Someone felt special about the shop named after her!

5 monthes in….Clothes looking tired…God do I have to wear that t-shirt again?…Uh-oh my Jeans have ripped at the knees.

It was time for some shopping, but where will we go?

In Shanghai you can go anywhere. Walking to the Bund on our first night we passed Forever 21, H&M and GAP. In the French Concession you can spend a fortune on outfits by Marc Jacob, Paul Smith, Louis Vuitton and other Italian names.

Shanghai is shopping on a huge scale. It makes London, New York and Hong Kong look infantile in their consumer facilities. Not only that but all the surrounds are spruced up to turn the city into a big air-conditioned mall. Full of Starbucks, Pizza Express chains and shiny white walls.. And statues!

But don’t be alarmed readers… There are affordable wares on offer too.

In the Tiazefang district you can buy altered propaganda posters and Andy Warhol treatments of Chairman Mao. The pavements of East Nanning Road are filled with street hawkers selling wheelies – wheels for your shoes ( you would like that Gráinne!).

Down by the Old Town of Nán Shì there is a bazaar of tack. The sights and sounds are almost overwhelming and spend too long here and upon leaving all you will say, forever more, is ‘Copy Watch..Handbag..Copy Watch.’ Walking along these bustling streets you start to see the Chinese fascination with pretty much everything. For example one stall had a young girl dressed up with a microphone and dancing along to ‘Gangnam Style’ whilst selling Slinkies.

Yes Slinkies, the toy every kid got for Christmas in the 1980s and was relegated to the shed by New Years.

So what you waiting for? Get Over Here and start shopping!

P.S. They even have pop-up stalls

9.01 PM

9.02 PM after Police Siren is heard.