New year...new journeys :) Kicked-off Year 2013 with a shopping trip to Guangzhou, China.
Went there for about 5 days with my friend Laila. The trip was under Nusa Travel (http://www.nusatra.com). Laila was leading the tour & invited me to come along...so excited, a shopping trip..weehoo! :P
Laila & I go back a long way, we've known each other since 2004 during our years working at Proton Commerce. We've travelled together several times.
So, our journey to Guangzhou takes about 4 hours by flight (Air Asia). During our trip, it was still winter season in China. Weather was cool but not freezing, to my liking :)
What & Where to shop?
==================
Guangzhou is a shopping heaven especially for wholesale buyers. You get good bargains but must buy in bulk..haha. So for business people, especially the ones selling women garments & children wear...you'll be spoilt with choices..so much to see, so much to buy! haha
Ready-made clothes
For ready-made men/women's clothing, there's a wide selection at Zhanxi Road as there is a street of clothing wholesale markets there. While shopping there, three of us (Laila, Nurul & I) managed to get a winter coat (with some minor factory defect but still looks good) at the price of 100 yuan! (it's like RM50 in Malaysia). That was the best bargain we got during the whole trip I think..haha.
You can also shop for ready-made clothes at the Beijing Road area & Haizhu Square.
Fabrics
There's also a wide selection of fabrics...from chiffon to lycra and even denim fabric. Most fabric shops in the Zhongda area have fabric samples which you can request to take home with you if you plan to purchase in bulk.
Electronic items & gadgets
Guangzhou is also famous for electronic items/gadgets. You can get items like iPad, iPhone, Galaxy tab, etc at very low prices. Folks there call these "copy number one", it's like Grade A copycat devices..hehe. You can also get good bargains for memory cards, PowerBanks & portable hard disks at Haiyin Square.
There's another place where we can get electronic items, the place is called Nan Fang.
Children/baby clothes
There's quite good choices of children/baby clothes in Guangzhou. There are imitations of branded items..hehe. I also can't recall the name of the place which sells only children/baby clothes which we went & so does Laila..haha..
Misc. items & women's accessories
I bought most of my souvenir items, stuffed toys (for kiddies) & women's accessories like necklaces at One-Link Plaza. This place is niceee...so many accessories shop...so many bling2 necklaces...uuuu... :P
What to eat?
==========
Getting Halal food is quite easy in Guangzhou. During our trip, we had most of our lunch & dinner at the Abdullah Qinghai Muslim Restaurant. The restaurant serves halal Chinese cusisine. The food there is very nice (2 thumbs up!).
There is also another Halal restaurant there which we went, called Saba Restaurant. It serves Arab/middle-eastern cuisine which captured my taste buds. The food is very nice but a bit on the pricey side.
Any tips?
========
1. When you here a place name with the word "Lu" at the back, it means "Road". For example, local people call Zhanxi Road as "Zhanxi Lu" or Beijing Road is also known as "Beijing Lu" or "Peking Lu".
2. Most of the people (at the shops) in Guangzhou don't speak English so well, some of them not at all. So, to bargain for prices...we do it by pressing the shop owner's calculator. We ask "how much?", most of them understand...then they press the calculator. Always ask what is the price for one item (this would normally be their retail price) and what is the price for many/bulk. If there's several of you going, you can combine your purchase to get a good wholesale price.
3. If you want to buy fabric in bulk at Zhongda, suggest that you ask the shop owner if you can get the materials/stock immediately or have to wait few days. Safest is to find a shop which can provide you the materials on the spot or same day delivery (probably deliver to hotel). And most important, DO NOT pay in full if the shop owner can't provide on the spot. Only pay deposit and then pay the balance upon receiving all goods.
4. Always remember to BARGAIN. Sometimes the opening/initial price given to you is a bit high especially when you just want to buy 1 piece/item. Do basic research on the price of same item which is sold in your country, this will serve as a baseline. The price of an item in Guangzhou should not be more expensive then buying in your own country. That's just my common sense ;)
5. If the shop owner doesn't want to give you the price that you want, sometimes it's best to just walk away..don't look too desperate to buy the item. It's like playing hard to get game. Most of the times, the shop owner will call you back & give you the price you want (if you & they know that the price you're asking is more than reasonable).
I think that's about it for now, can't remember much details at this hour..haha. Will further update this post if any details come to mind..this is the disadvantage of retro posts, will try my best next time ya..hehe.
The rest of the photos from my Guangzhou trip can be found here. Some photos in Laila's camera, yet to ask from her...especially the ones on the river cruise..hehe.
