Ni hao!
Today I want to show you where I go shopping on my way to or back from the Nan Guan Park. I go to the local supermarket here in Beijing, Shanghai Hua Lian Supermarket 上海华联超市. In the same house three floors up is also the internet cafe I used to go to when needing an internet connection. Here I have to show my passport as ID, that is the law here. The staff is very friendly anb helpful. They can not speak english, but we manage the internet computer very easily.
From here I sent my emails and checked in to our flight back to Stockholm via London. I paid 7 yuan for one hour. It´s very cheap. Now back to my park walks. I go shopping on my way back home and find this supermarket being very good. Here you can shop everything you need. And I mean everything! You can buy anything from food, wine, cameras, electronic products, clothes to taylored clothes. Yes they actually sell taylored clothes. For 500 yuan you will get your own chinese dress handmade. The Shanghai Hua Lian Supermarket Ltd. was established in May 1991. Now it´s a large chain of supermarkets in China. I go here to buy my special chinese garlic sausage. It´s in front to the left in the picture. I also buy some other sausages, chinese bread and chinese red wine. 
Yes chinese red wine! I didn´t know that they did make red wine in China! The wine is on sale for 17:60 yuan! It tastes very good, so I go back some days later and buy two more bottles and more chinese garlic sausages. I would say it would cost some 60 to 70 swedish crowns if on sale in Sweden. On the top floor they have sale of different gift boxes with two bottles of wine, both red and white, including two wine glasses! Very interesting products! I can see that in this two floors supermarket there are different brands in every segment. At least two international brands and some local ones. The local ones also have english names! I find international brands like Whiskas, Friskies, Head & Shoulders, Johnson & Johnson and so on.
..... I do also see that they have cheese, but only sliced hard cheese and there is soft cheese as well. Sausages I find in many different kinds and tastes. Some taste a little bit sweet, but you eat it fresh. I believe it´s a smoked product! This man likes to try everything new and find out if it´s good! And the milk is sold in big plastic bottles here! I think they must be two liters. In this store I don´t buy any beer. I buy it in a small local store nearer to home. They have Tsingtao beer on 60 cl bottles and I pay 2 yuan for each bottle. I also get half yuan back when I return the bottle. In a restaurant I pay 6 yuan for the same beer. It´s very cheap here in Beijing. On the last picture you can see at back the taylors department. Here you can choose quality or colors you want on your handmade dress. They will measure you and you pay, coming back a few days later to fetch your product. 
Services and shopping is a big business in Beijing. You will find out that there are different areas in this town to go to when you want to buy a special product. Buy musical instruments you go to a special street where all the shops are situated. The same for clothes and other products. You may find an odd store here and there, but going for real shopping you must go to these areas of every product. One other important thing to know about is that the price is never fixed. You have to negotiate all the time. If you are a westerner they think you have a lot of money, and they start very high. The best thing to do is to look like you are not interested to get the lowest price! You have to practise this by learning not to buy now but later. After that you will know how to do this! Food!
Today I want to show you where I go shopping on my way to or back from the Nan Guan Park. I go to the local supermarket here in Beijing, Shanghai Hua Lian Supermarket 上海华联超市. In the same house three floors up is also the internet cafe I used to go to when needing an internet connection. Here I have to show my passport as ID, that is the law here. The staff is very friendly anb helpful. They can not speak english, but we manage the internet computer very easily.
From here I sent my emails and checked in to our flight back to Stockholm via London. I paid 7 yuan for one hour. It´s very cheap. Now back to my park walks. I go shopping on my way back home and find this supermarket being very good. Here you can shop everything you need. And I mean everything! You can buy anything from food, wine, cameras, electronic products, clothes to taylored clothes. Yes they actually sell taylored clothes. For 500 yuan you will get your own chinese dress handmade. The Shanghai Hua Lian Supermarket Ltd. was established in May 1991. Now it´s a large chain of supermarkets in China. I go here to buy my special chinese garlic sausage. It´s in front to the left in the picture. I also buy some other sausages, chinese bread and chinese red wine. 
Yes chinese red wine! I didn´t know that they did make red wine in China! The wine is on sale for 17:60 yuan! It tastes very good, so I go back some days later and buy two more bottles and more chinese garlic sausages. I would say it would cost some 60 to 70 swedish crowns if on sale in Sweden. On the top floor they have sale of different gift boxes with two bottles of wine, both red and white, including two wine glasses! Very interesting products! I can see that in this two floors supermarket there are different brands in every segment. At least two international brands and some local ones. The local ones also have english names! I find international brands like Whiskas, Friskies, Head & Shoulders, Johnson & Johnson and so on.
..... I do also see that they have cheese, but only sliced hard cheese and there is soft cheese as well. Sausages I find in many different kinds and tastes. Some taste a little bit sweet, but you eat it fresh. I believe it´s a smoked product! This man likes to try everything new and find out if it´s good! And the milk is sold in big plastic bottles here! I think they must be two liters. In this store I don´t buy any beer. I buy it in a small local store nearer to home. They have Tsingtao beer on 60 cl bottles and I pay 2 yuan for each bottle. I also get half yuan back when I return the bottle. In a restaurant I pay 6 yuan for the same beer. It´s very cheap here in Beijing. On the last picture you can see at back the taylors department. Here you can choose quality or colors you want on your handmade dress. They will measure you and you pay, coming back a few days later to fetch your product. 
Services and shopping is a big business in Beijing. You will find out that there are different areas in this town to go to when you want to buy a special product. Buy musical instruments you go to a special street where all the shops are situated. The same for clothes and other products. You may find an odd store here and there, but going for real shopping you must go to these areas of every product. One other important thing to know about is that the price is never fixed. You have to negotiate all the time. If you are a westerner they think you have a lot of money, and they start very high. The best thing to do is to look like you are not interested to get the lowest price! You have to practise this by learning not to buy now but later. After that you will know how to do this! Food!
Zai jian!
Peter
Comments