6 local wet markets worth checking out for fresh fruits and veg
Photograph: Christopher House
Prepping a big meal or just looking to experience what haggling your way through a live fresh market is like? Head to one of these wet markets where you can find anything from fresh local produce to live seafood to imported goods.
Fuxing Zhong Lu Market
Photograph: Christopher House
Don’t let its office building appearance fool you. The wet market on Fuxing Zhong Lu spans an entire two floors. The first floor is where you’ll find cuts of meat and tanks full of live fish and other seafood. For more fruit and veg than you can shake a stick at, head to the second floor. Toward the back lies a little shop of imported goods – think A1 steak sauce, Hershey’s cocoa and the like.
📍Fuxing Zhong Lu Market, 1239 Fuxing Zhong Lu, near Xiangyang Nan Lu. 9am-7pm daily.
Yanqing Lu Market
Photograph: Christopher House
Located in the heart of Old Xuhui, Yanqing’s got just about everything you’d find at a Western-style supermarket, but at a fraction of the cost. All items are labelled in Chinese and already priced, but as with any market of this style, you can still try your luck at haggling. Opening earlier than many places in the area, this one’s for the early birds who like to get shopping done early.
📍Yanqing Lu Market, 3 Yanqing Lu, near Donghu Lu. 6am-7.30pm daily.
Dagu Lu Market
Photograph: Yang Xiaozhe
Dagu Lu Market is a bit more meat-centric than the others listed here, with vendors selling every cut imaginable, including a stall for cured pork. Beyond pig, expect all the usual market suspects, all fresh and reasonably priced. A few miscellaneous items on the list include loose-leaf tea, cleaning supplies and kitchenware, making this market a grab bag of useful products not only for eating, but for use in the kitchen and throughout the whole house. Things start to wind down around 6pm, however, with many vendors starting to pack up for the day around that time, so get there well before closing if you don’t want to miss out.
📍Dagu Lu Market, 525 Dagu Lu, near Shimen Yi Lu. 5am-7.30pm daily.
Pudong Dadao Market
Photograph: Christopher House
When you arrive at this address, you’ll see a number of modest stalls selling everything from veggies and seafood to live frogs, but wander a bit farther back to find the real action. At this massive market, find hundreds of vendors boasting their goods. If the boisterous wet market doesn’t do it for you, a supermarket on the second floor sells essentially the same items in a more organised environment.
📍Pudong Dadao Market, 2507 Pudong Dadao, near Taoan Lu, Pudong. 5am-8pm daily.
Changqiao Market
Photograph: Christopher House
Changqiao’s got tons of variety, with over 150 different stalls run by friendly vendors offering fair prices – a large chart on the wall lists out the average prices of popular items, so you’ll know more or less what you should be paying. Aside from Changqiao, there are several much smaller markets scattered about Longchuan Lu, so take your time and find the place you like most.
📍Changqiao Market, 105 Longchuan Lu, near Luoxiang Lu. 7am-6pm daily.
Xinluoxiu Market
Photograph: Christopher House
This two-storey market is a little over 20 minutes’ walk away from the Pudong Dadao wet market. It’s got all the same stuff, but is even bigger, selling fresh produce, meat, live seafood, grains, eggs and more. As an added bonus, you can pick up a meal here, as the second floor has stalls for jiaozi, jianbing and other simple fare.
📍Xinluoxiu Market, 66 Luoxiu Lu, near Pingfu Lu, Pudong. 7am-6pm daily.