If you are partial to specific toiletry brand names then I'd suggest stocking up before you come. You can purchase many home brands here like Gilette, Pantene, Nivea, Herbal Essences, Crest, Ponds, Olay.

Don't bother bringing any pants or long sleeved shirts. Sweaters and jackets are useless. I over packed bringing 5 pairs of jeans. I can't wear any of them; its too hot. Shorts are a must because you'll be sweating constantly and need to keep cool. If you wear big sized clothing then you will have a hard time more here so bring from home. Don't bring thick fabrics cause you'll regret it and choose your fabrics wisely or you'll have sweat trails showing thru everywhere. Undershirts and dress shirts are great. You can unbutton dress shirts as it gets hotter.


The clothing here is so cheap you'll be buying alot of it. The men's shirts they sell in stores/market looks like the stuff you find in heaps in Salvation Army stores. If you want to wear nice shirts bring them from home. Shorts look cool here so its fine to only pack a few pairs and buy more when you are hear.

The bar district houses many bars beside one another. Men stand outside each bar herassing you to enter. It costs much more for alcohol at the bars than other places (Corona for 25RMB opposed to normal 14RMB price). One bar had dancing girls in it. When we sat down to watch after ordering drinks a young man came up and stated we had to order more drinks. Quite disrespectful. Considering the bartender was happy with us having just order 1 drink apiece we figured he was trying to scam us so we left our drinks and walked out. Wet t-shirt contests can be found in some places. Other than that the entertainment is clothed.

Taxi drivers are known to drive around in circles for upwards of a couple hours and charge you a hefty fee. Its wise to set a price before you drive. If you don't speak chinese then bring a calculator and the map/address you seek. I haven't paid over 20RMB yet for a ride.

The Heping Market which sells western brand goods has closed down. Its still advertised on some websites as being open and has a map giving direction. Chances are you wouldn't find the old building from the map anyways :D

Some large shopping plazas have prices on par with the west (600RMB for jeans, 800RMB for shoes). You can find cool high quality clothing/shoes of the same styles by just going to a different plaza. In the open markets the clothes are very cheap but prices aren't set. I purchased a fake Gucci watch for 84RMB yesterday. The man wanted 105RMB. My friend said I paid too much and 60RMB would have been adequate.
I purchased cool shoes for 55RMB in a plaza TaoTao Shoe store. I purchased Pepsi jeans for 125RMB in a Pepsi store.