A first class tourist magnet, Wangfujing tries to cater to the casual visitor’s needs by trying to be everything one may imagine when thinking of China: pungent and exotic street foods, loads of people, historic architecture, tourist memorabilia and guys and gals running around in traditional attire for tourist bemusement. Its English name used to be Morrison Street; for more historical context please refer to the historical thriller "Midnight in Peking" which plays in Beijing (and in Morrison Street) during a time when the streets in Beijing still had English names.
北京市百货大楼 Beijing Department Store
Shopping in Wangfujing
All your shopping dreams come true in Wangfujing. It features some of the most prominent shopping centers in the city, such as Asia Pacific Mall, Beijing Department Store and Oriental Plaza. It is also home to the Foreign Language Bookstore which features a wide range of English and other foreign language books. While you will mostly be able to purchase genuine products on Wangfujing, you will have to go to Yaxiu or Silk Street Market to get that counterfeit Louis Vuitton bag.
The Foreign Language Book Store
The food, the food, the food
The real reason for you to visit Wangfujing should be the food. From huge mutton kebabs and stinky tofu to sea stars, scorpions and caterpillars on a stick, the Wangfujing snack street offers a lot of weird things – at least to the western eye and palate. You will also find more digestible tidbits, such as corn on a cob, fresh coconuts or sugar glazed fruit. While you are eating you can either wonder how a fried scorpion tastes or roam the north street for all the touristy stuff which will make you popular with friends and family back home. Warning: If you are big into animals’ rights you may want to consider carefully if Wangfujing is the place for you to go.
Not for the faint hearted: scorpions on a stick
