Buy a Fake Prada Wallet in Shanghai
I wrote previously about buying faux purses in Shanghai, but another great fake good I bought was a leather “Prada” wallet. I needed a wallet to replace my aging and small genuine Kenneth Cole, since it couldn’t really fit all of my credit cards. So, when we ran into a small stand on the streets outside of XiGong area, I bought one for 25 RMB:
As you can see, it’s very pain. There was another wallet identical in every way, except the bottom right corner read “Gucci” instead of Prada. Nice way of differentiating the products! Mass production for the win…
However, this wallet is quite large. It can hold 9 cards, plus 1 ID, and pockets for miscellanies. There are two billfold sections for holding dollars / receipts / etc. Anyway, for $3.66, I think it’s a fair deal!
Buy fake bags, watches in Shanghai
If you’re looking to buy a fake purse, handbag, bag, watch, or even shirts, ties, and iPods in Shanghai China, there’s plenty of selection. Today, I went shopping for fake bags for my two sisters. We headed to Nanjing Road (南京西路) aka People’s Square and waited to be approached by a fake-goods peddler (they carry laminated cards with faded samples of the goods).
This is approximately the location; there’s a huge, wide walkway for people–no cars, lined with stores. If you haven’t been to Nanjing Lu, you haven’t been in Shanghai too long.
You should expect to pay 100-300 RMB for bags, depending on quality & size. Some bags are cheap fakes, other higher quality fakes are indistinguishable from the real thing, because they’re made as an extra run in the factories making the real things, and sold on the side. For example, we bought this high-quality knockoff LV bag for 300 RMB:
I’m not sure which LV bag it’s most similar too–the Claudia Monogramme Multicolor seems close–but for $45 we received a bag that would cost upwards of $2,000 on 5th Avenue in NYC. I also bought two watches, in the 150 RMB range (probably too much):
Some other suggestions I’ve seen to find counterfeit goods in Shanghai include (but not limited to):
- Science & Technology Museum underground shops
- Qipu Lu
- HengShan Lu
- Xiang Yang Market (now closed)
Torrents in China
Using Bittorrent (BT) in China is quite a bit more difficult than in the US. Popular trackers, such as the ubiquitous PirateBay are blocked. Torrent sites are blocked. Torrent software such as uTorrent does not appear to discriminate against geographically distant peers.
Currently in Shanghai, I’m downloading a torrent with 500 seeds and another 500 peers on uTorrent. Most of these came from decentralized systems (DHT, Peer Exchange) and not from a tracker:
Name Seeds Peers Downloaded [DHT] 198 170 0 [Peer Exchange] 523 587 0 mightynova (timed out) 6 7 30
The speed is also nothing to write home about, at 10 KB/s, about 120x slower than my 1.1MB/s I get on Verizon FIOS back in NYC:
According to Speakeasy’s speed test, the connection here gets 123 KB/s down, so it’s not that I’m hitting the cap, yet! If you’ve got hints, let me know.
Pizza Hut in Shanghai
You might not know it, but Pizza Hut in China (必胜客) is strictly a black-tie affair. The western pizza joint is significantly more upscale in Shanghai than back home, with elegant staff and fixings and a pricier gourmet menu.
The first store was opened in 1998 in Shanghai. There are now more than 200 restaurants in China, even some in Mongolia and Uyghur regions!
Xi’an Travel Attractions
I will be traveling to Xi’An (西安) China soon, and I wanted to quickly come up with a list of things to do while I’m there. Here’s some of the main attractions you might want to see if you ever have a chance to visit! If you think I’m missing anything, leave a comment!
Qin-dynasty Terracotta Army Museum (秦始皇兵马俑博物馆)
These life-size statues of men and horses were buried 2,200 years ago by emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Now, a museum has been built over top of the excavation pits, and tourists can come to see the army themselves. The best way to get to the museum is to take bus 306; it is open daily from 8am to 6pm, and admission is 90 RMB.
Huaqing Hot Springs (华清池)
The beautiful scenery of Huaqing Chi also contains hot spring water, at 43 degrees C. According to the english 华清池 page (as it’s an official tourist landmark), it’s famous for the romantic tale of emperor Xuan Zong and lady Yang Yuhuan, where they swore undying love to each other. In current times, Huaqing Chi operates more as a museum rather than a hot springs. To get there, you can also take the same bus line No.306.
City Wall (古城墙)
If you’re in 西安, you will see the city wall, which extends around the whole of the inner city. The wall itself is 14km long, and you can rent bicycles or golf carts to drive along it. The best place to start is the South Gate.
Bell Tower (钟楼)
At the center of the city is the Bell Tower, the central landmark in Xi’an. The tower has gone through several rebuildings, and now longer houses a bell:
The tower was originally built in 1348, toward the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and was moved to the present site in 1552, during the Ming Dynasty. It was rebuilt and enlarged during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
Big Wild Goose Pagoda (大雁塔)
Located at Ci’en Temple, this pagoda was built by Emperor Gaozong（Li Zhi) in 652AD. It’s a major Buddhist site, and has survived several wars and earthquakes. You can take buses 41 or 610 to arrive.
Grand Mosque (清真寺) and Muslim Street (回民街)
The great mosque is 6,000 square meters, and divided into four courtyards. It is open to visitors, however non-Muslim visitors are not allowed to enter the main prayer hall. Nearby is Muslim street, an area where all shops and restaurants in the street are operated by Muslims.
Forest of Steles (西安碑林)
Perhaps the site I am most interested in seeing, the Forest of Steles (steles are stone tablets inscribed with ancient writing) is a museum containing originals of the Analects of Confucius, Tang Dynasty poets, and others.
Wolong Temple (卧龙寺)
One block NE of the Steles museum is this ancient Buddhist temple.
