Here
are some observations about buying film and getting it developed that
have been garnished in over five plus years of toiling in this capital.
Thanks to Photo.net
for giving me the idea to do this.
The
best photo shop in Beijing, in
my opinion, is Today Photo (Jin Ri Tu Pian She in Chinese).
They have two locations. Their HQ is across the street from the West
Railway Station. While not a Q-Lab, it's the closest thing you're
going to find in Beijing. It's the only place in Beijing that I trust
w/ my push-processing, and they've never screwed up. They have a very
large selection of most all professional films in most sizes.
It's
not cheap, but they've usually got it. If you're going to be in Hong
Kong, Color Six Labs on Stanley Street (and elsewhere) are Q-Labs,
and the film is cheaper there as well.
Today
Photo's main location is across the street from the western
end of the immense West Railway Station (click on map and/or photo
above). Look for a fairly large blue, triangular 3-D sign about thirty
feet or so in the air. It's at the western end of the row of billboards
that face the station, and is somewhat dwarfed by them. Walk north
on the small side street (hu tong) for a short distance and
it's right there on the right-hand side. You can't miss it, really.
It's right down the street from the Chinese restaurant. The clerks
don't speak any English, but ask for Zhi Wei (English name;
Wayne), an English speaking manager. If you've got a lot of slide
or black and while film to get processed, you might want to get one
of their VIP cards. If you're around the SW part of the outer city,
or need to buy professional film,this location is for you.
Click
on thumbnail of 2nd location facade (above) to enlarge it.
They've
got a second location on Dong
Si Bei Da Jie (East Fourth North Big Street). They process color
print film on site, and send the rest to their main location. The
film available for purchase at this location is extremely meager,
but it's very convenient for those in the NE part of the inner city.
Look on the western side of Dong Si North Street, a bit south
of Ping An Boulevard. They have a modern white facade that
says Today Photo. You could have a nice walk here in about thirty
minutes or so from the northern end of the famous Wang Fu Jing
Shopping Street. Dong Si is another shopping street (as if
you hadn't had enough?) that runs parallel (one large Beijing city
block to the east) to Wang Fu Jing.
The
best camera shops in Beijing,
in my opinion, are on West Chang An Boulevard. Chang An
is the east-west street that runs in front of Tian An Men (the
gate to the Forbidden City w/ the big picture of Mao). The shops are
in between the Xidan subway station and the Tian An Men
West station. You could also easily get there by alighting from the
He Ping Men subway station and walking north to Chang An
Boulevard. The shops are on the SE and SW corners of Chang An
at this intersection. To the west of this intersection, towards Xidan
on the south side of Chang An, are a lot of small camera shops
that primarily sell Russian equipment.
There's
a large camera market (collection
of small shops) in the far west of the city. You can find 'bargains'
on film and new & used equipment here. If you need a model, hair
stylist, assistant, etc., this might be a good place to scare one
up. I get there by subway. Take the west subway line to the
Wu Ke Song subway station and alight from the NE exit. Go north
from here on the West Fourth Ring Road Eastern Outer Road (Xi Si
Huan Dong Fu Lu in Chinese) about 1.5 km. There are usually
some pedicabs waiting here and they charge about 5 yuan to go there.
The market is immediately SE of Ding Hui Qiao (Ding Hui Bridge/Flyover)
and the West Fourth Ring Road. Via taxi, Ding Hui Qiao can be reached
by going west from Fu Chung Men (a Second Ring Road 'landmark'). Concerning
used equipment prices, it's not cheap to buy imported goods in China.
China has a stiff import tax, and it used to be much stiffer.
When
purchasing camera equipment in Hong Kong,
I prefer to go to Man Shing Photo Supplies in Mongkok. Their address
is 106 Tung Choi Street. Tung Choi Street runs north-south parallel
to Nathan Road, and it's two blocks east of Nathan. Man Shing, at
# 106, is on the eastern side of Tung Choi between Argyle and Fife
streets. Tell Mr. Wang that Joe sent you. They are one of the few
authorized Nikon scanner dealers in Hong Kong. I've found camera equipment
in Hong Kong to be cheaper than mail order in the States. I usually
buy film on Stanley Street (Hong Kong's camera street) on Hong Kong
Island, but Man Shing is competitive as well. They are closed on Monday.
Phone; 2396-2996 & 2395-2127 Fax; 2395-2127
