Mad About Shanghai

Fabric & Tailor Market in Shanghai II (Part 3)

If you are thinking of spending some serious money (Saville Row style) on suits.

Try Dave Tailor in Xu hui. Check out their web site here. They are reputed to be one of the best tailors in Shanghai.

New Xiang Yang Market (Part 2)

I popped by one of the "new Xiang Yang market" at Jin Hui Road recently as I happened to be that area.

Just at the main door, I was surprised to see two large posters pasted by the Shanghai Administration of Commerce and Industry. On closer inspection, I realised it to be a reminder to the tenants that it is an offence to sell counterfeit goods.

I didnt come across a Chinese version. So this is probably to let tourists know that the authorities are at least doing something to stamp out piracy.

I did a quick tour inside the premises and found significantly less blatant exhibition of imitation goods compared to my last visit there about a year back. However, I suspect if someone really wants to buy some fake LVs or Pradas, the stall owners should still have their own ways and means to get it.(Dont get me wrong, I dont support counterfeiters and I urge our readers to stay away from counterfeit goods too)

Nonetheless, I think its still a good place to get bags, leather goods and shoes. Non-imitations, of course.

The address once again:

Shanghai Hong Qiao Datong Tang Building

No. 461 Jin Hui Road

Ming Hang Area (near Wu Zhong road)

Fabric & Tailor Market in Shanghai II (Part 2)

The fateful day arrived. Yes, my shirts are here !

The 3kg package, drapped in Winnie the Pooh wrapping paper, didnt inspire much confidence. I stared at the package for a while, quite sure that I made a wrong choice with both the tailor and the quantity.

It didnt take me too long to realise its too late for regrets.  I tored up the packaging and tried the first shirt.

On first try, I thought the cutting was bit off and the fitting was a bit too tight. I took that off and tried another one. Surprisingly, it fitted very well and comfortably too. The remaining three shirts fitted well too.

I then tried the first shirt again. I am not too sure why, but this time it seems like a much better fit. Perhaps my initial low expectations got the better of me.

On closer inspection, I found the tailoring skills and attention to details to be very good. Fabric aside, I feel its better than some of my more expensive business shirts made elsewhere outside of China.

Overall, I think I got a good deal. I was so pleased that I went back and got five more shirts tailored. For Jennifer,  with the exception of  a minor alteration, she was very pleased with her qipao too. She made another one too!

My next target - a suit and an overcoat

Now, I am sure most of you would be asking by now. "So which stall did you visit ?".

Here you go:

Da Shanghai MJ Dress (大上海服饰)
399 Lu Jia Bang Road
371, 3F
Tel :02163775856
Mobile: 13524325665
email : mj_shirt@163.com

Disclaimer :I have not tried other stalls in the fabric market, so I cant say this is the best one. But I am a satisfied customer from this stall.

Fabric & Tailor Market in Shanghai II (Part 1)

  Admittedly, until recently, I never had the confidence to have my business shirts made at the Fabric & Tailor market at Lu Jia Bang Road. Yes, I know there are some good tailors there. But selecting a random one without the recommendations from others is akin to a blind date and is too much of a risk to take at times. You never know what you are going to get.

Anyway, on one fine day, I decided to cast all my reservations aside and get some shirts done. If the final output turned out to be bad, I would take that as a lesson learnt.

I called up Jennifer, whom I secretly nicknamed "The Bargainer" (for her sharp tongue when it comes to tough task of  bargaining) to come along. Having ran two small boutiques before,  she has a keen eye on the best prices for clothing,fabric and fashion.

Turned out, she had never been there before and was keen to make a trip to the fabric market too. She went to Maoming Road a few days earlier and was quoted RMB900 for a qipao. All prepared to shell out that figure, she thought it would be a good idea to get a second quotation.

We arranged and met just outside the Fabric Market. For first timers going there, the fabric market is about 15 mins away from the Bund. Tell the taxi driver "Fabric Market at Lu Jia Bang Road". They all know the place.

Inside the building are seven levels of shops selling anything and everything fabric related, in bulk or in piecemeal. Almost all claimed to be "the best".

We took our time to look through all almost all the shops. After about 40 mins or so, Jennifer decided on which shop she wanted her qipaos to be made. I accompanied her and she swiftly concluded a deal for half the price she was quoted at MaoMing Road. Quality of the fabric is almost the same too. Like any woman, she was happy she got a good deal.

