This immense furniture market sells absolutely everything, from Ikea copies to gaudy Versailles-type stuff that will make your apartment look like a Gongti cigar lounge. Skip the expensive showrooms at the front and walk through to the main market area in the back. Service is pretty good, and free delivery and assembly is included with all purchases. We got a great sofa bed here for under RMB1,000. There’s also a second-hand market attached.

Xianghe Furniture City

Located in Langfang, about an hour outside Beijing, this market is a trek, but it’s worth it for the sheer size and selection. You can expect a lot of awful, cheap-looking stuff, but there are also real gems. Additionally, it’s easy to customize the furniture to your needs. Owner of The English Tearoom, Jennie Grierson, had a set of 15 chairs upholstered in fabric she bought off Taobao here, which took three weeks and cost about RMB360-450 per chair.

Easy Home

This furniture store has six branches in Beijing, including the Golden Resources Mall in Haidian, Shilihe in Chaoyang, and Shunyi. They sell everything from tiles to furniture, so it’s perfect for redecoration as well as picking up a new TV stand. Their website, while Chinese-only, is very helpful and even includes floor plans of all the stores so you can shop more efficiently. Like at Chengwaicheng, delivery is free.

Shilihe

The city’s biggest lighting market is just south of Jinsong. It’s made up of hundreds of small lighting stores, so you can find everything from office-style neon strips, to table and pole lamps, to grotesquely grand chandeliers.

Hola

This large chain, which boasts a very convenient Raffles City outlet for city-dwellers, focuses mostly on homeware, such as plates and bedding. However, they do offer some basic furniture items, like shelving, coat racks and benches. Prices are similar to Ikea.