Deal is one of only two sneaker shops in all of China where you can buy pairs of limited edition
Nike sneakers. This hip shoe store stock international special edition shoes by Ice Cream,
Nike, and Adidas’ Adicolor line, plus a handful of regional Asian designs by Nike (mostly space-
age looking stuff from Japan).
Neiliansheng Shoe Shop Neiliansheng, Beijing’s best known shoe store, is the oldest existing cloth shoe shop in China
(it opened in 1853), and it has a factory that still employs more than 100 workers. Cloth-soled
“thousand layer happy shoes” (qianceng buxie), loved by martial arts stars and Mao Zedong
alike, are hard to find. Cheaper plastic-soled shoes are taking their place. These shoes are
well stitched and very comfortable. There are also some women’s ornately embroidered shoes,
modeled on Qing fashions. Fortunately, they are now available in larger sizes, even for
Western feet. Bargaining is fruitless.
This store, with its two rooms of Western-size shoes, boots, and sneakers is reason alone to
head to the area, and all the goodies are available in Western sizes. It stocks a variety of Nine
West, Calvin Klein, and the Japanese cult brand Fin as well as whatever else the staff can lay
their hands on. A whole room to devoted to men’s shes (mostly casual trainer style). The staff
know that thanks to their sheer variety of products, varying from 50RMB flip-flops to 1,000RMB
Calvin Klein boots, that people will come so they make on effort whatsoever when it comes to
service. And the store isn’t online no matter what its name may suggest.
The savior of many Western-sized shoe fanatics in Beijing, this store may be small, but it’s
packed with more Steve Madden and Aldo brand shoes than you could wear in a lifetime. The
stylish smiley owner will discount a little, but the marketed prices are usually in the ballpark as
to what you will pay