by Anna Ford

January 2012

On day two of Chinese New Year you are officially out of milk.  So what’s open and what’s closed or has different hours this week? Read on!

For all of you that need to do banking ICBC is open this week albeit with limited hours and locations.  On a tip, the People’s Square branch is open from 1-4 this week so you can still do exchange, pay your rent and what have you.  While I personally can’t stand that particular branch, in a pinch I would head over to get your business done.

The post office is still making deliveries and taxi service is still available but call in advance for a taxi as they appear to be few, far between and always carrying passengers.

Back to my original point…three kids and out of milk.  If Chinese milk isn’t an issue, nearly every convenience store in town is open.  If you are looking for imported items, Feidan and Pines are still options but they are having modified store hours.  City Shop is also open but with a shorter day as well.  Everyone’s favorite hypermarket Carrefour is also open but with limited hours as well.  By and large, most shops seem to close around 6 this week so don’t run out of whatever it is you need after 6 or plan in advance.  A noteworthy contrast to this is IKEA which is open extended hours on holidays but yes, was closed Sunday and it seems that their site has become periodically VPN worthy as of this weekend.

As with all holidays here it’s worth calling ahead to make sure that what you need is in stock and that the store is going to stay open as late as is posted.  After all, if you are in town on this super holiday you don’t want to waste your time trekking around town to find dark windows on your arrival.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!