Enlarge Photo

First stop: If you are adventurous and like a bargain, make the Dong Jia Du Fabric Market your first stop. In fact, the really well prepared should pack jackets or suits to have copied. Otherwise, you’ll have to choose from their basic styles. Tailors (shifu) will need a few days to whip something up, so go early in your stay. Prices are based on the meters of fabric, plus the tailor’s fee. They will punch a price into a calculator and you bargain by tapping in a counteroffer. Expect a custom-made shirt to cost $10 to $20; a cashmere blazer $90 to $150. Recommended stalls: Zhang Hai Qin (No. 118) specializes in cashmere (blazers, suits and coats) and cotton shirts (86-138-1893-2522). No. 170 sells high-quality cotton for summer suits and dresses (86-138-0582-1021), and generally uses Chang Guo Sheng of No. 229 to do its tailoring. Open 9–6.

Enlarge Photo

Many of the vendors at the Dong Tai Road Antique Market sell the same curios—carved jade bowls, Mao relics, pretty porcelain, Art Deco clocks and Buddha statuary. Even if you are told something is an antique, it’s highly unlikely to be, and it’s against the law to remove anything older than 200 years from the country anyway. For market lovers, though, it’s worth a browse. You’ll find coral beads at No. 222 (86-136-1167-8396), beautiful Art Deco tea services and creative classical Chinese wood furniture at No. 68 (86-21-5306-0658), and antique embroidered binding shoes at 34 Liuhe Road (86-21-6378-9714; haifeng1952@21cn.com).

Many travelers visit the Knock-off Market, which was formerly located on Huahuai Road. You will find copies of brand-name bags, watches, scarves, golf clubs, sneakers, sunglasses and DVDs. If you don’t like crowds or hawkers, skip it. If you want a fake trendy handbag for less than $50, ignore the official signs proclaiming the government’s intolerance for copyright infringement and brave the masses clamoring for logos. (Note some of the humorous misspellings like “Buberry” and “Lacost”.)