Free shopping in Lijiang        7/22/2008 8:32:21 PM

For hundreds of years, Old Market Square (Sifang Jie) has been the center of Old Town's busy market life. Today, Sifang Jie is the best place for buying local goods like the area's renowned bronze ware and woodcarvings, though its previous vitality as a center of the Naxi community has been altered, as local officials mandated removal of a number of Naxi produce and butcher shops to make more room for souvenir and arts & crafts boutiques.

The square's buildings are beautifully restored and it remains a lovely place for browsing and souvenir shopping, despite the somewhat sanitized and controlled feel. Prices are also higher here than in outlying areas. Most of the handicrafts are authentic, though in many cases non-Naxi shopkeepers are selling Naxi goods rather than the Naxi themselves. Nearly anything emblazoned with pictographs (try Grass Root House for pictograph t-shirts).

Naxi women's knitted shawls and capes are popular with women, and anyone can appreciate a good bell—Bunang bells come from horse bells used during the days of trade caravans through Lijiang, Jixiang bells, or "lucky bells" derive from traditional Naxi religious practice.

Off the square, the small streets of Old Town are cluttered with additional souvenir shops and boutiques. If you're planning on visiting outlying Naxi villages or have time to explore town, hold off on purchases to give yourself time to compare, shop and bargain.