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Chengdu Shopping Guide

Written by ivana Updated Jun. 21, 2021

Chengdu’s shopping markets will not disappoint your eagerness of shopping here. There are lots of shops and supermarkets converge at Chunxi Road of Chengdu, Zongfu Road, and Luomashi Area. Here you can shop for a huge range of wares, almost with everything from souvenirs and street stall items to supermarket and department stores goods on offer.

Best Souvenirs to Buy in Chengdu

Shu Brocade

Shu Brocade is one of the four most famous brocades (Yun brocade of Nanjing, Song brocade of Suzhou, Zhuang brocade of Guangxi) with a history of more than 2000 years. It is bright-colored and beautiful, soft, various, and durable. The minority women in the southwest of China wear waist scarf and headwear made of Shu brocade as ornaments.

With the development of modern textile, the weaving of Shu brocade sagged gradually and there is only one Shu brocade factory left in the city. The factory is situated in the western suburbs near Dufu Thatched Cottage by the Huanhuaxi River (Washing Flower River) producing quilt cover, dress material, and varieties of brocade ornaments.

Shu Embroidery

Shu embroidery with a special way and skill of weaving is a traditional handicraft. It is also one of the four most famous embroideries in China. The other three are Suzhou embroidery, Hunan embroidery, and Yue (Guangdong) embroidery. Owing to its technique of expression and designs, Shu embroidery has won a good reputation of being well-knit and minute in weaving, quietly elegant and delicate and pretty in color, easy and smooth inline design, vividly like a Chinese ink and wash.

Shu embroidery is famous for its varied products, some lay particular stress on articles of everyday use while some on appreciation articles including quilt covers, pillowcases and embroider slippers, and so on.

There are two main embroidery factories in Chengdu: Chengdu Shu Embroidery Factory located on East Cottage Road nearby the Washing Flower River and Hanhuang Embroidery Factory at No.11 on Peace Street downtown.

Lacquer Wares

The abundant raw lacquer and bright cinnabar produced in Sichuan are the key materials to make lacquer wares, which makes Sichuan the major place of lacquer wares. In Chengdu, there are many kinds of lacquer wares such as lacquer wares out of the wood base, gunny base, paper base, plastics base, and so on. The skillful handicraftsmen engrave the base with floral designs, print the base with color lacquer, and then polish it repeatedly. In addition, many new technologies such as hidden design, latent design, and drawing are introduced in the process of manufacture. All these results in that the lacquer wares are beautiful and dignified, exquisite and ingeniously constructed. The surface of the wares is printed as clear as water and as bright as a mirror.

Chengdu Lacquer Ware Technology Factory is located at No. 81, Jinhe Road. Chengdu Lacquer Wares are mainly lacquer folding screens, box for containing sweets and replicas of unearthed relics, as well as lacquer painting artworks.

Broad Bean Sauce

Being one of the most important seasonings for traditional Sichuan cuisine, Broad Bean Sauce is made in most families both urban and rural. Broad bean sauce workshops and factories can be found everywhere. Among all brands of the broad bean sauce, Pixian County Broad Bean Sauce and Linjian Temple Broad Bean Sauce are the most famous. With a history of more than 100 years, Pixian County Broad Bean Sauce which is praised as the "soul" of Sichuan cuisines has its own unique feature of being peppery, sweet and crisp, and red. It can add flavor to the dishes. The dishes, Stir-Fired Boiled Pock Slices in Hot Sauce, Ginger Flavoured Fish, Stir-Fried Beancurd in Hot Sauce, boast to be the masterworks among the Sichuan cuisines because of its strong flavor of Sichuan.

Silk Blanket

Qingcheng silk blanket made from raw silk and spun silk is a handicraft article that is hand-knitted according to the traditional processing technology. Qingcheng Silk Blanket Factory, located in Dujiangyan city, is a factory of specialized products which produces silk blankets and tapestry. The unique production feature is that the surface of the blanket is bright and clean, the color can last long, and the texture is pliable, tough, and elastic. With a rich array of silk blanket styles, Qingcheng silk carpet is not only high-quality foreign trade production but also an excellent tourist souvenir.

China Padding of Bamboo Weaving

Taking the china quart pot as a base, the handicraftsmen make a kind of special bamboo weaving handcraft called "China Padding of Bamboo Weaving" by using bamboo strips that are as thin as silk.

The materials to make China Padding of Bamboo Weaving are strictly chosen from tender bamboo of more than one hundred kinds in Sichuan. The bamboo stem must have a length of 66cm between the two nearest joints without any scar. About fifty kilograms of such bamboo can be made into only 400 grams of thin bamboo strips with extremely high skill. These strips are as thin as silk with even thickness, proper flexibility.

Because of the high-demanded skill, it is extremely difficult to make such handcrafts. A good china padding of bamboo handcraft must be accomplished in one breath from the starting of the base to the lockstitch without any joint, winding, or folding but well proportioned.

As to design, it has been developed from simple lace trimmings into complicated and varied geometric figures, jacquard figures, hidden figures, landscapes, and birds and flowers. Meanwhile, the bamboo handicraftsmen improve their weaving skill basing on fine and closely woven. They turned the skill over in their mind and created more than ten new techniques such as strip woven, squared woven, chain woven, wave woven, clip woven, string woven, and stick woven, and so on.

