From my Beijing desk, October 2008
So you are you planning to go to Beijing, aren’t you?
Maybe with your significant one?
If so, do you plan on buying local souvenirs or some expensive gifts?
Take this little test: look at the list of questions below, answer them for yourself, then check out my comments. I offer you insights from my own experience of Beijing shops.
Are you well prepared for a Beijing shopping experience?
- How do you avoid being huckstered by cunning shop owners selling worthless products?
- Does your travel guide recommend those shops which offer quality products?
- How do you haggle to get prices down to their fairest levels?
- If you buy Chinese antiquities, can you identify a fake?
- Do you know which antiques might send you to prison?
- How do you avoid shopping traps?
- How do you shorten your shopping time to maximize your cultural Beijing trip?
- Why exactly is it risky to trust your travel agent’s tour guides?
In my next posts I tell you the most common blunders travelers make in Beijing: The Don’ts of Beijing Shopping (They Will Cost You Dearly)
