Remember: most shops are open daily 9am-8pm . There is no sales tax in China.
Do not forget that haggle is essential especially in touristy markets and shopping areas for common items. Starting your bargain at least with 1/3 of the price-still sounds good whilst keeping the walking-away technique as your last chance to get the lowest price!
The main shopping area is around Wangfujing Dajie and XiDan, where there are a number of department stores, including the Beijing Department Store, which primarily caters for the Chinese market whilst ZhongGuanCun, often dubbed ‘China’s Silicon Valley’, continues to be a centre for electronics and computer-related industries. In other words Zhong Guan Cun (is a must! You can find almost everything from speakers to computer parts at an astonishingly low price. It is located just a couple miles from Tsinghua University. Avoid vendors inviting in their shops. Remember that there is a lack of standards in these items and theres no return policy.
So at least dont pay too much. Regarding pirated CDs and DVDs, you can get them for not more than 5 to 10 Yuan. Although quality is not too high, at least make...