Harbin

Imported Russian goods of all types and qualities are available from tourist shops around town. Look out for vodka, Russian dolls, and chocolate. The local Chinese appeared to have picked up some aspects of Russian cuisine, with western style bread and sausage available around town. Beyond this, the shopping is much like any other city in China.

Zhongyang Dajie

The main shopping district is along zhongyang dajie where there is a wal-mart near the flood control monument and another shopping district along guogeli jie where you can find clothing, food and more. along this street are huge new shopping malls such as the euro plaza, parksons, and lane crawford that carry international brands and are expensive. there are nike stores, kfc and interesting russian thrift stores. the street is lined with beer gardens during the summer.

Guogeli Dajie

果戈里大街. harbin's second biggest shopping district after zhongyang dajie bigger in size. the area around here is dotted with russian buildings and huge shopping complexes. at night there are numerous night markets, a small scale russian church where people dance, and a small and lively "bar lake."

foreigners in harbin

The vast majority of the foreigners living in Harbin are either Russian or Korean, with the Russians obviously being the more visible of the two. Expats should be aware that all Caucasians are automatically "Russian" as far as the local population is concerned, and that relations between said Russians and the local Chinese population are rocky at best. Much of the famous "Dongbei hospitality" has worn thin in recent years, with native Harbingers holding an increasingly negative view of foreigners in general.

There are also a small number of European and Brazilian professionals working in the city, as well as a number of English teachers hailing from various countries. However, the lack of foreign investment in the province as a whole means that most of the resident expats are either students or teachers. The are also a number of African and Middle Eastern students studying at the high-profile Harbin Institute of Technology.

Western Union

西联汇款 xilian huikuan in Chinese

Bank of China Heilongjiang Branch

This is the only bank in the city where you can exchange Travelers Checks.

Most ATM's around the city work with international cards, such as the Bank of China and the China Merchants Bank.

Hongbo Century Square

红博世纪广场 not to be confused with the underground market, this is a huge mall in the basement of the harbin exhibition center. there is also a fried chicken chain from texas. there are daily fashion model shows.

Chinese Military Surplus Clothing

Looking for a comfy cold weather jacket like the chinese wear? there are a number of stores around the city. one is towards the end of xidazhi jie near the harbin institute of technology.

Harbin Sex Store/Museum

On guogeli dajie sells all sorts of sex materials and toys. kind of unexpected for conservative china.

Pirate DVDs

A large dvd store occupies a corner in the basement of the jiaohua electronics market 教化电子市场. all dvd's are around ¥6 and arranged alphabetically. opposite from the harbin institute of technology's main gate 哈工大正门对面 and across the street from buy now hui. be sure and buy the dvds sold in the main store, and not at the numerous small kiosks that take up the rest of the basement.

The Hongbo Shichang,

At the intersection of dong dazhi jie and hongjun jie, is an enormous underground shopping center -- if they don't have it, you don't need it.

Walmart and Carrefour

The walmart is located at the end of zhongyang dajie by the river. its just like any other walmart. there are several other walmarts and carrefours located in the city.