No 1 Department Store – Mixed Western and Eastern Shopping Experience

No 1 Department Store is located near the People’s park, on Nanjing Road that is one of the main shopping streets in Shanghai. The store consists of two buildings; western and eastern. The names are a tad confusing, as the western building looks and smells like department stores in former Eastern bloc, the name included. The eastern store is the opposite, at least on the ground floor, and feels like any other department store in the Western countries. The upper floors have more of the Eastern bloc atmosphere.

The selection is wide and all major needs are catered for with several brands. The store doesn’t carry big Western brands and most of the labels are unknown the average Joe. There are some exceptions, such as smallish Banana Republic shop-in-shop.

Most of the items are cheaper compared to European shops, but unfortunately the design and the quality are not on the same level.

No 1 Department Store, Nanjing Road, Shanghai, China