Shopaholics Anonymous

We have seen an increasing amount of young folks around Shanghai wearing some very cool glasses. Where is the best place around town to buy unique and fashionable prescription glasses and sunglasses?

Best,

Three Blind Laowai

Dear TBL,

Glasses and sunglasses are an absolute must-buy in Shanghai for locals and visitors alike. The savings to be made on prescription glasses (and sunglasses) are probably mind-boggling compared to your home countries. If you are worried about getting the prescription right, you can get your eyes tested at home and just bring the script along to shops in Shanghai, or, if your current glasses are doing a good job, you can take in your existing glasses and stores here can make new ones using the same prescription. Most places here do eye testing too, so if your eye problems aren’t too complicated, doing the test here is easy and free, if a little antiquated.

There are many shops selling glasses in Shanghai and you can pretty much go to any one of them and get a better price than you can at home, but, if you are looking for an absolute bargain, you can’t go past the eyeglasses market. At the Shanghai Railway Station, there is an entire market dedicated only to glasses and contact lenses (including coloured contacts). Bifocal, reading, multi-focal, outside tint, plastic, metal, bendy, unbreakable, fake, real, it’s all here!

The main market moved some time ago and the sellers have now spread out somewhat. We suggest heading to the fourth and fifth floor of the HuanLong building, South Square, Shanghai Railway Station. Look for it near exit 2 of Metro line 1.

We recommend Wen Wen on the fifth floor, she speaks some English, has a lovely manner and understands about the different lens qualities. She is in shop 5088. We have also heard good things about shop 5072, also on the fifth floor. 

Prescription sunglasses are also available here and you can not only choose the frames from an absolutely enormous selection (including designer copies), you can also choose the colour of your tint and how dark you want it to be – make sure you go to a reputable retailer to ensure proper UV protection.

Contact lenses are also a great buy in Shanghai and you can usually get the same brands you buy at home. The glasses shop in the bottom of the Gubei Carrefour building has really good quality contact lenses – about half the price they are in Western countries – if you don’t want to trek to the mecca of Shanghai’s optical shopping at the train station.

Shopping Tours Shanghai offers set tour options or custom designed tours to cater to your needs (or the needs of your visitors). For more information, visit the website,

www.shoppingtoursshanghai.com, or email Suzy on [email protected]