Hangzhou Shopping

Hangzhou Shopping Guide provides you the detailed information about Hangzhou local specialties, featured shopping areas, What and Where to Buy in Hangzhou, Hangzhou Local Products, Souvenirs, Shopping Districts, Streets and Malls. Hangzhou has both modern shopping malls and featured shopping streets, both of which will fulfill your desire.

What to Buy in Hangzhou

As a famous tourist city in China, Hangzhou is also a shopping paradise for tourist from around the world. Hangzhou is well known for producing excellent silks, including satins. Beside, it's also a great place for freshwater pearls, local crafts, fans, antiques and souvenirs.

Local Specialties

Longjing Tea (龙井茶)

Longjing Tea, ranking first in the top ten famous teas in China, belongs to one kind of the green tea. It is a famous and traditional tea in China with more than 1,200 years. It is produced in Lingjn village, West Lake distinct, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Longjin Tea has a bright green color, rich aroma, and refreshing taste. It also has the characteristics of "green, fragrance, sweetness and beautifulness”. It can be a suitable gift of souvenir for friends and families.

West Lake Lotus Root Powder (西湖藕粉)

West Lake lotus root powder is one of the famous specialties in Hangzhou. It has unique flavor and rich nutrition. In the old days, it was a tribute powder for royal family. Areas from Genshan Mountain in Hangzhou to Yuhang county are major producers for lotus root powder, and lotus root powder from Sanjia village, Tangxi, is quite famous. It is for people of all ages. When you eat it, you just need to use a small amount of cold water to mix, then make a paste with boiling water.

Hangzhou White Chrysanthemum (杭白菊)

Hangzhou is not home to white chrysanthemum, but Tongxiang, Jiaxing city, Zhejiang. Just like the Longjin Tea, it is a popular choice for drink making. If you are not into tea, try the twhite chrysanthemum drinks.

Changhua Pecan (彰化山核桃)

Changhua pecan is treasure of Lin’an, and it’s famous in Jiangnan area. Although other places also have pecan, but the quality of Changhua pecan is the best among these places. This kind of nut has rich nutrition. It’s a popular choice of local people to buy as gifts.

Fresh Water Pearl (淡水珍珠)

Hangzhou is also a good place to buy fresh water pearls, as it is a place endowed with rivers and lakes. Zhejiang Zhuji Pearl Market is the best place to buy the pearls. The market was founded in June 1985 and after several expansions, it has developed into China’s largest freshwater market, selling various pearl products, including raw pearls, pearl jewelries, pearl handicrafts and pearl cosmetics.

Handicrafts

Hangzhou Silk (杭州丝绸)

Hangzhou, known as the “silk house”, has always played an important role in China’s traditional silk weaving industry. Nowadays, silk in Hangzhou has 14 categories, more than 200 varieties, more than 2,000 design and color. Its pictures are novel, colorful and with distinct flowers and lifelike characters. Many silk products there have won the state department or provincial quality product award, and products there have been exported to more than 100 countries and areas.

As tourists, you can buy umbrella, cheongsam, scarf and clothes, which are made of silk. They are easy to carry and have their own specialties.

Hangzhou Embroidery (杭绣）

Hangzhou Embroideries originated from Han Dynasty (BC 202 – AD 202) were divided into royal court embroideries and folk embroiders. The "Royal Court Embroidery" is specialized for making luxuriant fineries for royalty members, and "folk embroidery" is to embroider officer costumes, bedcovers, folding screens and other ornaments for the folk. For tourists, you can find embroidery kerchiefs, screens, bedcovers, handbags and more. 

Wang Xing Ji Fans (王星记扇)

Wang Xingji Fan is a traditional handicraft in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China. It is one of the three century-old fan manufacturers (Longjing Tea and silk). Their main kinds of fans are black paper fan, sandalwood fan, incense wooden fan, white paper fan, silk fan, decoration fan and dancing fan. Hangzhou fan is decorated elegantly, and has a long history and exquisite making technique.

During the summer, if you take a walk to some parks, residential areas, communities or scenic spots, you can see people use different kinds of fans, especially old people.

Lan Yin Hua Bu (Blue Cloth with Design in White) 蓝印花布

Blue cloth with design in white is an ancient folk printed fabric made by hand. The simple but elegant design on the fabric is mostly about auspicious items, reflecting the unique folk culture in China. The original dyestuff is fetched from a kind of plant: indigo plant.

Where to Buy

Commercial Areas in Hangzhou

• Wulin Commercial Area: Yan 'an Road-Jiefang Road around Wulin Square is the main commercial street in Hangzhou. The major shopping malls in the area include Hangzhou Tower Shopping Mall, Hangzhou Department Store and Intime Department Store. Among them, Hangzhou Tower Shopping Mall is the main shopping place of international luxury brands, as well as some famous brands both at home and abroad. The brand sold in Hangzhou department store building is relatively moderate, and supermarkets on the underground floor sell local specialties.
• Lakeside Commercial Area: This area mainly consists of Xie Bai New Century Mall, Lixing Famous Brand Plaza, West Lake Times Square and Lakeside Road International Famous Brand Street.

Top Shopping Places in Hangzhou

Wulin Road

It is a shopping paradise in the downtown area and one of the fashionable centers featuring hundreds of shops and departments selling ladies' wear in various brands and styles.

Women’s Street in Wulin Road: In addition to the major brand stores, this is the base for the women’s wear, with all the brands, jewelry, food and beverage, etc.

