Overview:
Café street with some hip shops thrown in.Location:
Address: Nan Luo Gu Xiang near Gu Lou Dong Da Jie. Here's the address in Chinese 南锣鼓巷.Opening Hours:
Daily. Cafés and bars, early till late. Shops tend to open around 10am and have variable closing times. If you’re there to shop, you should be ok before 7pm.How to Say it in Chinese:
Nan Luo Gu Xiang is pronounced “nahn loo-oh goo shang”. The street runs north-south between Gu Lou Dong Jie and Ping An Da Dao.What to Buy:
Nan Luo Gu Xiang is great to just wander down starting at one end and browsing your way to the other.
Cool shops:
- The Pottery Workshop at #23 Nan Luo Gu Xiang. While it would be difficult to take one of their larger pieces home, they’ve got lovely small pieces like teacups and jars that pack nicely. The workshop exhibits pieces made by their resident artists. With nearly half the artists also teaching, inquire at the workshop if you’re interested in studying ceramics with the workshop. They have studios in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Jingdezhen (China’s ceramics capital) as well as the Beijing studio.
- Grifted at #32 is a fabulous store full of crazy Chinese-inspired toys and gifts. Buy your best friend a floppy Mao Zedong (or Fidel Castro, all the good Commie leaders are represented) doll, Peking Opera puppets or a wacky umbrella.
- Plastered T-shirts at #61 is worth a stop for all your gift needs back home. Buy everyone a hip t-shirt with retro designs. They’ve got kids’, women’s and men’s. If you can’t decide, buy an enamel-ware covered mug. You never know when your next camping trip will be and your retro mug will be the envy of the campfire.
If you need to refuel, don’t miss Fish Nation at #31. Owned by Shanghai’s favorite hole-in-the-wall Southern Barbarian, you can chow on some fish and chips and very good beer.
