where to buy general items for furnishing apartment?

[Peter M]

so I’m moving to Chengdu in 26 days (awesome!), and I’m trying to figure out the best place to go to buy some things for my apartment. all of the furniture and major appliances will be there already, but I’ll have to get things like:

dishes/bowls/cups/utensils

cookware

bedroom/bathroom linens

office supplies (pens, paper, tape, paper clips, etc.)

also, what are some good places for groceries? I’m excited to learn some authentic chinese cooking, but I’m also hoping that there’s someplace good for western groceries too.

and finally, I’m trying to find out the best/cheapest solution for call from China to the U.S. while I’m there. I’m not bringing a GSM enabled phone with me, so I’ll need a phone and I assume a prepaid chip of some sort. it’s really for emergencies when my internet fails and I can’t skype.

I’m getting super excited; I’ve been preparing for this move since February. for reference, I’ll be about 1.5 miles south of the third ring road on tianfu avenue middle section, and I won’t have a car (most likely will have a bike with baskets). I’m fairly comfortable with public transportation and taxis. any info would be greatly appreciated.

cheers,

-Peter

[Ben]

You can get everything in your list from a supermarket. Carrefour is probably your best bet. You should also check out Ikea, in the south on the 3rd ring road.

There are a collection of streets near Tianfu Square which are dedicated to cell phones. Just get in a taxi and head to 太升南路 (tai sheng nan lu). You can pick up a cheap phone and SIM card there. You can then buy an international calling card when needed which is cheaper than dialing directly from your cell phone.

[Bryan]

IKEA is near your house. You’d better go there by taxi if you don’t know the exact address.

You can get to downtown by 118.

You can get to computer market by 504 (Ending station)

You can go Tong Zhi Lin Carrefour, buying foods and other things.

Anyway, ask your friends with you in your intial stage.

[Charlie]

Definitely check out Ikea, it’s right near where you’ll be located. If you’ve been to an Ikea you know what to expect. Fill your empty apartment out with inexpensive houseware and eat a 5 yuan hotdog or two on your way out.

Regarding international calling, you can buy phone cards which is what I used to do, years ago. The last 2 years I’ve been using http://www.jajah.com which works perfectly in China. Here’s how it works: sign up and pay whatever amount you choose and you can dial any number and talk using your phone. Login to their website and dial the number you want and they call your cell phone and connect the call. It’s ridiculously cheap, like 2 yuan / hour if I remember correctly.

Lastly, welcome to Chengdu.

[Peter M]

Thanks all for the great info. Charlie, I’ll definitely have to check out the jajah website. Though I’ll definitely have to also have a calling card and phone for the offchance that the internet goes down. One more question for y’all: what are the shipping options in Chengdu? Do any of the major companies have offices there (FedEx, UPS, DHL)? And if so, where would they be in the city? This question is more for when I’m preparing to move back to the states, and I’m sure I’ll explore the city enough by then to know the answer myself. But it’s something that my parents also want to find out in case they need to send me stuff. Again, thanks for the information. Can’t wait to get there (22 more days!)

-Peter

[Ignatius]

DHL and Fed Ex both operate in Chengdu, getting things shipped here is no problem! They are expensive, though.

[shinichi]

You are all absolutely right. I hope you are happy in Chengdu!

[Author]

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