Shopping Assistance

The lovely tourist city Guilin is able to offer you a unique and interesting shopping experience with its numerous small streets and flea markets.
Shoppers in Guilin can purchase anything from tea to clothing.

There are three major shopping districts in the Guilin City as follows:

• Zhongshan Road (中山路);
• Zhengyang Walking Street (正阳步行街) located in the city’s center; and
• Wayao Products Wholesale Market (瓦窑商品批发市场) in Southern Guilin.

The West Street in the Yangshuo County offers some unique items that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

What to buy?

South Sea Pearls

The South Sea Pearls in China have been well known all around the world for their fine quality and long-lasting luster. Hepu in Guangxi province produces the finest South Sea Pearls in China. Located in the North Guangxi province close to Hepu, Guilin is an ideal place to buy South Sea Pearls if you are not visiting Hepu.

Paintings

Famed as the “most scenic place under Heaven”, Guilin’s landscape has been the subject of Chinese artists for thousands of years. In order to capture inspirations and get close to the natural beauty, many ink painting artists and institutions have settled down in Guilin. This makes Guilin an excellent place to buy fine ink painting works at inexpensive prices.

Tea

Tea has a history of thousands of years in China. So does the practice of drinking tea. The Chinese tea has had great effects on Chinese people and even the people around the world for ages. Every city around China generates its unique tea. It is convenient to take tea as gifts with you to back home for your relatives and friends for it is light, dry and easy to keep.

Minority Handicrafts

Guilin is rich in minority cultures with 28 ethnic groups living in the area. These ethnic people are still producing their traditional costumes’ and handicrafts in the old fashion way. Among them, costumes and headdress of Zhang and Yao ethnic groups are most attractive. Real handmade minority handicrafts are expensive however they are truly valuable souvenirs to bring home.

Guilin Local Specialties

The most famous local specialties in Guilin include Dry Sweet Osmanthus Flowers, Sugar Sweet Osmanthus, Dried Longan, Monk Fruit(罗汉果). They are nutritious and healthy. Locals often use them as sweetener in cooking, or to make healthy drink or desserts.

The most famous local fruit is Sha-Tian Grapefruit(沙田柚) . It is kind of big fruit with soft, thick, and rough yellow skin matured during autumn. Its meat taste sweet with special fragrance.

Where to shop

Zhongshan Road

Zhongshan Road is the longest commercial street in the Guilin City with many big department stores in the street, as well as many boutique stores including some famous brands.

NiKo-NiKo-Do Shopping Mall

Address: No.37, Zhongshan Middle Road (中山中路37号)
Business Hours: 9:00 am – 10:30 pm, Monday – Sunday
Price Negotiable: No

The Niko-Niko-Do Shopping Mall(微笑堂) is one of the best shopping malls, and may be the most popular one in Guilin. If you are looking for high-quality clothing, shoes, electronics, and cosmetics, it is a right place to visit. There are some fine restaurants on the top floor and a KFC outlet on the ground floor facing the main street. Niko-Niko-Do Shopping Mall has an underground food supermarket, where you can purchase local specialties.

Dream Island Department Store

Address: No. 20, Zhongshan Middle Road(中山中路20号)
Business Hours: 9:00 am – 10:00 pm, Monday – Sunday
Price Negotiable: No

The Dream Island Department Store(梦之岛百货) is another place to go for quality brand goods. There is also a KFC outlet on the ground floor facing the main street.

Bā Guì Dà Shà

Address: No. 29, Zhongshan Middle Road(中山中路29号)
Business Hours: 9:00 am – 9:00 pm, Monday – Sunday
Price Negotiable: Yes

There are many clothing and shoe stores in the Bā Guì Dà Shà (Osmanthus Shopping Plaza, 八桂大厦), where you can practise your bargaining skills. The prices in most stores are inexpensive, and the quality is reasonable. You could either get deals or get ripped off when shopping here, so also remember to bargain.

Xicheng Walking Street

Every evening the Xicheng Walking Street(西城步行街) becomes a bustling night market. Stalls here mostly sell souvenirs and knick-knacks from all parts of China and they sell mostly the same kind of goods too. Shopping at the street-side stalls are fun, but be sure to bargain. There are also many restaurants and drink shops there.
Address: Xicheng Walking Street, Zhongshan Road(中山路西城步行街).
Hours: all day but the big night market starts from 19:00 to 02:00 every day.

Zhengyang Walking Street

The Zhangyang Walking Street is located in downtown Guilin paralleled with the Zhong Shan Road. The main entrance to the Zhengyang Walking Street is opposite to the entrance of the ancient Jingjiang Princes’ Palace(靖江王府).

This walking street is Guilin’s most hip and popular shopping district that consists of many fashion boutiques, bars, nightclubs, high-end hair salons, and restaurants. No vehicles are allowed to enter the streets. It is the best place in Guilin to find fashion clothing and places to hang out. It is where to see and be seen in Guilin.

Wayao Products Wholesale Market

The Wayao Products Wholesale Market(瓦窑商品批发城) is made up of several 6-storey buildings. Wayao is where individual shoppers and buyers from other shops go for their needs. This market sells everything from clothing and house wares, to antiques and art. The Wayao T Products Wholesale Market is organized into categorized sections, so finding things is fairly easy. As it is mainly a wholesale market, you can get lower prices here than the normal retailing prices. Be aware, if you are looking for high quality brands, this is not the right place to go. But this is an excellent place to collect local crafts.

Yangshuo West Street

The West Street(西街) in Yangshuo is well-known for its unique cultural ambience. It is also a nice shopping location for unique cultural stuffs. Big fans, really big to catch your eyes, Yangshuo Big Fans are great for decorations. The painted fan undergoes a series of processes including dyeing, mounting and painting with lacquer or water color paint before it is ready for retail.

You can always find the backdrops of the fans are depicting birds, bamboos, flowers, insects and traditional, beautiful Chinese girls. The West Street is also a place to find quality minority costumes and handicrafts. These are great souvenirs to take back home. Items sold in the west street are negotiable.