5 Shopping Places in Shenzhen - A shopaholic's paradise

The first treat for the shopaholic in you as you enter the borders of Shenzhen by train is Luohu Commercial City. It is quite popular with tourists to Hong Kong due to its convenient location adjoining the border. This five storey store features a wide range of goods from imitation (with the labels to match) to originals. Computers and accessories, electronic items, toys, jewellery and phones are the most popular here. Your bargaining skills will at times help you knock off about 60% off the quoted price. In Shenzhen, serviced apartments are quite popular. Consider staying at Ascott Maillen Shenzhen to be placed within a short distance of most of the popular shopping locations like Luohu.

Possibly the most popular of all shopping venues, Dongmen has been catering to shoppers for about 3 centuries. The area consists of several streets lined with retail outlets, restaurants two large malls, Moi and Sun Plaza. The street shops are a delight to observe even if you are not shopping. But if you are after original goods, you are better off inside the two malls. There are quite a number of eateries too if you want a break from strolling down the busy streets. The popular department store Maoye has two outlets at the Dongmen district. Its sheer size is apparent from the fact that there are three KFC outlets serving this area.

Locally known as MixC, this awesome shopping mall is located Luohu District and is one of the upscale shopping centres in the region. The top-end French restaurant La Belle Epoque too has an outlet here. The Ole supermarket is on the first floor where you can get ample varieties of breads, cake and pastries. There is even an ice skating rink on the fourth floor, with a Delicity food court overlooking it. Many western chains such as Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut, Haagen-Dazs and McDonald's each have outlets at MixC. You can also catch the latest movies at the Golden Harvest Cinema.

One of the newest mega malls in Shenzhen, Yitian is located opposite the Window of the World theme park. The mall showcases many international brands and also a few outlets that feature mid-range and cheaper items. Ole Supermarket opened its 2nd branch in Shenzhen here (the first being at Mix City). Yitian Holiday Plaza too features an ice skating rink, which is very popular with families.

One of the newer high-end malls to hit Shenzhen, KK Mall is located nearby to Citic Plaza and MixCity. KK Mall is packed with some great restaurants and fashion outlets that sell original, branded items such as Calvin Klein, Armani, Cerruti, Anteprima and many more. The mall also features Shenzhen's first ever IMAX cinema. Spanning over 83,500 sq.m of shopping space, KK Mall boasts over 150 fashion outlets, keeping it in line with its theme of being an 'International Boutique Fashion Mall'.