Went there for about 5 days with my friend Laila. The trip was under Nusa Travel (http://www.nusatra.com). Laila was leading the tour & invited me to come along...so excited, a shopping trip..weehoo! :P
Laila & I go back a long way, we've known each other since 2004 during our years working at Proton Commerce. We've travelled together several times.
So, our journey to Guangzhou takes about 4 hours by flight (Air Asia). During our trip, it was still winter season in China. Weather was cool but not freezing, to my liking :)
What & Where to shop?
==================
Guangzhou is a shopping heaven especially for wholesale buyers. You get good bargains but must buy in bulk..haha. So for business people, especially the ones selling women garments & children wear...you'll be spoilt with choices..so much to see, so much to buy! haha
Ready-made clothes
For ready-made men/women's clothing, there's a wide selection at Zhanxi Road as there is a street of clothing wholesale markets there. While shopping there, three of us (Laila, Nurul & I) managed to get a winter coat (with some minor factory defect but still looks good) at the price of 100 yuan! (it's like RM50 in Malaysia). That was the best bargain we got during the whole trip I think..haha.
You can also shop for ready-made clothes at the Beijing Road area & Haizhu Square.
Fabrics
There's also a wide selection of fabrics...from chiffon to lycra and even denim fabric. Most fabric shops in the Zhongda area have fabric samples which you can request to take home with you if you plan to purchase in bulk.
Electronic items & gadgets
Guangzhou is also famous for electronic items/gadgets. You can get items like iPad, iPhone, Galaxy tab, etc at very low prices. Folks there call these "copy number one", it's like Grade A copycat devices..hehe. You can also get good bargains for memory cards, PowerBanks & portable hard disks at Haiyin Square.
There's another place where we can get electronic items, the place is called Nan Fang.
Children/baby clothes
There's quite good choices of children/baby clothes in Guangzhou. There are imitations of branded items..hehe. I also can't recall the name of the place which sells only children/baby clothes which we went & so does Laila..haha..
Misc. items & women's accessories
I bought most of my souvenir items, stuffed toys (for kiddies) & women's accessories like necklaces at One-Link Plaza. This place is niceee...so many accessories shop...so many bling2 necklaces...uuuu... :P
What to eat?
==========
Getting Halal food is quite easy in Guangzhou. During our trip, we had most of our lunch & dinner at the Abdullah Qinghai Muslim Restaurant. The restaurant serves halal Chinese cusisine. The food there is very nice (2 thumbs up!).
There is also another Halal restaurant there which we went, called Saba Restaurant. It serves Arab/middle-eastern cuisine which captured my taste buds. The food is very nice but a bit on the pricey side.
Any tips?
========
1. When you here a place name with the word "Lu" at the back, it means "Road". For example, local people call Zhanxi Road as "Zhanxi Lu" or Beijing Road is also known as "Beijing Lu" or "Peking Lu".
2. Most of the people (at the shops) in Guangzhou don't speak English so well, some of them not at all. So, to bargain for prices...we do it by pressing the shop owner's calculator. We ask "how much?", most of them understand...then they press the calculator. Always ask what is the price for one item (this would normally be their retail price) and what is the price for many/bulk. If there's several of you going, you can combine your purchase to get a good wholesale price.
3. If you want to buy fabric in bulk at Zhongda, suggest that you ask the shop owner if you can get the materials/stock immediately or have to wait few days. Safest is to find a shop which can provide you the materials on the spot or same day delivery (probably deliver to hotel). And most important, DO NOT pay in full if the shop owner can't provide on the spot. Only pay deposit and then pay the balance upon receiving all goods.
4. Always remember to BARGAIN. Sometimes the opening/initial price given to you is a bit high especially when you just want to buy 1 piece/item. Do basic research on the price of same item which is sold in your country, this will serve as a baseline. The price of an item in Guangzhou should not be more expensive then buying in your own country. That's just my common sense ;)
5. If the shop owner doesn't want to give you the price that you want, sometimes it's best to just walk away..don't look too desperate to buy the item. It's like playing hard to get game. Most of the times, the shop owner will call you back & give you the price you want (if you & they know that the price you're asking is more than reasonable).
I think that's about it for now, can't remember much details at this hour..haha. Will further update this post if any details come to mind..this is the disadvantage of retro posts, will try my best next time ya..hehe.
 |
| At Beijing Road |
 |
| With my friend Laila |
 |
| Done shopping, time to go home :) |
The rest of the photos from my Guangzhou trip can be found here. Some photos in Laila's camera, yet to ask from her...especially the ones on the river cruise..hehe.
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