24 Best Places to Shop in Shanghai, China

Taiwanese designer Nicole Teng's showroom is welcoming, with comfy oversize chairs (for sale), reclaimed wood, and quirky ceramic pieces on every surface. In addition to dinnerware and ceramic lampshades, Brut Cake sells beautiful handwoven and dyed fabrics.

This shop claims its covetable collection of mostly propaganda items from the '50s, '60s, and '70s is sourced from the countryside and areas in Sichuan Province and around Beijing and Tianjin. Whether they're authentic is up for debate. Shelves and racks are filled with women's clothing from local and international designers. Look for beautiful wrapping paper from Paper Tiger and dish towels, notecards, and T-shirts from Pinyin Press; both are indie, Shanghai-based design companies. Although this could be your one-stop shopping experience, remember this is communism at capitalist prices.

Designers Judy Kim and Bingbing Deng, who hails from Tianjin, founded their line of cheerful ceramics in Paris in 2010. Their Jing'An boutique is packed with bowls, vases, plates, trays, and beautiful cloisonné tiffin carriers in a rainbow of bright colors.

Halfway between a gallery and a shop, Spin sells reasonably priced contemporary Chinese pottery handmade in Jingdezhen, China's pottery capital. Treasures include chopstick rests shaped like bone fragments and too-cute dim sum paperweights in a little bamboo steamer. The ceramics sell for a fraction of the price of what they go for in New York City, where they're available at venues like Bergdorf Goodman. Note that this shop was once closer to the city center but moved to the northern Zhabei district in 2018.

The eponymous colored ceramics here are designed and hand-painted by the owner and are made in Jingdezhen, once home to China's imperial kilns. Some larger pieces are made with wood salvaged from demolition sites around Shanghai.

The English-speaking owner, Liu Xiao Lan, has a Miao mother and a broad knowledge of her pieces. The Miao sew their history into the cloth, and she knows the meaning behind each piece, some of which are collector's items. Antique embroidery can cost an arm and a leg, but smaller embroidery pieces are affordable and easy to slip into a suitcase. Ms. Liu has also started designing more wearable items.

Shanghai’s iconic sneaker brand, Feiyues, can get comparatively pricey when bought internationally, but in Shanghai, where they’re made, you can pick up a pair very cheaply. The classic designs are canvas with rubber soles, but there’s a variety of styles on offer, including felt models, rubber sneakers that are good for wet weather, an intricate line decorated with traditional Chinese drawings, and a cute collection for kids.

Co-owner Marybelle Hu worked at Taipei's National Palace Museum as well as Sotheby's in Los Angeles before opening this shop with her sister-in-law Lin in 1998. The bright, airy showroom contains Tibetan chests and other rich furniture as well as a large selection of accessories, from lanterns to mooncake molds. The prices are higher than their competitors', but so is their standard of service.

Like its Hong Kong sister, this shiny mall is packed with luxury goods stores. The basement food court has everything from octopus balls to Japanese-style crepes, as well as very expensive imported groceries. The upper levels are dotted with restaurants serving various fare, high in quality and in price.

The Lujiazui station of metro Line 2 is inside the mall.

You could while away an hour or two in this massive bookstore, which has a huge selection of English-language books for children and adults. The downside here is that there's so much, it's not always organized well, and few of the clerks speak English. Still, wander the floors, and you'll find new and back issues of magazines ranging from Vogue to NationalGeographic, and shelf upon shelf of novels and nonfiction books. Prices are higher than what you'd pay in the States but not terribly so.

This selection of books on China and Chinese culture is impressive, and there are also some interesting children's books. Expensive reproduction ceramics are available, as are more affordable gifts like magnets, scarves, and notebooks.

This is one of China's leading fashion brands, with distinctive acid-bright silks, soft-as-a-baby's-bottom cashmere, and funky housewares. Sigh at the beautiful fabrics and designs, and gasp at the inflated prices.

One of Asia's largest malls, this 10-story behemoth has a mind-boggling array of international shops and food stops, as well as a cineplex. It can be overwhelming if you don't love to shop.

Sold here are beautifully embroidered handmade shoes and slippers for men and women, with quirky designs such as cabbages. You’ll also find funky round handled bags, gorgeous children’s shoes and more intricate accessories and trinkets.

This place stocks all the tea in China, and then some. More than 300 vendors occupy three floors, but most vendors sell the same tea, so find a seller with whom you have a rapport, and sit down for a taste test. You can buy such famous teas as West Lake dragon well (longjing) tea, from nearby Hangzhou, and Wuyi red-robe tea, as well as the tea sets to serve them in. Though the vendors encourage you to taste all their teas, as you should, they are not terribly pushy.

When the Central St. Martins grad launched her eponymous line in 2005, little did she know her designs would soon be on the catwalks of London, Paris, New York, and Milan. Knitwear is Wang's signature design and, in her industrial chic shop, you'll find chunky vests, mohair dresses, and cardigans that can double as scarves. For the average shopper, the space is more gallery than viable shopping destination—as Wang's star has risen, so too have her prices; a dress now goes for more than Y3,500.

British expat James and his wife Wan Ling, who hails from the tea-producing province Fujian, have built a tidy tea business in Shanghai. In addition to their Shanghai teahouse, where you can purchase a slew of teas from China and India and teapots and cups, they sell in the U.K. and Australia. The selection of tea here is ample, and foreigners can feel safe in the knowledge they won't be ripped off.

The porcelain goods here are truly lovely, available in an eye-popping array of colors. Designs range from delicate Chinese landscapes to modern geometric prints. You'll also find pretty candles, incense holders, and pipe-and-water-spigot candelabras (which are very cool, but a bit large to carry home).