Livin’ in The Chonx

Ruo Bi Lin 若比邻
• Summer hours (June 11-October 1): 9am-5:30pm; Closed Sundays; During the rest of the year hours are longer

Somewhat akin to Sabrina’s Country Store in Chengdu (an actual Sabrina’s opened up in Jiangbei last year, but it seems to have gone under already), this small store provides imported goods from the West. The prices are high, but there are certain things that they sell here that you cannot purchase anywhere else. It is in a rather out of the way and unlikely location which causes one to wonder how they get any business at all.

Bus Tip: 华宇广场(沙坪坝火车站) From here it is about a 10 minute walk. Continue reading »

Qu Chen Shi 屈臣氏

This is not actually a supermarket, but they sell things that you would often find in the supermarket or drugstore. Here you can buy personal goods like toiletries, make-up, hair products, etc. They have some imports that may be difficult to find elsewhere, Crest Whitestrips or VO5 hair treatments, for example.

There are several of these stores located throughout the city, sometimes they are inside of larger department stores (the Metropolitan has one tucked away inside).

Mai De Long 麦德龙

This is a large international wholesale food market (but they also sell other household goods).  They have a much larger selection of imported goods than even Carrefour or Walmart.  Here you can buy butter, cheese by the wheel, a coffee maker, or a small oven.   And it is one of the only places in town where you can buy cream cheese.

Continue reading »

Wo Er Ma 沃尔玛

Especially for those from America, Wal-mart needs no introduction. Like Carrefour, Wal-mart carries many products that you cannot normally find at the local supermarkets. Like Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate, Doritos, and yellow mustard. The line-up is subject to change, however, so try not to take for granted that the Skippy Peanut Butter will always be on the shelves. Unfortunately, Wal-mart does not carry real cheese (yet), just the compressed sliced things and cheese spreads.

Jiulongpo Walmart: Near Yangjiaping, across from the city zoo, can be seen from the light rail.
Bus Tip: 九龙广场(沃尔玛) or 动物园(区府) Continue reading »

Jia Le Fu 家乐福

With four separate branches in Chongqing, this Paris-based retailer is the most widely spread international supermarket in the city. Like a Walmart Supercenter they sell both groceries and pretty much anything else you might need. The four stores are located in Shapingba, Jiefangbei, Jiangbei, and Yangjiaping. The Shapingba branch is the newest and largest of the four branches. Not all the branches carry the same items, but at the Shapingba branch at least you can buy hard to find imported goods like Gouda cheese, diet Pepsi, and top-shelf liquor.

Shapingba Carrefour: Located on the south side of Three Gorges Plaza, across from the train station.
Bus Tip: 华宇广场(沙坪坝火车站)
Continue reading »