James Baquet

    IN some ways, life in Shenzhen can be divided by a date near the end of 2004. Everything before that was “pre-Metro” and after that, “post-Metro.” The opening of our subway system changed everything.

    So, when we look at “old school” shopping, we find that Shenzhen’s “Big Three”— Luohu Commercial City, Dongmen Pedestrian Precinct, and the Huaqiangbei area — were all there before the Metro lines opened (and so were a couple of other war horses still campaigning).

    I wrote about Luohu Commercial City over a year ago. The mammoth building to the east of the Luohu Train Station plaza is a great place for curios, tea, clothes (including on-site tailoring), accessories, and some electronic goods.

    A little north from there (at Lao Jie Station on Metro Line 1) is the venerable Dongmen area, a shopping destination for some 300 years. Though it does boast some excellent modern department stores, the real prize is the literally thousands of small shops in the area (by one count over 3,000!) featuring trendy clothes for young people. There are also cultural goods like calligraphy, porcelain, and paintings.

    Finally, there’s Huaqiangbei (at Hua Qiang Lu Station on Metro Line 1). While it’s justly famous for its electronic goods, don’t miss the clothing in places like Women’s World and Moi.

    Deserving “honorable mention” in the Old School department are King Glory Plaza (at Guo Mao Station) and Citic City Plaza (near Ke Xue Guan Station), both of which predate the Metro, and feature upscale shopping and some dining.