Shopping day in Baoding.

Yesterday, I went downtown. It was crazier than normal, many stores were having sales. October 1st of every year is National Day. National Day is similar to the fourth of July in the United States. Most people do not work on this day, so many of them go shopping. In China, the sheer number of people can be overwhelming at times. I don't remember experiencing anything quite like this in the states.

People were everywhere. The sidewalks and streets were crowded. The edge of the sidewalk near the street is lined with vendors. These vendors sell everything from food, clothing, electronics, novelty items, and small household appliances. I saw one vendor selling plasma television sets. On the sidewalk, the traffic is going both ways. If a person sees something that a vendor is selling, they simply stop walking and look at the item. This means that the people behind them have to stop as well because the oncoming flow of people prevent easy passage. On the wider portions of the sidewalks, stores will set up stages and put on shows that promote the products they are selling. As a person walks down the street, they hear lots of noise. All of these street performances, and other stores playing music are quite noisy. Costumers, vendors, store owners, beggars, policemen and other people are trying to handle their affairs. Sometimes people will drive their motorscooters down the crowded sidewalks, not really thinking of anyone but themselves.

It isn't that bad, it is something that I am getting used to. It really is safe, so long as I watch for traffic.

Yesterday I bought two pairs of shoes. In a previous post, I commented that purchasing shoes is difficult for me. My shoe size is on the upper limit of what I can find at many shoe stores in China. I can sometimes find the length, but the shoes are almost always narrow. Yesterday, I think I lucked out, I found two pairs of shoes that seem comfortable. I hope I still think so after I start wearing them all the time.

Today, I also went downtown and I purchased a jacket. It is a nice jacket, and I can tell it was well made. If I am willing to spend a bit of money, I can find some good quality clothing. I suppose that this is true everywhere. I was looking at a fleece shirt today. The quality was really good, and it was fashionable. The store wanted the equivalent of about $50 for it, which is about what a person would expect to pay in the states. Because of the quality, maybe someone would have to pay more than $50.

My point is that shopping in China is not that easy, but there can be good deals to be found. When I was still living in the US, I figured that merchandise would be dirt cheap. After arriving in China, I found that I can purchase really poor quality merchandise dirt cheap, but if the goods resemble items that might sell well in western countries, the price is almost the same that one would expect to pay in their respective country. This is true for food as well. For example, McDonalds charges about the same price as one would expect to pay in the US. A Big Mac combo meal might run you 35 - 45 元. To find good western style food, I have to go to Beijing. There, I can expect to pay quite a bit of money. A person can find good deals in China for clothes. Here are some suggestions for people who intend to go shopping when in China;
- when you visit, do not bring a lot of clothing. I would suggest that you do not ship clothing back to the US. Only buy what you can carry back with you.
- Larger sizes are frequently difficult to come by. If you are a larger sized person, maybe you want to make sure that you bring enough clothing in case you cannot find your size in China.
- I don't really know much about buying women's clothing, but women's clothes seem really good. Men's clothing can be bothersome. I sometimes think that the men's clothing is feminine. I don't care for wearing pink or purple tee-shirts.
- If you look like a foreigner, and you cannot speak Chinese, expect to not pay the Chinese price for anything if you are in a large tourist city like Beijing or Shanghai. You will likely overpay. If you can speak Chinese, you will probably also overpay. Your best bet is to go to a city that does not see many tourists. In that way, you can have more confidence that you will not be completely fleeced.

I don't know too much about this topic, perhaps other people can be more helpful than me. I would urge you to seek their advice.