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Best Shopping Destinations in Asia

100 city guides ยท 3-day shopping itineraries

3-day city guides covering local markets, boutiques, design districts and the best souvenirs.

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Agra

Pietra dura workshops, Sadar Bazaar zardozi, Hing ki Mandi shoe factories and the sweet shops that sโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฒ Turkmenistan

Ashgabat

Hand-knotted Turkmen carpets, silver-and-carnelian jewellery, telpek fur hats and gold-domed shoppinโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Kazakhstan

Astana

From the sprawling Artyom container bazaar to Left Bank designer malls, felt-and-silver ateliers andโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ณ Brunei

Bandar Seri Begawan

Sunday morning jungle-produce tamus, hand-woven silk songket at BND$1,000 a length, brassware from Kโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia

Bandung

Textile markets, Cibaduyut shoemakers, export-surplus outlets and the distro labels that built Indonโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Bangalore

From the flower-heaped aisles of KR Market to Indiranagar's designer studios and Cauvery's sandalwooโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand

Bangkok

From the 15,000 stalls of Chatuchak to Charoenkrung's design studios and the amulet stalls of Tha Prโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Beijing

Qing porcelain at dawn, silk cut by the metre, gallery-district ceramics and China's top-grossing deโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Uzbekistan

Bukhara

Suzani embroidery, hand-forged knives, ikat silk and gold-thread work bought straight from the worksโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Busan

From 1950s refugee arcades and a secondhand book lane to Korea's largest department store and the deโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines

Cebu City

Dried-fish stalls, handloom galleries, Mactan guitar workshops and the mega-malls that bookend them.โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Chengdu

Bamboo-woven porcelain, Shu brocade looms, Taikoo Li flagships and the wholesale chaos of Hehuachi โ€”โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Chennai

From the wholesale lanes of George Town to Khader Nawaz Khan Road's designer floors and the artist-rโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand

Chiang Mai

From Wualai's silversmiths and hill-tribe embroidery to Nimman concept stores and the celadon kilns โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Chiba

Boso Peninsula craft markets, Narita's pilgrimage-street sweetshops and Japan's biggest bayside outlโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ Bangladesh

Chittagong

From the two-metre-wide gold lane of Hazari Goli to export-surplus garments and teak stripped off scโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Chongqing

Wholesale towers at the river confluence, artisan lanes carved into the cliffs, and a banknote plantโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Sri Lanka

Colombo

Saturday craft markets, Barefoot's striped cotton, the 22-karat goldsmiths of Sea Street and Paradisโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Vietnam

Da Nang

From the overnight tailors above Cho Han to An Thuong's design studios, the marble carvers of Non Nuโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Daegu

Wholesale fabric halls, 1930s hardware alleys, gallery-street ateliers and Korea's densest secondhanโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Daejeon

From the century-old fabric stalls of Jungang Market to Seongsimdang's bread empire and the neon bouโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Dalian

Dried sea cucumber by the jin, Russian nesting dolls on Tianjin Street, and northeast China's biggesโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Delhi

From the 1650 spice lanes of Khari Baoli to Shahpur Jat's couture ateliers and the fixed-price craftโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia

Denpasar

Wholesale textile arcades, temple-offering stalls and Balinese silversmiths โ€” where Bali actually buโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ Bangladesh

Dhaka

From the gold lanes of Tanti Bazar to Banani's natural-dye studios and the Friday dawn jamdani haat โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan

Faisalabad

Wholesale lawn by the metre, Sarafa gold and mill-town outlets between the eight radiating bazaarsโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Fukuoka

From 250-year-old Hakata doll workshops and Yanagibashi fish market stalls to Daimyo's concept boutiโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Fuzhou

Carved stone seals, gold-flecked lacquerware, oolong tea houses and Min-river night markets, from Saโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Sri Lanka

Galle

Handloom textiles, bobbin lace and Ceylon spices bought inside 300-year-old merchant houses โ€” plus tโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Gwangju

Dawn produce markets, a 1980s underground arcade, Yangnim-dong craft studios and the potters' villagโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Hangzhou

Dawn wholesale halls at Sijiqing, silk by the metre on Xinhua Road, stone chops carved while you waiโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Vietnam

Hanoi

From dawn wholesale markets on ฤแป“ng Xuรขn's ground floor to Hร ng Gai silk tailors and the ceramic kilโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Harbin

