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As it was in the time of the Silk Road, Chengdu, the massive capital of Sichuan Province, is a shopping mecca—these days because of a proliferation of innovative fashion and design spaces. Gleaming shopping malls sit beside converted Qing-dynasty-era factories that now peddle cutting-edge streetwear. Tiny storefronts in mostly residential neighborhoods sell ceramic tea sets and bespoke paper fans. But history is everywhere, from Song Xian Qiao Art City, one of China's largest antiques markets, in central Chengdu, to the eternally cool Temple House, with its contemporary black-and-cream rooms and suites, in the Jinjiang District. It overlooks Taikoo Li, a shopping haven for both homegrown and international designers and a destination unto itself.
Next gen
The Cosmo mall is an eight-story jumble of pint-size boutiques that carry some of China's most promising talent. Be sure to visit the streetwear brand Randomevent; the Beijing-born label Yoikadakada, which produces punk-inspired, elaborately silhouetted clothes; and the Location concept store, a cornucopia of Y2K-era secondhand finds. At Lanqing Pang's Vapour Blue, seek out gender-neutral cuts referencing qipao dresses and silver jewelry by store manager Xing Yulei.
Cabinet of curiosities
Song Xian Qiao Art City market draws shoppers for traditional art, one-off curios, vintage Mao-era paraphernalia, bronze Buddhist figurines, and mammoth porcelain vases. The second floor is filled with shoebox-size ateliers where artists create works of calligraphy on paper and hand-carved stamps from jade; come weekends, the courtyard echoes with click-clacking mah-jongg tiles as sellers load their foldout tables with Tibetan prayer beads, family heirlooms, and rare stones.
Hiding in plain sight
Sandwiched between auto shops in southern Chengdu, a nondescript residential building contains the House of Elements, an airy natural-wine bar, teahouse, and concept store. Browse its selection of handmade clothes and accessories from Chinese ateliers, including buttery leather footwear by Heng Shu; monochrome womenswear by Zhang Da; and cloud-soft knitwear spun from Tibetan yak khullu (down wool) by Norlha, a textile workshop in the Gannan prefecture.
Minimalist to the max
The furniture brand Fnji's Chengdu showroom is an earth-toned sequence of staged dining areas and bedrooms, all accented by beautifully simple sofas, sideboards, and bed frames of rattan, linen, and walnut. More suitcase-friendly items include ceramic tea sets from Jingdezhen, a city in eastern China's Jiangxi Province; wood cutting boards made in Guangdong; and the design collective Supertibet's incense-scented candles in black clay jars made by artisans in Maisu.
Global kicks
For its first international outpost, the New York City–founded sneaker store Alumni has taken over a former gunpowder factory in the 1906 Creative Park complex. Shop special-edition shoes, shirts, and accessories by Issey Miyake and Rick Owens as well as harder-to-find labels like Japan's Maison Mihara Yasuhiro and the Seoul-based Thisisneverthat. Just outside the Luomashi neighborhood, Harmay (China's answer to Sephora) is packed with face masks and fragrances.
Retail therapy
At Taikoo Li Chengdu in the Jinjiang District, fashion power players like Balenciaga and Loewe sit alongside rising designers. Visit the womenswear boutique Short Sentence for colorful knitwear, and pick up moisturizers by the Singapore-based natural skin-care brand Yuan at Fangsuo Commune. On the edge of town, Eastern Suburb Memory resurrects a 1950s factory with galleries, vintage stores, and a gift shop stocked with beautiful boxes of Sichuanese tea and silk handkerchiefs by Qianpa Story.
This article appeared in the July/August 2025 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.
