MUJI

Though on first glance it may look like a scaled down Ikea, MUJI is much more than that. Clean, simple, minimalist and coolly Japanese, everything in this lifestyle store is several notches better quality than the Swedish behemoth ¨C with an emphasis on functionality above all else. It also sells almost anything you can think of ¨C from clothes and shoes to laptop bags, clocks, travel socks, wallets, and incense burners. It¡¯s also a great place to pick up quality items not that easily found in Beijing ¨C measuring jugs (149RMB); sturdy umbrellas (405RMB) and even huge tubs of coloured felt-tip pens (150RMB) for instance. Especially worth checking out are the Hakuji ribbed porcelain plates, cups and bowls (from 35RMB), the crisp white shirts (290RMB) and the stationary counter crammed with notebooks (10RMB) and pens (8RMB).