Fabric Shopping in Beijing
 

I'll be going to Bangkok and Beijing early September, and I'm going to do some fabric shopping! :D Any ideas what I could expect in Beijing? Any fabric stores I have to look for? Thanks so much. :D

my wife bought fabric in the "friendship store"....bkk is the better place

I was not so impressed with the fabric shopping in Beijing. What are you looking for? I agree that BKK is much better.

^ i usually buy apparel fabric. perhaps the local silk? i was hoping i could get something like Shantung silk in Beijing. Are fabric stores in general pretty few and far between in Beijing? That's the feedback I've received from a few friends.

there are a few fabric stores in the Dong Si area of Beijing. Also check out Yaxiu market. The top floor has a fair selection of fabrics.

Though I agree with the other posters - you'd probably do better in BKK

This is THE store for silk fabric in Beijing, it is dazzling and in a hutong area full of fun shops open late into the night.

http://en.ruifuxiang.cn

The stores in Shanghai are more expensive, the other city is Hangzhou/West Lake, the silk capital of China, the couture houses of Paris and Milan buy there. The Silk Museum is worth visiting, and a trip to a silk factory is fascinating. Suzhou is also a good city to shop, plus fresh water lake pearls.

I bought a ready made outfit at Rufuxiang. (They needed two weeks for custom made garments). But I did not see too much heavy high-quality silk there, or anyplace else in Beijing. I am sure it can be found, (I did see ready-made garments made of great quality silk in other shops) but I think you will have an easier time in Bangkok.

ekscrunchy -- $$ talks, if you pay more, custom made garments can be done in a week, and if you pay way more, it can be had overnight, tailors love to burn the midnight oil.

S: You know I never thought of offering to pay more. I did buy pants and a matching jacket of a great quality silk gauze there (forgot the actual name of that type of silk..similar to a silk gazar but they used a different name; almost organdy-like; the silk ws brown and black with a subtle pattern).

I am quite sure I paid way more than a local would have paid..almost $100 US for the set. Rufuxiang is a state-run store and I felt the service there, and at other state-run shops, was less accommodating than at the privately run places. I did have a great jacket tailored at a shop across the street that I thought had better service...I gave the details in my trip report. I am sure there is grreat yardage available in Beijing; I just gave cursory looks in a few places and did not see the qualilty I had seen in other countries.