Qipulu (七浦路, Qipu Road) is a wholesale, multi-mall complex filled with men, women and children clothing. At Qipulu, you won’t find extensively high-fashion items, but you will find the basics. Each mall varies in style, quality, and price; whether or not you may bargain varies from mall to mall. As the quality increases, the price and bargain-ability will also increase. It is up to you to decide what kind of clothes and prices you prefer. Basic necessities like black shoes, plain tops, and jeans are all very durable and cheap. If you are looking for delicate pieces, do not expect to be able to wear them more than two or three times. I also suggest you look for sales— you might find some amazing things! Once, I found 3 sweater dresses for 10 RMB each. I suggest these prices as a good reference for your own shopping. These are some of the cheapest prices I have been able to get:

Dresses, 50-80 RMB

Skirts, 25-40 RMB (price varies depending on the length of the skirt)

Shirts/Sweaters/Tops, 30-50 RMB

Overalls, 100 RMB

Jeans, 50-70 RMB

Shorts, 25 RMB

Flats, 30-50 RMB

High heels, 100 RMB

Thick long boots, 150 RMB

The bargaining is slightly different from the fake markets because the vendors will not follow you or try to call you back if you bluff by walking away. You can still pull the “walk-off” method, because sometimes you will be called back, but it is not as effective a tactic at Qipulu. Shopkeepers will generally give you a fair price, but if not, use the prices above as a reference for bargaining. Some shopkeepers, especially if you look like an outsider or a foreigner, will quote you much more expensive prices. Remember to just move along and find another place! You will however, spend a good amount of time just gauging the prices of certain things. What sets these shopkeepers apart is their sense of integrity is that if they quote you a price but you walk away – and eventually realize it was an incredibly good deal – you can simply go back and buy it from them. It might be embarrassing, but they will honor the last quoted price. One time, we left a shop while the shopkeeper was screaming and shouting at us for wasting her time (she really didn’t like our bargaining…). But when we went back a week later, she sold the articles to us at the lowest price she had (grudgingly) quoted a week ago.

“Want to visit?”

Qipulu (Qipu Road, 七浦路) 七浦路服装市场 Tiantong Rd Station, Metro Line 10 地铁十号线天潼路站

This article was written by Meizhi Ng. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Meizhi Ng