China Business Tips

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Supermarkets

For long-term China business travelers, the standard circuit of banquets and fast food gets old fast. Especially if you have a serviced apartment with kitchen facilities, why not splash out and pick up the imported Western goodies that you've been missing? At least in Shanghai, you can get almost anything if you don't mind paying for it.

There are many domestic Chinese supermarkets such as LianHua and HuaLian, which have a limited selection and are not quite as clean and professional as the Western-style chains. At least they have instant coffee, oatmeal, and peanut butter.

For more exciting stuff, here is a comparison of Western-style stores.

Carrefour-This French-operated store is a strong competitor with Walmart. It has a good selection of imported alcohol, chocolate, and fresh-baked bread.

Walmart-Like Carrefour, this American chain tries to provide one-stop shopping, with a butcher, bakery, and wide selection of hygiene products, cosmetics and electrical goods.

Hymall-This store is the most garish, with eye-catching displays and a larger collection of Chinese domestic goods. It has a partnership with the British chain, Tesco. A surreal shopping experience. Make sure to check out the fresh vegetables.

Most goods will be at least as expensive as in your home country. Alcohol is a notable exception, and is generally much cheaper than in the West. This is because China's sin taxes are light. This is, after all, a country where you can buy a bottle of 100-proof grain liquor and a pack of cigarettes for just over a dollar.

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