Xinjiekou
Is nanjing's fashion district, the cosmopolitan, fast-paced heart of the city bathed in neon. it's the closest thing nanjing has to shinjuku in tokyo or times square in new york. all the major retail outlets are centred on this area, which despite its complexity is only a couple of square blocks in size. there are giant department stores including wal-mart, watsons, suning, and "fashion lady" -- a bewildering, subterranean complex of clothing boutiques and vendors that looks like a video game come to life. on the outskirts of xinjiekou are some higher-end establishments selling everything from single-malt scotch to minis. the eight-floor deji plaza has a number of retailers such as cartier, louis vuitton, ermengildo zegna, coach, guess, versace, vasque, crocs, toys r us and so on. at dongfang shopping centre there's gucci, fendi, celine and so on. while you might be able to get away with haggling at the fashion lady don't expect any in deji plaza.
Hunan Road
Is a slightly more low-key version of xinjiekou running between xuanwu lake and zhongshanbei lu - it has most of the same stores including the phoenix international bookstore which has a whole floor of english-language books. there is also a small pedestrianised street called shiziqiao ç®åæ¡¥-lion's bridge running south from hunan road which is lined with pretty much every variety of restaurant imaginable, including the usual kfc and mcd's, several cheap jiaozi and noodle places, some more upmarket chinese places and a handufl of international restaurants incluing a thai and indian.
The area around the Confucius Temple
In the south of the city has a lot of shopping, especially clothing and tourist items. it is a maze of tiny individual shops, and fun to explore even if you are not buying. if you are interesting in buying, haggling over prices is the name of the game here. if you are skilled in the art of bargaining you can easily get an asking price of ï¿¥380 reduced to ï¿¥80 without breaking a sweat. the streets outside the temple area provide more shopping opportunities, as does the underground mall. the entrance to this mall is sandwiched between two shops but the neon lights provide a clue. this is a nanjing shopping experience you will want to return to again and again. opposite confucius temple there's aqua city shopping centre with retailers like h&m, uniqlo, zara, mango and so on. while you are there, take a stroll through the temple, and over the historic bridge which offers great photo opportunities. if it's a cup of tea that interests you check out the little gold-roofed floating tea houses on the canal.