Discovering Dongsi

Dongsi Bei Dajie is one of the city's most underrated shopping strips, with a glut of cool boutiques

It’s time to turn the spotlight back on Dongsi Bei Dajie. The garish wedding shops, ludicrously expensive tea houses and jazzy grandma pyjama stores remain, but there’s also been a big increase in the number of unique boutiques and quirky shops on the strip. Interesting spaces are popping up all the time, and it looks set to continue. Here are our top picks, so roll up your sleeves and get rummaging.

Mess

Mess is a great little shop that takes after urban boutiques such as Supreme and Bathing Ape. Make your way downstairs and you’ll find Adidas’ ‘Five-Two’ trainer collection, including an enticing line-up of limited-edition originals (such as the ‘Forum’, ‘Nizza’ and ‘Samba’).

They also have a fantastic range of old-school Vans and a good selection of items from the ‘Alife x New Balance’ collection. We’re particularly taken by the Chanel-esque quilted Vans (395RMB). Away from the shoes, our favourite item here is a shiny bluebird jacket (780RMB), but they also stock more muted alternatives if you don’t feel up to channelling the spirit of a Japanese hipster.

Eternal

A two-floor skate shop, Eternal has everything you need to get royally decked out like Tony Hawk. Alongside the more obvious selection of labels – think DC, Etnies and Emerica – they also stock more interesting ranges, such as Altamont Apparel’s ‘slasher movie’ series, which includes hoodies (455RMB) and T-shirts (255RMB) paying homage to the likes of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Dawn of the Dead and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Browse your way through trucker caps, backpacks, board shorts and skate shoes before heading to the back room for decks, wheels and helmets – all to the soundtrack of your favourite skater anthems blasting out from the shop’s speakers. We recommend the Enjoi decks (350RMB) as well as Eternal’s own offerings (‘Brunt’ for 280RMB).

Lazy Sunday

Lazy Sunday (pictured) is home to a complete hodgepodge of random but unique items. The shop front, for example, is resplendent with Marilyn Monroe boxes, a vintage doubledecker bus and battered old suitcases. If you’re out scouring for gems then it’s definitely worth spending some time here. Be sure to check out the new season’s Chloé Mimosa Square Sunglasses (390RMB) and, for the boys, the divine on-trend blue loafers (498RMB).

There’s also an eclectic mix of vintage clothes. We particularly like the tie-dye ‘Me Myself’ dress (798RMB) and the wide selection of boyfriend blazers (from 800RMB). At the back, there’s a variety of Japanese toys, hair accessories, keyrings, black-rimmed spectacles with no lenses (oh, dear) and some Star Wars finger puppets (for 180RMB). We dare you to leave empty-handed.

Herbal Heaven

While the name may attract the attention of a slightly more, ahem, ‘bohemian’ clientele, it would have been more accurate to call this place Leather Heaven. Stocking everything that could possibly be bound in leather, there are some great finds in between the Jesus sandals and orthopedic shoes.

Highlights include an identical version of Mulberry’s much-loved ‘Roxanne’ bag for 938RMB as well as something very similar to the label’s ‘Bayswater’ for 848RMB. Their suitcases and briefcases are delightfully boxy and well crafted while their leather-bound books (100-300RMB), belts (100-400RMB) and hip flasks (87RMB) make great gifts. Be sure to check out the Robin Hood-esque swag bags in red and black leather (438RMB), and the textured snakeskin clutch (268RMB).

Rui House

Rui is a lovely homeware store that feels very European yet still retains a certain Chinese randomness. Big roomy wicker baskets are sprawled throughout the space (60-99RMB) and if you can ignore the abundance of teddy bears you’ll find some treats, including houseplants, watering cans, stylish aprons and oven gloves (25RMB). They also have a great set of coffee, tea and sugar pots on sale for just 99RMB, alongside cavernous coffee mugs (40RMB) and big woven shoppers (349RMB).

Fly Streetwear

Head here for a fantastic array of genuine limited-edition gear that you certainly won’t be able to find at Silk Street or Yashow. There are some products in Fly Streetwear that we’ve never seen anywhere else in Beijing: T-shirts by Kayo Corp (298RMB), check shirts by Fourstar Clothing Company (190RMB) and embroidered Nike Dunks (790RMB).

For the serious skaters out there, they stock Chocolate and Kayo decks (380RMB) alongside their own house label, which is called Gift (280RMB). Don’t forget to check out the Girl Skateboard Co. and The Quiet Life gear. Images of notorious Chinese skater Johnny Tang are on hand to offer inspiration - and if you don’t find what you’re looking for, try sister shop Fat Tongues, which can also be found on Dongsi Bei Dajie.

Jungle Boutique

Prepare to be hit by a blast of pop punk upon entering Jungle Boutique, but persevere as they have some brilliant buys for autumn/winter. The store’s skinny jeans come in a variety of colours, including dusty pink, lime green and pale yellow. They also stock some wonderful pea coats (399RMB), Miu Miu dresses for the girls, and, upstairs, Billabong, G-Star and Diesel T-shirts (around 68RMB) for the boys.

You’ll also find some great Paul Smith items. Our favourite? A divine travel bag for 2,099RMB.

With the good, however, comes the bad: Crocs. And then there’s the downright bizarre, which comes in the form of a display cabinet featuring a chastity belt flanked by both Paul Smith and D&G underwear (50RMB). Top marks for creativity, though.

Alice McInerney