Shenzhen

This is Shenzhen.

This is the mall called Commercial City in Shenzhen.

And this is Renee doing some serious shopping at the mall called Commercial City in Shenzhen.

My friends Sarah and Bethany often go to Shenzhen for shopping, but this was my first time across the China border. First we took a taxi to a homewares centre and enjoyed looking at the wide range of products there. We ate noodles and dumplings at a restaurant for lunch, then walked to a wholesale office supplies/toys mall for some more shopping.

I was astounded at the Lego imitations for sale. They look so real!

Some of the differences I noticed between Hong Kong and China were the lack of English, crazy drivers, people smoking everywhere (including inside our restaurant), and generally lower standard of cleanliness here.

 Some of the architecture was different too.

Commercial City was our last shopping hurdle to tackle.

It's five stories tall and is notorious for its bargains.  If you  like the idea of all the consumer goods you could ever desire in exhaustive and exhausting quantities, then Commercial City's the place for you.

I had a vision of myself swinging gracefully around pillars and sliding down escalators...belting out Annie's "I think I'm gonna like it here" at the top of my suddenly harmonious voice...cheerful male shop keepers parading their jewellery, watches, electronic goods, and handbags before me...with a careless flick of my wrist I decline or accept  offered selections of footwear, textiles and souvenirs...while petite uniformed Chinese women measure me for clothing alterations, and perform a speedy manicure.

In reality, once inside Commercial City's doors you are accosted by numerous sellers in crowded stalls attempting to hawk their cheap plastic goods and Chinese replicas of designer brands, for which you need to haggle mercilessly. It was still fantastic.

And of course Amanda will accuse me of not buying much at all on my so-called shopping spree, so I've taken photos of some of my purchases in Shenzhen.  They are as follows:

Three educational posters in Chinese for the kids' bedrooms (Can anyone spot the errors on the first one?)

 

 

 

  An Iggle Piggle toy for Tirzah

 

Polly Pocket sets ($1.50 AUD each)

 

Chinese souvenirs for gifts

 

And a gorgeous wooden food set for Tirzah when she is older.

Carla, I also bought the backpack you requested from this particular shop, but you'll have to wait until your birthday to find out which one I chose.

I didn't even get to look at clothes, so Shenzhen, I'll be back. And next time I'll bring a bigger bag.