Chengdu China Padding of Bamboo Weaving Technology Factory is the unique professional factory to make china padding of bamboo handcrafts. It is located at No.12, Northern Liberation Road. There is a canteen in the factory to sell bamboo handicrafts. Tourists can visit the workshop, enjoy the handicraftsmen’s unique skills and buy their favorite handcrafts.

Top Shopping Places in Chengdu

Chengdu is a bustling metropolis of people and energy, and it’s also an ancient city with over 2000 years of history. Some traditional shopping areas in Chengdu have existed since before 200 BC while others represent the newest and fanciest of what the world has to offer. Whether you want to relive the days of the old Silk Road or look for the newest designer brands; whether you prefer open spaces where you can relax or crowded streets brimming with activity - Chengdu is a shopper’s paradise.

Chunxi Road

Originally constructed in 1924 to connect two commercial centers, Chunxi Road pedestrian street has evolved over almost one hundred years to become the center of shopping in Chengdu. It is now a huge area, covering more than 200,000 square meters. You can find small, cheap shops where bargaining with the shopkeeper is an expected tradition or popular name-brand stores.

If you get hungry the area is dotted with places selling Chengdu and nationally popular Chinese street foods. Of course, you can find western and international food outlets including American and international fast food like McDonald's and KFC.

How to get there: Jinjiang District, Take Metro Line 2 or 3 and get off at Chunxi Road. Take Bus lines 58 and 98 to Chunxilu Beikou Station (Chunxi Road North Station). Take bus lines 47, 48, 51, 55, 56, 56a, or 104 to Chunxilou Nankou Station (Chunxi Road South Station).

What to buy there: Almost anything, Chunxi Road is the nexus of shopping in Chengdu. Shoppers can find department stores, restaurants, cinemas, and shopping malls. At the junction of Chunxi Road and Zongfu Road, the Luomashi area is where handicrafts and souvenirs can be found.

Jinli Street

Jinli has been a market for rich, ornate cloth since before 200 B.C. Now it remains a traditional Chinese market street, paved with green flagstones and full of teahouses, embroidery, and handicrafts. Shoppers here can imagine what it was like to peruse goods on their way to the silk road over a thousand years ago.

On the streets, artisans craft shadow puppets and perform with them, and you can also find a stage for traditional Sichuan Opera, where performers sometimes will put on one of the various shows, including the unique wedding tradition of carrying the bridal sedan, sounding the night watch, and clothing shows.

How to get there: Take bus lines 1, 57, 82, 334, 335 or 1126, and get off at Wu Hou Ci (Wuhou Temple) Station.

What to buy there: Jinli Street is for those more interested in traditional Chinese crafts like paper cut-outs, clay figurines, teas, paintings, and lacquerware. Shoppers can also find Souvenirs, embroidery, tea, handicrafts, and curios.

Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li

Taikoo Li is a modern urban high-end pop-up. Shoppers here will find fine dining, high-end bars and restaurants, and brand names. Come here to avoid the crowds and relax a bit after the seething busyness of the Chunxi shopping district.

The area is open, making it a nice relaxing place to walk through. The buildings here are new and modern, with a touch of Chinese traditional flair. It is a great place to have a coffee and watch the world go by, or find some designer item for that special someone.

How to get there: Take metro line 1 to Incubation Park Station. You can also follow the directions to Chunxi Road and walk south-east on Zongfu for about 10 minutes.

What to buy there: Designer products and clothes, high-end dining.

Chengdu IFS

The Chengdu IFS, or Chengdu International Finance Square, has exactly the kind of shopping one would expect from its name. Luxury and high-end brands are the names of the game here, and if that’s what you are looking for, you won’t be let down. If you don’t feel like breaking the bank, maybe it’s better for window shopping than souvenirs.

One of the stand-out features of this mall is the restaurants and attractions on the floors above the designer outlets. You can find exhibits on pop culture, a Cinema, and western as well as Japanese and other international style restaurants - and of course, the giant panda scaling the mall is a great photo-op.

How to get there: Take metro line 2 to Chunxi road station, then walk north for about 2 to 5 minutes on Hongshing Road 3rd section. Look for the mall with the giant panda on the roof.

What to buy there: Jimmy Choo, Prada, Dior, Bvlgari, Rolex, and Tory Burch are just a few of the luxury brands in this high-end Mall.

Yanshikou

Yanshikou shopping has a full spectrum of stores for shoppers of all types. From mid-range department stores like Hongqi to various fashion shops for youth, Yanshikou commercial circle is the actual shopping place for locals.

How to get there: Bus Lines 1, 8, 43, 45, 47, 48, 55, 6, 62, 99, 104 and 298. It is next to Chunxi road, so you can go to Chunxi Road and walk west on Zongfu for about 11 minutes.

What to buy there: Fashionable clothes for young people (especially women), Shu Brocades, and bamboo woven handicrafts.

Songxian Bridge Art City

Songxianqiao (Songxian bridge) is the largest art market in Chengdu. Nonetheless, it is one of the quieter markets in Chengdu to browse. Climbing up the stairs of the traditional buildings, shoppers will find galleries with artists at work inside. Most of the paintings focus on traditional Chinese subjects, but you can also find cultural revolution memorabilia and antiques.

How to get there: Nearby the Sichuan Museum, and Dufu Thatched Cottage, you can take metro line 2 to the Tonghuimen metro stop and walk west past the Culture Park until you get to Huanhua road.

What to buy there: Calligraphy, painting, jewelry, jade, embroidery, bone carvings, ancient coins, rare stones, propaganda posters, and antiques.

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