| SThere are several large suburban
style shopping centres around the
perimeter of the city centre, and they are all very
similar to each other. Usually the ground floor
has clothes and household goods. The escalators,
which usually take you up to the supermarket, often
seem as if they are hidden in the back corner. Some
of them also have a car park on the third floor.
If you enter the main shop with a bag you will
need to cloak it in one of the
lockers . These can be a little
disconcerting the first time. The lockers are
free. First find the keypad and press the red
button with the light at the bottom. Immediately
a small flimsy ticket will emerge and attempt
to float away (shouldn't some things be a bit
of a challenge?); a locker will pop open where
you can store your bag. When you
return you can either punch the number from your
ticket into the keypad, or (if you have kept your
ticket nice and flat) you can hold it up against
the slot where a glowing red light will read the
bar code.
Besides the major department store, there are
lots of smaller Chinese stores, a KFC and/or a
McDonalds, and a food
court at Carrefour with an amazing
variety of tastefully displayed choices. Meal
choices are clearly visible as plasticized models,
and customers are strangely directed to the central
counter to buy a token for the amount they prepare
to spend on their meal.
Wallmart ( Wo'erma,
沃尔犿 is in the north part of
the city,on the jiangzhu road.Take bus number
97,53,K68,K41 can get there.
Carrefour (Jialefu,
家乐碿 is in the south part of
th city, within walking distance of the city center.
Bus number 81, which runs along Zongshan Lu, will
take you to Carrefour. The bus is often a double-decker
(to add to the fun).
Auchan (Oushang,
欧尚 ) shopping centre is just southeast
of the city centre, but probably a little too
far to walk. Buses 65 and 30 both go east along
Xue Qian Jie and then south past Auchan.
RT Mart (Tianrenfa,
天润勿 is across the Grand Canal,
just west of the city. Many buses stop there including
the 20 from Ren Min Lu , the 204 from the western
side of the ring road, Jie Fang Xi Lu ), the 27
from Xue Qian Jie , which takes a loop to the
north then come south past the shopping centre,
and the K82 from the railway station).
Trust Mart is
just north of the Central Business District on
Bei Da Lu (big north road, 北大賿, which is the
continuation of Zhong Shan Lu once it passes outside
the ring road (Jie Fang Lu). It is not far to
walk if you are in the north half of town. Otherwise
the number 85 bus goes there along Zhong Zhan
Lu.
Metro (or
'Mai De Long') is a little different. It is bigger
than the others, a lot further from the city centre,
and only "for professional shoppers"
- which means you need an ID card (with your photo
on it) to shop there. However, if you are employed
in Wuxi or have been here long enough to know
people with a Metro card, then its not too difficult
to obtain a card yourself. Metro offers a solid
selection of "Western" products (often
in bulk quantities!) that are not available in
other stores, and can also boast reasonable prices.
They also have household goods, clothes, electrical
appliances, and much more. The number 42 bus goes
from Xue Qian Jie , starting in the alley behind
Ba Bai Ban and heading east, and, despite the
distance, the half-hour trip only costs the usual
1 or 2 yuan.
Baoli (
‘Bao li Guangchang') is another shopping centre
with a sizeable supermarket. It is located along
the ring road in the north end of the city. Reach
Baoli by heading east along Ren Min Lu and then
left into Jie Fang Bei Lu , which is the route
taken by the number 10 and number 211 buses .
Then there are a couple of large supermarkets
in the city centre where you can buy both Western
and Chinese goods.
Parksons (or
'san yang bai sheng') is located at the corner
of Zhong Shan Lu and Ren Min Lu . The supermarket
can be accessed by going down the steps on the
Ren Min Lu side of the building. There are a lot
of Western delicacies available, but Parksons
is generally expensive. Home Mart (or 'Hao Mai
De') is further north along Zhong Shan Lu on the
next corner opposite the Sheraton Hotel. Home
Mart offers a wide range of products, including
many Western goods, on three floors
|
that you can't find what you are looking for, Shanghai
is only an hour and a half away to visit or to send
off for whatever it is you may need.
