SILK BLANKETS: BEIJING or SHANGHAI

Old Oct 23rd, 2017, 01:14 PM
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SILK BLANKETS: BEIJING or SHANGHAI

Need the recommendations where to buy the real silk blankets and how much are these. I will be in Beijing for 3 days and then flying to Shanghai where i will staying for 2 night ; about 1.5 days.
i would like to buy the silk blankets for my children, myself. Maybe 4-5 all together.
I heard from my friends that there is a good "fabric" outside Shanghai which can be combined with sightseeing??? but i dont know how far is that place and would i have enough time.
Thank you
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Old Oct 23rd, 2017, 01:50 PM
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We visited the multi-story silk markets in both Beijing and Shanghai, and I found the one in Beijing to be much, much nicer. I bought a beautiful silk jacket there, and my younger son bargained for me, which is something I never like to do. In Shanghai, the sick market building looked dreary, and one of the workers called my older son "stupid" when we walked out of a shop without buying anything.

So, if you go to the silk market building in Beijing, you can get all your shopping done at once, and quickly. The prices, after bargaining, were quite good.
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Old Oct 23rd, 2017, 05:26 PM
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The so-called Silk Market in Beijing is a tourist trap par excellence. It may be absolutely guaranteed that you will pay more than necessary there, and typically several multiples more. No one's interested in serious bargaining because the rents are far too high and because crowds of absolutely clueless tour groups without a clue about prices or bargaining are led in there in vast numbers.

Look instead in older department stores and similar away from the centre, and in market-like buildings such as 天意新商城 Tianyi Xin Shangcheng in Fucheng Men Wai, four blocks west of Fucheng Men metro station on the north side of the street.

It's an absolute warren, Here you'll still have to bargain, but you'll get a great deal closer to local prices once you find the silk.

A little further out, to the south:

木樨园纺织品市场 Muxi Yuan Fabric Market in Muxiyuan Qiao Nan Jie

less cluttered and more spacious than Tianyi. Also known as 百荣世贸商城 Bairong Shimao Shangcheng or Bairong World Trade Centre.

More centrally:

A still slightly touristy silk specialist but also used by locals and with marked prices:

瑞蚨祥 Ruifuxiang in Dazhalan Jie, just off Qian Men Wai Dajie on which you'll also find 谦袢益 Qian Pan Yi. Both have been around for well over a century.

Anything but the 'Silk Market'.
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Old Oct 23rd, 2017, 09:31 PM
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Peter, since you are our resident China expert, I will defer to your opinion. I has been ten years since I visited the Beijing silk market, so things may have changed there for the worse. My beautiful embroidered silk jacket cost $20, although the price started at $150. My son was enjoying himself with the bargaining, and I think the young girl was totally upset afterwards.

Thanks for posting the other suggestions.
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Old Oct 24th, 2017, 01:57 AM
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You can get lucky at a place like the Silk Market but the odds are against you, especially when it comes to silk products. It will probably look like silk but won't be. Maybe you don't mind and like the jacket, so that's fine too. We're only talking of $20 in any case.
If I am looking for something of good quality in silk, I go to a shopping mall. The nicer the mall and store the better. It won't be cheap though. I would favor Shanghai since it comes from this area.
@Californialady - about the girl looking upset, it's all acting.They never lose money on a sale, just don't make as much as they hoped.
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Old Oct 24th, 2017, 06:34 AM
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CCT - The concierge at the Beijing Grand Hyatt sent us to the silk market. I had my jacket looked at professionally when I got home, and it is not fake. I'm sure the girl who sold it to me was hoping to get more money out of me, but my son is a tough negotiator. He kept having me walk away until he got the price he wanted. And as I said before, this was ten years ago, so there may indeed no longer be bargains there.

In any case, I don't want this thread to be about me, but I want to thank Peter again for the comprehensive list of silk shops, and for his many valuable contributions here.
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Old Oct 24th, 2017, 10:44 AM
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Thank you very much for all your helpful replies.
My friend told me that they went to Suzhou-where they bought the silk blankets and everything else. She has used one for more then 10 years since they went to China and like it a lot.Now I want it too! I've read multiple great reviews about that silk blankets.
I wont have time to go to Suzhou even it's a very interesting place.
The blankets should be in Beijing too (?)
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