Wholesale bazaars in Daowai, century-old sausage and bread counters, Gogol Street boutiques and Harbโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Hiroshima

Covered shลtengai arcades, Setouchi craft studios and department-store depachika between the six rivโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City

From the wholesale chaos of Chแปฃ Bรฌnh Tรขy to hidden designer studios in District 3 apartment blocks aโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Hong Kong

From haggling over jade in Yau Ma Tei to independent Hong Kong labels in converted Wong Chuk Hang waโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Hyderabad

From the Nizams' pearl-drilling lanes and Laad Bazaar lacquer bangles to Banjara Hills designer studโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Incheon

From 1,000-won fish-market squid to Songdo's glass malls and Ganghwa's hand-woven hwamunseok reed maโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan

Islamabad

From Sunday's sprawling Itwar Bazaar to F-7 designer lawn ateliers and Kashmiri shawl stalls in Aabpโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Jaipur

From the walled-city guild bazaars to C-Scheme design studios, blue-pottery kilns and the Sanganer pโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia

Jakarta

From the ten-floor textile wholesale halls of Tanah Abang to Kemang's design galleries and the antiqโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Jeju City

Dongmun's night stalls, Chilseong-ro boutiques, basalt stone carvers and Jeju's tangerine-chocolate โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ Afghanistan

Kabul

From the wool-piled carpet halls of Shar-e-Naw to the lapis lazuli cutters of Ka Faroshi and the copโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan

Kaohsiung

From dawn seafood auctions in Qijin to the container-cube design studios at Pier-2 and the fabric whโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan

Karachi

From Kharadar's spice sacks and Jama Cloth Market bolts to Zamzama's designer lawn flagships and theโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ต Nepal

Kathmandu

From the spice lanes of Asan to Jhamsikhel's designer townhouses and Patan's lost-wax statue workshoโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Kobe

Arcade-length covered shotengai, Sannomiya designer blocks, Nada sake cellars and Kobe's century-oldโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Kolkata

Baluchari saris in Gariahat, Bengali design labels on Elgin Road, and Kumartuli clay idols โ€” a shoppโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

From Chow Kit's wet-market alleys to Bangsar's design boutiques and Petaling Street's midnight bargaโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Kyoto

From 400-year-old knife forges and washi paper houses to Teramachi arcades, Kyoto denim and the tempโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan

Lahore

Wholesale cloth markets inside Shah Alami Gate, Gulberg designer flagships, and the thrift lanes andโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Malaysia

Langkawi

Wet-market spice stalls, batik studios and marina boutiques across Malaysia's oldest duty-free islanโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Lhasa

Barkhor pilgrim stalls, Tibetan carpet weaving workshops, incense makers and the state-run Tibet Ganโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Lucknow

Hand-embroidered chikan from Chowk workshops, gold zardozi ateliers, ittar perfumeries and Hazratganโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Macau

From an Art Deco wet market and antique lanes to St Lazarus design studios and the marble arcades ofโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Madurai

Tailor stalls under 17th-century pillars, government handloom halls, the gold quarter and the jasminโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ป Maldives

Male

Chaandhanee Magu souvenir strips, Majeedhee Magu fabric shops and the Local Market's palm-thatch staโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Myanmar

Mandalay

From Zegyo Market's tarpaulin alleys to Amarapura silk looms and Sagyin marble yards โ€” buying straigโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines

Manila

From the wholesale chaos of Divisoria and 168 Mall to Makati's homegrown design boutiques, handwovenโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia

Medan

From the songket lanes of Pasar Ikan Lama to pavement rattan workshops and Jl. Majapahit's honeycombโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Mumbai

From the wholesale chaos of Crawford Market to Kala Ghoda's designer studios and the block-print balโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Nagoya

From a 5am wholesale food market and monthly temple flea market to Japan's biggest secondhand luxuryโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Naha

From wholesale market alleys and Tsuboya kiln shops to Okinawan indigo studios, awamori cellars and โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Nanning

From dawn tea-and-spice wholesale halls to Zhuang embroidery workshops, Sino-ASEAN import bazaars anโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Myanmar

Naypyidaw

Longyi weavers in Thapyaygone, loose rubies at the Gems Mart, and Pyinmana's century-old market bazaโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan

New Taipei City

Yingge pottery kilns, Sanxia indigo dyeing, Tamsui waterfront stalls and Banqiao's mega-malls, mappeโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Okayama

