Shanghai shopping runs on two economies: the haggling floors of South Bund fabric halls and Qipu Lu, and the curated concept stores of the former French Concession. Three days covers tailoring, design districts and the souvenir shops locals actually use.
Three floors, roughly 100 tailor stalls at 399 Lujiabang Lu. Bring a photo or a garment to copy; wool suits run ¥800–1800, shirts ¥120–200, cashmere coats ¥1200+. Open 09:00–18:30 daily. First fitting in 3–4 days, so come on day one of your trip.
Lunch inside the Taikang Lu shikumen maze: skewers, scallion pancakes and Yunnan rice noodles from stalls in Lanes 210 and 248, ¥15–40 a plate. Alleys are barely two metres wide, so eat standing at the counters rather than fighting for a table.
The old Dongtai Lu trade has consolidated into the Fuyou Lu building at 457 Fangbang Zhong Lu: four floors of jade, Mao badges, snuff bottles, chops and porcelain. Almost everything is reproduction — price it as decoration, not antiquity. Open 09:00–17:00.
Dave Xu's atelier at 288 Wuyuan Lu has cut suits for consuls and bankers since 2001, working in Loro Piana and Zegna cloth. Two-piece from ¥6000, shirts ¥600. Appointment-based, 10:00–19:00 — the counterweight to the fabric-market approach you priced this morning.
Shanghai's wholesale garment district around 168 and 268 Qipu Lu: floor after floor of ¥30–80 clothing sold to resellers by the bagful. Loud, cash-driven and open until 19:00 — the honest end of the market before the boutique days.
The plane-tree block between Wulumuqi Lu and Changshu Lu holds Shanghai's densest independent retail: Brut Cake's textile pieces, Triple-Major concept store, Basdban, and stationery at Harbook. Most open 11:00, so start at the Wulumuqi end with coffee.
390 Fuzhou Lu, six floors of books since 1958. The fourth floor sells Chinese calligraphy supplies and art paper; the top floor carries English-language China titles and old maps of the concession-era city. Open 09:30–18:00.
The 245 Madang Lu mall gathers Chinese designers — Ms MIN, Uma Wang stockists, Shanghai Tang — inside restored 1920s lane houses. Prices are firm and international; treat it as a survey of where Chinese fashion sits now. Open 10:00–22:00.
Five converted aviation-fuel tanks at 2380 Longteng Avenue with a bookshop and design store selling Chinese ceramics, prints and exhibition editions. Riverside setting, open 10:00–18:00 Tuesday to Sunday, closed Monday.
520 Zhongshan Xi Lu, three floors of tea merchants selling pu'er, longjing and oolong by the jin, plus yixing clay pots. Sellers brew samples before you buy; 100g of decent longjing runs ¥80–300. Open 09:00–18:00 daily.
Basement of Block B, 868 Huashan Lu, inside a residential compound — the guard hands you a map to find it. Original 1950s–70s posters from ¥800, quality reproductions and postcards from ¥20. Open 10:00–17:00, ¥25 entry.
387 Nanjing Dong Lu, a specialist selling nothing but chopsticks: sandalwood, ebony, silver-tipped and engraved sets from ¥60 to ¥2000, boxed for travel. A genuinely Shanghainese souvenir on a street otherwise given over to chain stores.
422 Nanjing Dong Lu, trading in scrolls, ink, brushes and woodblock prints since 1900. The counter carves a personal stone name-chop with your name transliterated into Chinese while you wait, from ¥150 depending on the stone.