Wulin Square

Intime Department Store in the south, Hangzhou Tower in the north, and Hangzhou Department Store, International Trade Store, are enough to satisfy the most demanding shopping. You can buy all sorts of things you want there. Along the Yan’an Road all the way to the south are all commercial stores, especially Longxiang and Gonglian, which are the most famous.

Yan'an Road

Yan'an Road is a shopping street about 3000 meters long. As a popular Hangzhou shopping destination,it has a number of large department stores, such as Zhejiang Intime Department Store and Hangzhou Lane Crawford Store, as well as smaller shops selling quality items, knock-offs and discounted goods. You can buy some typical Hangzhou specialties and souveni here

Qinghefang Street & Southern Song Imperial Street

These two streets are quite special because you could feel deep atmosphere of ancient Chinese culture from the architecture there. The snacks there gather lots delicious food both from local and other places. It’s a wonderful place to buy food and souvenirs there. Besides, it’s quite close to the West Lake. It’s just 10 minutes’ walk away from the West Lake. Hefang Street and Southern Song Imperial Street are popular choices for foreigners nowadays.

Shopping Streets and Markets in Hangzhou

By its nature – timeless and ancient – Hangzhou offers unique shopping experiences in its shopping streets. Combining traditional and contemporary, you’ll find much more than treasures and tourist trinkets here.

Silk Street

Located on the Xijiankang Road, this street is more than 1,500 meters and has been concentrated on thousands of stores, operating various silk materials, such as silk crafts, ties, scarves, travel souvenirs, etc. If you want to buy some silk products, it’s a suitable place to go.

Nine Stars Clothes Market

If you are on a tight budget and yet crave for designer clothing, shop at Nine Stars Clothes Market. This huge wholesale fashion market sells some of the most popular designer labels as well as rip offs at very attractive rates. Be prepared to wade through an endless clutter to find the designer label you are looking for. Though it might sound like a huge task, it is worth the effort!

Wushan Night Market

As the most historic and “fierce” night market in Hangzhou, Wushan night market is not in Wushan, but in Huixing Road, near the Huixing Middle School. This night market sells a variety of products, from small ornaments to luggage and clothing. You can buy a lot of snacks and souvenirs there. What you need to know is that it’s crowded at night but you will have much fun there.

Hangzhou Tea Market

Hangzhou is popular for the Hangzhou Longjing, considered to be some of the best tea in China and is popular for its fragrant aroma, unique green color, and sweet taste. In fact, it's appropriate to say that the tea market in Hangzhou has everything you would need for a tea party. You can shop for the popular Longjing tea or any other variety of tea that you may want. Do not forget to check out the tea sets available at the stores in this market.

Saturday Morning Antiques Market

This antiques market is one of the best-kept secrets in Hangzhou. Every Saturday morning, antique dealers assemble here to sell their wares. You can find some great antiques, crafts, and arts items if you can make it at the right time. Get here early and make sure you keep all your senses alert while shopping so you don't miss out on anything important.

More about Shopping Streets and Markets in Hangzhou

Shopping Malls in Hangzhou

• Hangzhou Tower Shopping Mall
  Name in Chinese:杭州大厦购物中心
  Address:No.47, Huancheng North Road, Hangzhou (杭州市环城北路47号)
  Phone:86-571-85153911
  Brief:Hangzhou Tower is not only of signicant cultural importance, but also one of the most flourishing retail and economic centers in the heart of Hangzhou.
• Intime Department Store(Wulin)
  Name in Chinese: 银泰百货(武林店)
  Address:No.530, Yan'an Road, Hangzhou (杭州市延安路530号)
  Phone:86-571-85068180
  Brief:Intime Department Store (Wulin) is one of the largest department store buildings in Hangzhou, which includs general merchandises (with more than 60,000 high quality commodities)
• The MIXC Shopping Mall
  Name in Chinese:万象城购物中心
  Address:#701 Fuchun Road, Jianggan District, Hangzhou浙江省 杭州市 江干区 富春路 701号
  Phone:0571 - 8970 5858
  Brief:The MIXC Shopping Mall is a one-stop mall in Hangzhou, combining large Shopping center, office, super five-star hotel, noble residential apartments, etc. While the MIXC Shopping Mall covers a total of six floors in the building.
• Xie Bai New Century Mall
  Name in Chinese: 解百新世纪商厦
  Address:#251 Jiefang Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou 杭州市 上城区 解放路 251号
  Brief:Business in Xie Bai New Century Mall aims to white-collar female; it mainly assembles cosmetics, jewelry, watches, clothing, shoes, bags and other categories. It is one-stop shopping center. The business area of it is 100000 square meters. 
• GDA Plaza
  Name in Chinese:杭州国大百货
  Address:No.609 Yan'an Road
  Phone:0571 -86676666
  Brief:GDA Plaza was newly opened on May 20, 2017. Covering an area of 150,000 sq m, it is probably the most anticipated business complex in Hangzhou.
• Raffles City, Hangzhou
  Name in Chinese:杭州来福士
  Address:No. 228, Xinye Road
  Phone:0571 - 81105678
  Brief:Hangzhou Raffles City Shopping Center grandly opened its doors to customers on April 27, 2017. It is CapitaLand’s sixth Raffles City, following Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Bahrain. As the most famed subsidiary urban complex brand of CapitaLand, each arise of Raffles is a city-class architectural masterpiece, receiving compliments worldwide.

More about Top Shopping Malls in Hangzhou

Shopping Areas Nearby Hangzhou

• Yiwu International Trade City Shopping Mall
• Zhuji Pearls Market 

Edited by Brittany Tian/田春燕