With intellectual property rights deeply ingrained by Western society, you may have to battle it out with your conscience before going out on a DVD shopping spree. If, however, your conscience loses out (being able to buy every season of your favorite TV show back home for 20 RMB can be pretty compelling…) then you will not have to look very far for cheap DVDs. You can often find sellers hawking them on the sidewalk, and just about every shop that sells Chinese music and movies has a special wall, aisle, or room dedicated to bootlegged foreign films. DVD-5 (lower quality) usually run 5 RMB/disc, and DVD-9 (higher quality) 10 RMB/disc.
THE Jiefangbei DVD Store
• Bai Ma Yin Xiang 白马音像
This is probably the most popular place for foreigners to buy DVDs. Despite the small room that they are sold in being rather cramped, people come back again and again. They offer a large and varied collection, and unless the movie is very new (like it just came out in theatres near you), the movies are usually of excellent quality. The people that work there will tell you honestly whether or not the quality is good or bad. At other places you sometimes run the risk of the discs not working once you put it in your DVD player back home, or the English subtitles belonging to a different movie. If in doubt ask if you can test the disc in store before you buy, and many places allow you to return the disc if you have any problems.
Bus Tip: 临江门(解放碑) located across the street from the NE corner of the Metropolitan Department Store (on Wu Yi Street, 五一路).
Light Rail Tip: 临江门 (Linjiangmen)
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