Silk for the road

In Beijing you can shop like a celebrity. After attending the Olympic Opening Ceremony, four presidents, 11 first ladies and numerous foreign athletes made a beeline for Xiushui market - better known as the Silk Market - along with thousands of tourists and bargain-hunters.

The multi-story market, packed with more than 1,500 stalls, offers nearly every imaginable garment or decoration fashioned from silk - and what you can't find browsing, you can have made-to-order.

There are decorative bags, cases, shoes and hats on the basement level; international brands on the first and second floors; silk goods and Chinese paintings on the third floor; and pearls and traditional crafts on the fourth floor.

There is also a museum on the history of silk production and silk goods on the third floor.

Address: Xiushui Market, near Yong'anli subway station, Xiushui Dongjie, Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang district 朝阳区建国门外大街秀水市场，永安里地铁站附近

Open: 9 am-9 pm

Tel: 5169-9003

(China Daily 08/24/2008 page15)