One of my very first invaluable discovery and - for someone like me -’life’ and biggest money savior ever – Pearl Market at Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Subway station ( line 2) . The first reason I ever went there was actually the fact that, coming from ‘small’ Chengdu, I got off Shanghai Railway station, after 37 hour train journey, with just one pair of fake Converse, because those were the only shoes size 39 I could find there. But let’s face it – Shanghai is a whole different level of a place, and besides the fact that I just simply needed more than one pair of shoes, I wanted to become a ‘proper City girl’ and understandably owning a few pairs of shoes was a MUST. So my knowledgeable Chinese teacher sent me to Shanghai Science Technology Station, as an answer to my horrible woe. Not only did I find myself in the 39-size shoe paradise, but discovered any adult girl like me ‘candy shop’ – a looooot of square meters full of beautiful and C H E A P jewelry stands! Yes, I admit it – I never have enough earrings, rings and all these beautiful ‘eye candies’ They have to match each other plus all my outfits. But the rule is that they can’t pillage my bank account. And believe me – Pearl Market at Shanghai Science and Technology museum does fulfill all these tall orders. I often get compliments on my accessories, but my favorite moment is this shock in the eye of the beholder, when I say ‘ohh, that was just 10 RMB for earrings and 20 for a ring’ To reach this ‘treasury’, you just get off the subway line 2 at SHANGHAI SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY METRO STATION, take the escalator upstairs to any exit, and you will immediately see the clothing market and Pearl Market in one of the corners. Be prepared to spend there AT LEAST an hour, once the variety and multitude of choices overwhelms you. Most of the vendors will be so kind that they will offer you free bottle of mineral water while you go over their colorful stock. Since some of them already recognize me ,we will often have a chit chat about recent updates in life. One thing you just need to ALWAYS bear in mind – the rule is : unless the piece is already cheap like 10 or 20, maximum 30 RMB, you always need to BARGAIN and cut the price AT LEAST in half! Chinese people have negotiations in their blood, sucked with their mothers’ milk, but it should also be number one skill to hone for EVERY single foreigner ( ‘LAOWAI’/’WAIGUOREN’) coming and living in China!:)