It was my turn next and I have absolutely no idea which shop to patronize. Jennifer then suggested one of the shop at level 3 where we saw many "lao wai" (foreigners). We rationalize that they must be there due to word of mouth recommendations from other tourists or their tailoring skills could be more attuned to western taste, which is a good thing. A good idea indeed.

We went in and talked to the shop owner abit. The owner was so confident of the tailoring skills that he refused to give any discount initially.

Anyway, I liked what I saw there and decided to get five business shirts done. Each at a price of RMB100 which is around US$15. If you are coming from the US, to say this is a great deal is an understatement. On hearing that I would be getting  five shirts tailored, the owner decided to give me a RMB10 discount for each shirt as a "special discount".

I got measured up, selected the design for the cuffs and collars and left. The shirts would be ready three days later. For additonal RMB 30, you can get the shirts delivered to your door step or office. They even deliver overseas via courier if you cant wait. I opted for delivery as I didnt feel like  making a trip back to collect the shirts.  My cab fare would have been about RMB30 anyway.

The exterior view of the Fabric Market (below).

Oh, the Silk Market is just opposite too.

To be contd....

Qi Pu Road (Wholesale District)

Qi Pu Road is known as the wholesale district of Shanghai.

This is the place where some fashion retailers purchase their stocks, at wholesale prices and then applying the necessary markup when it goes to shelf.

I first learnt about the area when Jennifer told me thats where she obtained the stocks for her fashion retail outlet. On many occasions, I wanted to tag along with her on one of her stock runs there, just to see how business is conducted at the street level. Unfortunately, our available timings never matched and she has since wind down her retail business to concentrate on investing in stocks.

One fine day, I asked if she would be free to go to Qi Pu Road. Incidentally, a friend of hers needed her to be there as she is able to get a good discount from some of the distributors.

We met at Huai Hai Road and took a cab there. Journey is about 15 mins or so.

The area was congested, worned out and pretty polluted. I guess the environment is really no frills to keep costs low!

We went into a building about seven storeys high and its packed with shops selling anything from bags to clothes to leather goods.  All item pricings are negotiable. Lets say you are a retailer and is interested in a specific number of a particular shirt. Chances are, the seller there would have this already available in multicolor, sizes and volume packed in boxes for you. Some of the shops there dont even bother to unpack their goods from the boxes or crates. Of course, the more you more the cheaper it gets.

The shops are equally frills free. Jennifer spotted a dress she liked and negotiated a wholesale price for it but met with a small problem. She wanted to try it but there was no fitting room in the shop. What the shop owner did was to bring out a curtain, tie one end of it onto a section of his shop and asked a young girl to hold on to the other end of it. And so, Jennifer tried the dress in the improvised "fitting room". Understandably, in double quick time !

Factory overuns are peddled in the shops there too. Jennifer remarked that the same bedlinen sets which she bought months earlier were being sold at 50% off.

If you are not really into brands or service, you may just be able to get a few good deals there! I havent got the exact address but most taxi drivers would know the area if you mention to them the Qi Pu Road wholesale district. However, its difficult to get a taxi out due to the congestion frequently faced in the area. Well,there is always a price to pay for a lower price tag.

Happy Shopping~

Qipao~ Qipao~

Sexy and yet conservative. Elegant and yet traditional. No other dress accentuates the femininity of  the Chinese woman better than the qipao .

Lately, I am not sure why, there seems to be a sudden surge in searches and queries on this subject here.

Sorry ladies, a bloke like me couldnt help much.

OK..ok....I hear your grumblings...I would ask..:

Many Shanghaiese ladies I spoke to recommended MaoMing Road (the small section between Huahai Road and NanChang Road)  for the tailoring of qipao instead of the Fabric Market, for the craftsmanship and specialisation of the tailors there.  You can find any qipao you want, amongst the 15 specialty shops there. Most there would be able to give you good recommendations on what suits you best.

Apparently, there are 3 essential points that you need to look out for when selecting a qipao, click on the hyperlinks to find out more:

1) Style and Materials
2) How to Wear
3) Best Fit

(disclaimer applies!!! dont shoot me. I am just passing info from other ladies)

(Below)
Zhang Zhiyi and Maggie Cheung at their qipao best.

Book Nooks in Shanghai

One of my favorite hang out places in Shanghai is Fuzhou Road aka the Book Street.

