Wangfujing Street   

Directly east of Tiananmen Square, this may be the first stop on your shopping tour after arriving in Beijing. It is on subway  Line 1 and the routes of many buses.    

Stretching more than 1.8 km, it's often crowded with window shoppers, checking out the famous brand name stores, most of which are found in the grand Oriental Plaza mall.    

Sun Dong An Plaza, a magnet for the young, is another popular  mall: bright and full of life.    

Check out the Wangfujing Arts and Crafts Building for traditional Chinese art and craft works as well as quality jewellery.    

You also should not miss the chance to see time-honored Chinese brands, such as Shengxifu hats and Tongbihe shoes.    

And if you're looking for a good book, you may find it in the Wangfujing Book Store.

Wangfujing food street

For visitors not familiar with traditional Chinese street food, what they put in their mouth could be strange, or even challenging.

That said, the seemingly scary deep fried scorpion, locust and cicada pupa have a reputation for being surprisingly tasty snacks.

Beijing's famous speciality, bingtang hulu, or sugar-coated fruit, is a must.

Dashilan and New Qianmen Street

If you're wondering how it was to shop in ancient Beijing, we recommend a half-day trip around Dashilan commercial area and New Qianmen Street.

It can be reached by taking subway Line 2 to Qianmen. The whole area now is near the end of a reconstruction launched in May and will open to the public before the Olympics.