Shopping in Sanlituan

My roommate Jessica arrived very late on Monday night, so she went right to bed and slept for about 10 hours. We had a bit of a lazy morning on Tuesday, given that it was her first morning I did not want to push. When we did get out of the hotel we decided to take the subway to Sanlituan area, which is a trendy fun area where many of the embassies are located. We had investigated the Insider's Guide to Beijing guidebook, which I have come to know and love, and read up on all the markets in Beijing. The Russian market sounded intriguing, with its promise of "larger size underwear, bras and stockings" (Jessica is quite busty and neither of us are Chinese sized, which appears to be essentially cultivating a look where people's legs are the diameter of my arms), but the Nali Market and Patio area in Sanlituan won out with its description of "cute 'designer' clothes at decent prices". The Yashow market (not to be confused with the Yueshow Market in CBD) was also nearby so we had many choices.

Sanlituan is on the same line as our Suzhoujie station, so it just takes about 40 minutes and 15 stops. It's a cute area, with a big, brand new mall area called The Village. Just across from that on the east side is the Nali Market and Nali Patio area, which is this adorable little culdesac with a tile floor and outdoor cafe chairs. We almost missed the market area, but found it because I was looking for a bathroom. The clothes WERE really cute, but mostly ready for spring, and it's cold here in China right now so we didn't buy anything. I was tempted by some "wrist socks", which are like knitted wrist cuffs with little holes by the end for your thumbs. I probably could have got them down to US$5 but do I really need wrist socks? Not really.

Afterward we went to the Yashow Market, which is your standard indoor Chinese market with lots of fakes, doo-dads, gew-gaws and the like. Lots of aggressive sellers saying "Hello, lady, hello, lady you want t-shirt? I give you good price!" and the like. We were using it as a basis for future purchases, so we didn't buy anything. We were very tempted by some Longchamp Pliage bags as well as some funny (and cheap) wigs so we'll probably be back to get some of those.

When we got back to the hotel it was really cold, so I bought a winter coat at the coat store next to the McDonalds. It's a nice black wool/poly blend and very chic. The sleeves are a leetle short, but I've been keeping warm in it!