Rich in history, this street date way back to 1864 when it was known as the Fourth Road (Nanjing Xi Road was the First  Road then). It also served as the cultural centrepoint of Old Shanghai then till 1949. During its hey days, it was home to up to a hundred establishments consisting of bookstores, news agencies, publication houses and stationery stores.

 Fuzhou Road now houses more than thirty book stores and still regarded as place to go for the discerning bookworm.

For those of you new to the city and looking for locally printed books particularly about Shanghai history and other rare prints, this street is a must-go on your exploration list then.

Heres a few popular ones along that street:

Shanghai Ancient Books Store
424, Fuzhou Road
Tel: 63223453

Shanghai Books City
401, Fuzhou Road
Tel: 63200651

Shanghai Foreign Languages Bookstore
390, Fuzhou Road
Tel: 63223200
(City's largest selection of English-language books and magazines)

Heres a good read explaining Chinese book prices

Tip: Watch out for pirated books!

New Xiang Yang Market

Brad and Sabrina previously mentioned 2 locations the "new"  Xiang Yang Market have relocated to : Yatai Market at the Science Center in Pudong and 580 Nanjing Xi Lu in Puxi.

 Heres one more I came across while visiting a friend residing nearby:

Located at JinHui Road, this building has been left largely unoccupied the past few years till a collectively group of the remnant tenants from Xiang Yang Market decided to move here a couple of months back.

A casual chat with one of the tenants revealed that Xiang Yang used to command as high as RMB25,000 to 30,000 per month in rental.  Rental here is only about one-tenth of Xiang Yang. With the much lower monthly overhead,  the tenants here breathe a bit easier and you can actually look around in peace without being hassled to patronise a particular stall.

The usual stuff (bags, jackets, shoes, leather stuff etc) you used to be able to find at Xiang Yang can all be found here.  All four levels of it.

Worth a visit for the discerning bargain hunter, even for non-imitation stuff.

*Same haggling process applies.

The address is :

Shanghai Hong Qiao Datong Tang Building

No. 461 Jin Hui Road

Ming Hang Area (near Wu Zhong road)

^20mins from Xu Jia Hui depending on traffic. Cab fare about RMB 30.

The New Xiang Yang Market

There have been many queries on where to get some good fake stuff in Shanghai now that Xiangyang Market is shut.

There have been several contenders but it appears there are 2 major players, 1 in Puxi  1 in Pudong, these are:

Puxi - 580 Nanjing Xi Lu, close to Chengdu Lu. This is on the north side of Nanjing Lu up a wide set of steps, with two sets of double glass doors and it says something like "Fashion Mall" on the outside.

Pudong - Yatai Market which believe it or not, is in a Metro station. It is located at the Shanghai Science and Technology station on line 2. When you get out of the Metro just look around and you will see different entry points. It is a pretty big underground market and has many areas such as Area A, Area B etc.

They have the usual stuff including fakes of LV, Prada, Rolex, Gucci, Nike, Puma, Reebok etc etc.

Go explore - happy shopping!

Xiang Yang Market Really is Closed!

Xiangyang Market - Shanghai's notorious fake market, and dirge to IPR champions really has closed down.

The news about the closure has been coming for months, but I really wondered if it would be as simple as just shutting down at 9.30pm on Friday the 29th June 2006.

Well, we went for a look see on Saturday morning, and it was well and truly shut down. Not only were the gates in place but they were also busy building solid walls at the other open entrances. To top it all off were some great propoganda signs at the former entrances to the once thriving counterfeit centre of Shanghai.

One banner reads "Ban Xiangyang market, protect intellectual property" the other "Protect intellectual property, beat counterfeit and shoddy".

Now that its gone, you would think that you were safe from the annoyances of the street hawkers that are trying to convince you to follow them to go to their stalls. Well, guess again - they are still there and in just as strong numbers. It actually was worse than normal, because normally as you walk the surrounding streets there are thousands of other Xiang Yang market shoppers with you, but because it is no longer a major destination, you are more of a prime target. It was quite a painful walk getting from Xiang Yang Lu to Shanxi Lu.

From what we saw there were small stores in and around the back streets that are now offering all the goodies you can no longer get at Xiangyang. The hawkers/touts will try and lure you into these stores to get their commission. We have also heard that many of the stall vendors used to have storage rooms nearby and that they are now selling out of there.

The propoganda machine may have taken over at the physical location of Xiang Yang market, but the spirit lives on in the streets and the hawkers (and the foreigners trying to score some cheap fake stuff)!

Update

The new Xiangyang Markets.