Wangfujing aka: 王府井

Wangfujing is now considered the central heart of the city. Certainly from Wangfujing all areas of Beijing are easily accessible. Wangfujing is a fairly long street. A walk from end to end would take you about 30 minutes, and that’s without looking at any shops. The street has two major shopping malls, one of which, Oriental Plaza, sprawls a further 2 blocks to the east (and another 15 minute walk). Wangfujing street is also home to a number of large department stores, souvenir stores, and whole side streets full of food stalls, Chinese painting stores and other goodies.

http://beijingimpression.com

...to Beijing at all. Just a big commercial area in a big Chinese city. Lots of girls trying to get you to buy paintings, lots of shops selling knock-off knick-knacks to laowai.

If you really want to experience the maelstrom of a no-holds-barred consumerist warren the way only the Chinese can do it, go to Kowloon in Hong Kong instead.

The best part are the two snack streets. The emu kabobs and dan dan mien were the best.

All the big Western brands are to be found here – and expensive. There’s some good shopping as welll, and I found nice little presents to bring home, and generally wasted some time here.

But what’s disappointing is that it felt like a chique shopping street in almost any big city. There are many places I would return to in Beijing, but Wangfujing is not one of them: one visit is enough. Except to go to “snack street”, that is.

Pure tourism. Shopping such as you have never seen, for every taste, as well as a bit of history (check out the well). The best part by far, though, is the little street just off of it (the entrance may be immersed in steam as you walk through) filled with the best food you can get downtown (in my humble opinion, of course). There is nothing you cannot get on a stick, from squid to scorpion to silkworm, and there’s no better place to try some 羊头白水.

王府井，北京步行商业街