If Taobao were a physical destination, it might be Bairong. The main building alone has over 5,000 shops, and in 2008 an additional building was connected to the west side, giving it another 3,000. Directions within the building are given by cardinal directions, meaning you may seriously want to consider bringing a compass.

The bottom floor is primarily clothing, mostly Chinese brands, but if you work your way towards the back (west) side of the first building, you can sometimes scrounge up a few Zoo Market-style finds that fell off the back of the truck along the way. Go up to find children's toys, furniture and home wares and leather goods. On the upper levels one can find camping equipment, barbecue pits and even full-on smokers. Bridges from the west side extend into the addition, where an alley of framers do decent work (RMB60 to frame approximately an A4 size picture with a wooden, beveled-edge frame).

Further down, one can find all matter of holiday schwag; in December it's all plastic Christmas trees, strings of lights and dancing Santas.

Address: No.101 Qingdingmenwai Street, Xicheng District

Source: cityweekend.com.cn