Tired of malls and food courts? Hanker for a hum-dinger shopping high? I am here to reassure—it’s not all numbing sameness out there. Yes, shopping can be more than Giccu and Nerrdstorm and Piverty Byrn, whatever—all those white breads you grew up with. There is one place, far off, that shimmers constantly, a space of smelly originals and slimy sales pitches. It’s in China—you need to get there, you plan to get there anyway, you know you’ll be there one day, right? So might as well get ready by watching this space. Listen here.
Lowu Commercial Center sits comfy on the border—one sludgy foot in the Shenzhen River, another groping Hong Kong’s hills. You enter between those two limbs. You walk in, and you’re sucked up by a force greater than life. Anyway it’s not about you anymore, you’re now part of the writhing shopping monster.
Forget the layout, forget the exits. You will be borne in all directions through twisted halls lined by watery-eyed clerks and burning colors. You will be seduced repeatedly by every kind of fashion statement. You will fear lack. You will know lust, insatiable lust.
Green handbags, liquid gold chains; running shoes, terrycloth pinks; digital salads--cameras, GSP screens, iPads, iPhones, SD cards, USBs—toys and tripods, lipsticks and watches. These things still weigh on me mightily.
Know the risks: Lowu Commercial Center feeds your mind like the Devil. How could you possibly not want more? How could more possibility not want…you?
[3 Sidebars]
How To Get There: From Hong Kong take the KCR train to the Lo Wu border crossing. Once you pass through Immigration and Customs exit the building and turn right. Take the escalator up to the second floor and you’ll be face-to-face with the Gates of Shopping Paradise—the Lowu Commerical Building.
From Shenzhen by train or taxi, go to the to the second floor of the Immigration Building and walk over the pedestrian bridge to your left.
What You’ll Find: Cheap, cheap, cheap merchandise. Knock-offs, overruns, and generally discount quality products. Yes, Rolex watches, LV bags, and Nike sneakers, some of questionable quality, some near duplicates of the originals. But unlike in other places that offer knock-offs in Lowu you are near their site of manufacture. Which means prices are as low as you’ll find anywhere in the world. Bring cash, and be prepared to negotiate.
How To Maneuver: LWCS is vast—five floors, each the size of several football fields. Each hallway houses hundreds of small glass booths. But there is some organization: products are sold in specialized areas, for instance electronics, footwear, garments, jewelry. So start upstairs in an area of interest, walk the halls and make your way downstairs. Middlemen (and women) may approach to help you find something; ignore them, since you can find everything by yourself. Watch your wallet and backpack. English is rudimentary, so brush up on your sign language.
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