Selvedge jeans from Kojima, wood-fired Bizen pottery, and the covered arcades and morning markets ofโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Osaka

From Japan's longest covered arcade to Horie's design boutiques and Tsuruhashi's Korean spice lanes โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡น Bhutan

Paro

One main street of family-run craft shops, a riverside produce market, hotel boutiques and village wโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand

Pattaya

From 5am wholesale flower stalls and floating-market woodcarvers to air-conditioned mega-malls and Jโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ Cambodia

Phnom Penh

From the art-deco dome of Central Market to Khmer silk weavers, riverside boutiques and NGO craft woโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand

Phuket

From Kaset Market's curry stalls to Thalang Road antiques, Bangtao spa outlets and the vast Naka weeโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines

Puerto Princesa

Weaving workshops, wild-honey co-ops, gallery cafรฉs and cashew stalls โ€” from the Malvar Street markeโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Malaysia

Putrajaya

From Presint 2's market hall and Thursday night bazaars to Alamanda, Tamarind Square and the KLIA ouโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ต North Korea

Pyongyang

From the 800-stall Tongil Market to hard-currency arcades and the Mansudae studio's ink scrolls โ€” hoโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines

Quezon City

From Farmers Market's dawn stalls to Cubao Expo's indie horseshoe and Katipunan's maker consignment โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Uzbekistan

Samarkand

From the honeyed melon rows of Siab Bazaar to the mulberry-paper mill of Konigil and the last silk-cโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Sapporo

Curb-market seafood stalls, Odori's 1.9 km underground shopping spine, Meiji-era brick arcades and Hโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Sendai

Covered shopping streets, Date-era craft houses, Tohoku kokeshi workshops and station-floor omiyage โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea

Seoul

From 4am wholesale fabric halls in Dongdaemun to Seongsu concept stores and Insadong paper shops โ€” tโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Shanghai

From bespoke suits at 3.50 a metre to Xintiandi concept boutiques and the propaganda-poster basementโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Shenyang

From 05:00 trading floors at Wu'ai to Bauhaus factory lofts in Tiexi and marble malls on Qingnian Stโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Shenzhen

Gold by the gram in Shuibei, made-to-measure suits at Luohu, and independent design studios in restoโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ Cambodia

Siem Reap

From dawn haggling at Psar Leu to fair-trade silk weavers, Khmer ceramics studios and the lantern-liโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Singapore

Singapore

From wet-market spice stalls in Tekka to independent perfumers on Haji Lane and Singapore's last hanโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India

Surat

Wholesale saree towers, zari embroidery lanes and diamond-district jewellery in India's fabric capitโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan

Taichung

From the wholesale ribbon stalls of Taiwan Boulevard to Shenji New Village's designer studios and Feโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan

Taipei

From 5 a.m. fabric wholesalers on Dihua Street to Songshan's converted tobacco factory, a shopping rโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Uzbekistan

Tashkent

Dried-fruit bazaars, madrasah craft workshops, ikat ateliers and a Soviet flea market, mapped acrossโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡น Bhutan

Thimphu

From the concrete stalls of the Centenary Farmers' Market to Norzin Lam's textile ateliers and the gโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Tianjin

Antique stalls, silk tailors, woodblock print workshops and art-deco department stores, from Shenyanโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Tokyo

From Kappabashi's hand-forged blades to Daikanyama's concept boutiques and Nakano's collector arcadeโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ณ Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar

Cashmere flagships, felt cooperatives, fiddle workshops and container markets, mapped across three dโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Laos

Vientiane

Hand-woven Lao silk, indigo dye workshops, fair-trade craft houses and the kip-only markets locals aโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Wuhan

Wet markets and wholesale towers in Hankou, Italianate boutique streets along Chuhe Han Street, and โ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Xiamen

From dawn seafood stalls at Bazhen to Shapowei's harbourside concept stores and the Anxi oolong counโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China

Xian

Seal carvers on Shuyuanmen, dawn antique stalls at Baxian An, and design malls from SKP to a mirroreโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Myanmar

Yangon

From the 1926 teak stalls of Bogyoke Aung San Market to Pansodan's book pavements and Sanchaung's inโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia

Yogyakarta

Hand-drawn batik tulis from Ngasem's back-alley studios, hammered silver in Kotagede, leather wayangโ€ฆ

Asia
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan

Yokohama

Covered market streets, the 1859 boutiques of Motomachi and bean-to-bar makers on the piersโ€ฆ