You know You’re In China, When You Get to Shop At The Zoo: Visit To Beijing Zoo Market

It’s one of those beautiful mornings where I look forward to sunrise since I have an action packed and fun day ahead.  I have been on a sabbatical from work for a while to settle down in Beijing and majority of my time has been spent in getting used to the city, finding and setting up a home, exploring the amazing markets of Beijing and sharing my experiences with you lovely ladies.

So today the ladies of INN, an expat group that I’m a part of  (International Newcomers Network Group in Beijing) decided to visit the popular Beijing Zoo Market and I volunteered to lead the group with a friend to a fun filled day of shopping, which we all love 🙂

The Beijing Zoo Market as popular as “Mad House” amongst all the expats here is a massive wholesale market that comprises of seven markets all located around the Beijing Zoo. The popular ones amongst these are Julong, Tianlegong and Shiji Tianle. This place is known for selling clothes for almost half the price and people really buy stuff in volumes. Usually  foreigners avoid this place as it’s overtly crowded and it’s massive, so exploring all the seven markets in one day is practically not possible. The place is too pushy, stuffy and has poor ventilation so after a while it get on to your nerves and the shopper enthusiasm in you may fizzle out. But keep calm and just walk with an open mind and determination to get the best deal, and trust me you will walk out as “Winner” with your favorite stuff bought at the cheapest price.

First glance at the cluttered shops works as a reverse psychology, but then I keep my cool and like a tigress hunts for it’s prey, I hunt for  discounted stuff lol. The trick in such markets is to dig out good stuff from the bad stuff. There will be big piles of clothes lying in a box or displayed, the only way to get the best deal is to fish out for stuff that you would like or fit in.

They usually don’t bargain here as the prices are already reduced. But if you go shopping with a big bag (it gives the vendors an impression that you’re there to shop and not just look around) and buy quite a lot of things from one shop, then you can bargain further. As an Indian, I try my luck at bargaining at every shop ha ha ha. There’s no harm in asking, isn’t it?

The building that we checked out today had 7 huge floors consisting of clothes for men, women, babies, shoes, accessories, handbags etc etc…!!! They didn’t allow me to click pictures, but I managed a few, hope you all will like them 🙂

STORE CLUTTER:- Dresses, Skirts & Jewelry (in the pics below)

I enjoy checking out all the stores, especially the discount racks where stuff is displayed on sale for prices between 50-150 Yuan.

It was fun checking out the crazy stuff too, especially where the sales girls are dressed in the weirdest possible clothes to attract the attention of the customers.

This is what I mean when I say “Bulk Shopping”. Check out the big plastic bags tied to a trolley 🙂

And here’s all the crazy amount of shopping that I managed to do today, for crazy cheap prices….!!! I got 2 dresses, 3 skirts, 3 scarfs, 1 jacket, one pair of gloves and one cute owl necklace. I’m dying to try all my outfits, do check them out on my OOTD’s 😉

So here are few Pro’s and Con’s of the “Beijing Zoo Market”

TURN ON’S: BEIJING ZOO MARKET

• Huge Market offering lots of Variety
• Super cheap prices for everything
• Bulk shopping can get you good bargain
• Gives you a real experience of Wholesale and bulk shopping.
• Shopping is fun, so people who are adventurous enough will love this Market.

TURN OFF’S: BEIJING ZOO MARKET

• Too Crowded, claustrophobics will not like this place at all
• Markets are too stuffy and poor ventilation.
• No good restaurant’s close by. Since one ends up spending a whole day here, the only respite is a McDonald’s located in one of the buildings.

Overall, its an experience for every Beijinger, and I’m glad I did it, and I hope you guy’s enjoyed reading about. Shopping is fun when accompanied by friends, and I’m so glad that I could do this with my friend Amy. Here’s our “SELFIE ” that we clicked to celebrate our fruitful shopping day.

WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM OUR READERS…!!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SUCH WHOLESALE MARKETS IN INDA? PLACES LIKE SAROJINI NAGAR, FASHION STREET AND JANPATH MARKETS?