Best camera shop in Shanghai

I was just running through the pictures of my trip to Shanghai and remembered something I should share with everyone. It's about the best place to get cameras in Shanghai, China. I went on that trip with just my Canon EOS 40D and all my fast lenses like 17-50mm f2.8, 50mm f1.8, 70-200mm f2.8. After carrying that stuff around for a few days, I realised it was a mistake as I was going around with my wife and 3 kids. It's not funny lugging an SLR around on a family holiday. So.......... I decided to go get myself the newly launched Leica D-Lux4. However, it's pretty difficult to find a good camera shop in Shanghai as I soon found out. Even those I found by walking around the main shopping areas in Shanghai were really lame. They carry basic stuff like basic point n shoot cameras and memory cards and that's about it.

I Googled around for a Leica shop in China and all I got was results for Beijing which is like a million miles away from Shanghai. I practically gave up on finding a good camera shop in Shanghai as I repeatedly found the lame type of basic camera shops in the malls. Then.............. I bumped into this awesome place called Xinguan Photography on 1 of the days I went out with my wife to explore Shanghai by foot. This place is pretty far off in a corner of Shanghai City and there's just no way you will find it unless you specifically look for it. I was just plain lucky to find it while exploring Shanghai coz I was there for 30 days and had plenty of time to explore every nook and cranny of the city. Anyway, if any of you guys go to Shanghai, China, you really MUST go to Xinguan Photography. It is undoubtedly the most AWESOME place for photographers.

Xinguan Photography is a big huge building filled to the brim with all types of cameras. The first 2 floors are filled with shops selling new equipment. The 3rd and 4th floor sells used equipment from all types of brands and eras. I loved the used equipment section. I spent a whole day in that section exploring and looking at all those lovely cameras. There were lotsa old ancient Leicas, russian cameras, Canons, Nikons, basically everything. It was like a camera museum with lotsa things we can buy. They also have the latest 2nd hand equipment like all the current generation Canon and Nikon SLR lenses, bodies n stuff. The upper floors provide services like printing, wedding photography and stuff. There's also a few bookshops selling all types of photography books. I spent a whole day in there and even went back there on another day. I just couldn't get enough of this place. I really wish there was a shop like this back home. It's like Disneyland for photographers!

Anyway, here's how the building looks like from the outside.





Now just imagine that whole building is filled with camera stuff and nothing else! It's located at the intersection of Lu Ban Road and Xietu Road. You can take a taxi there by telling him Lu Ban and Xietu Road intersection as taxis are very cheap in Shanghai. You can also take the train there. You come out at Lu Ban Road Station which looks like this.



Just as you step out of the station, look left and you will see Xinguan on the left. It's just a short walk, about 20 meters away. Hope this helps you guys find this awesome place whenever you visit Shanghai. It's definitely a MUST see place if you're a photographer.

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