Friendship Stores were once the only places where locals and foreigners alike could purchase imported goodies. You even needed "foreign exchange currency" to obtain the viciously overpriced merchandise. This is the largest store, and it was recently spared demolition when plans for a high-rise complex caused a stir among nearby embassies, but its days are numbered. You can bargain for their overpriced wares, but it's really not worth your while. Starbucks, Baskin-Robbins, Délifrance, and Pizza Hut are all here, and the first-floor bookshop stocks a decent range of English-language magazines. Open daily 9am to 8:30pm.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Beijing, 5th Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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