Shopping mega-site Taobao may be shifting the center of China’s consumer culture to the internet, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a place for real live markets. After all, there’s nothing like wending your way through narrow aisles of tiny stalls, fending off sellers as you fondle their merchandise. In Beijing there are still plenty of markets for your perusing pleasure. Here, are our top three picks for clothing.

Zoo Market

This monster of a wholesale market is a feeder for Taobao stores and other markets around Beijing. Once you start price-checking you’ll find out why: it doesn’t get any cheaper—or more chaotic—than this. The first thing to know before you hop on the subway is that what most people call “the zoo market” is actually a series of markets, most of which are on Xizhimenwai Dajie, clustered around the zoo subway stop. The most famous of these are Jin Kailede , Dongding , Shiji Tianle and Julong . Located on the east side of Beizhan Bridge near the zoo bus station, Jin Kailede is celebrated for its cheap, relatively good-quality clothes, though it’s considered less fashionable than its more expensive counterparts. Among them is Dong Ding, renowned for its shoes, handbags and smaller commodities, and Tianle, which boasts a classier reputation but has been recently hailed by netizens as “more expensive, with only so-so quality.” Perhaps best-loved is Julong, the underground market bursting at the seams with foreign-styled, Chinese-made goods (expect to find the real deal with defects, along with tons of knock-offs). The only drawback is that most places don’t let you try on clothes, and some don’t let you bargain (though there’s a rumor that if you’re desperate, you can pay some shop owners money to let you try clothes on in the bathroom).

This is a huge wholesale market group which is composed of seven markets. And the most popular ones are Julong, Tianlegong and Shiji Tianle. Buy them here for half-price but be geared up for bargaining hard or buy in volume.

Everything is so cheap and so plentiful here!! Anywhere from 10 to 50 RMB for shirts, tops, jeans, pants, skirts, everything. Jewelry for about 10-15RMB. In some places they can be more expensive, but about 90% are the cheap prices listed above. Weekday mornings are the best time to come and be prepared to spend a few hours walking around. There are also various places to eat in the area: KFC and McDonalds, Yonghe Soy Milk, Pizza Hut, Yoshinoya, Dairy Queen, A&W, Mexican Restaurant

- Jin Kailede: Jin Kailede Plaza, 136 Xizhimen Wai Dajie

- Dongding : 132 Xizhimen Wai Dajie, On the south side of the street, west of Yushuguan Bridge

- Tianle: 28 Xizhimen Wai Dajie South Street,

- Julong : Bejing Exhibition Center Plaza, 135 Xizhimen Wai Dajie.Across from the exhibition center, you can enter at the west side of the Ito Yokado or on the east and south sides of the Guolin Family Style Restaurant .

Merchandise: Anything and everything

Best for: Jeans, foreign brands

Getting there: Take line 5 to the Zoo stop , or buses 102, 103, 107, 334, or 104 to the Zoo public transportation stop