top of the store they keep pearls, other jewelry and souvenirs (lamps, stamps, coins, kites, silk craft...).

Pearl is the speciality of this market. These are sweet water pear from southern China provinces. These girls are very skillful and doing things very quick. They can re-make the pear necklace/bracelet as the design you like. Just tell them what you want! The qulity is not bad general speaking, people like to bring them back to their country for the cheap price and not bad quality. It's the perfect gift from China!

Panjiayuan Dirt Market is the most famous antique flea market in Beijing. Getting up early on Saturday or Sunday will reward those with the energy to spare. True to say, it is not an antique market but more a second-hand and antiques-imitation market, there are some really wonderful things to see, particularly if you want anything associated with the Cultural Revolution. Under a huge roof resembling an aircraft hanger, you can hunt for genuine artifacts and learn how to haggle with relish. Arts and crafts from across the country are laid out on carpets and in tiny stalls.

There are books, Chinese scrolls, and paintings. There is coral, and beads and clothes and material. One of the best parts and what feels to be the most authentic are the hand-stitched material, clothes and headdresses from China's ethnic minorities. But for this, the prices are higher and the bargaining tougher. Do not be put off. If you walk away, she will remember your face and as luck may have, let you have that precious gift for the price you least expect!

Silk Market or Silk Alley or Xiushui Silk Market, is favored in particular by Beijing's massive expatriate community, particularly those who are on the look-out for a bargain and who are not afraid to negotiate for a discount with wily vendors who expect nothing less. If the goods sometimes seem less than the genuine thing, well... Suffice to say, bargain hunters revel in the opportunity of picking up just about any item of clothing you can imagine for a fraction of what they would expect to pay elsewhere.