This Friday is Halloween meaning you only have four days to get to work on a costume that could win you thousands of kuai and other great prizes at the huge range of Halloween-themed parties going on around town next weekend. China is a wonderland for those with a fetish for dressing up. If you’re feeling creative, any market and RMB 50 should suffice. If you need a bit more direction, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best places to go shopping for that prize-winning costume:

Alien Street Market
Laofanjie Shichang, Yabao Lu (south of Fulllink Plaza), Chaoyang District.
老番街市场, 朝阳区雅宝路

Beijing Wantong Market
2 Fuchengmenwai Dajie, Xicheng District. (6804 6283)
北京万通批发市场地址：阜成门外大街2号

Astonishing scenes at Shin Kong Place this morning: Whilst the rest of the mall was as eerily quiet and empty as ever, those who made it up to the third floor were greeted with rows of security staff, frantic Shin Kong Place personnel, and perhaps the hippest-clad rabble imaginable, who were screaming, shouting, and at some points, throwing punches at the security staff.

They were all there trying to get their hands on a pair of Diesel’s limited and special edition “Dirty Thirty” jeans. Perhaps it was the extremely limited run of the jeans that caused panic (a mere 30,000 pairs have been released worldwide). Maybe it was the hyper-trendy style that everyone wanted a piece of. We’re putting our money, however, on the fact that these jeans were being sold at RMB 390 – the low price tag is apparently a gesture to thank Diesel’s fans for their loyalty over the past 30 years.

We almost choked on our gongbao jiding when we heard this one, but believe it or not, you'll soon be able to buy clothing from Top Shop in Beijing. And not just any old rags either. We're happy to announce that the Kate Moss for Top Shop collection will soon be sold in the Beijing branch of Lane Crawford. Kate Moss' collections have been doing frightfully well back in Blighty, and will probably sell out in seconds here also. Sharpen those elbows, girls, it'll probably get nasty. For details of how to get to Lane Crawford, see the listing in our online directories.

Other excitement, for fans of posh clothing ... French brand Mushi is having a 50-80% off sale. They're trying to clear out the older stock in order to create some space for the new autumn/winter collection. We can't wait! For details of how to get to the Beijing branch of Mushi, see the listing in our online directories.

Yueshow (the poor man's Yashow) is soon to snog the wrecking ball. Rumour has it that it's going to make way for a Dazhong electronics store. Either way, it'll be chai'd fairly soon. The good news here is that the stall holders are desperately trying to flog whatever stock they've got before time is called, and now is your chance to get the bargain of the century. We've heard rumours of less-than-genuine Crocs being sold for RMB 5 per pair, which some might argue still represents something of a rip off, but there we are. Buy now, or forever hold your peace.

Olympic fever is in full swing, and for those who prefer to give their credit cards a workout, there’s ample opportunity to spend, spend, spend. Many new stores have surfaced in time for the Games, and of these we recommend checking out the following:

Shanghai Tang

This upscale brand has long pushed the hackneyed vision of Chinese design that foreign tourists (particularly moneyed ones) know and love, making the timing for this opening particularly apt. However, the brand has been evolving, and now offers more than dragon-embellished silk qipao and mandarin collar pajamas, which does make the positioning of the new store somewhat disappointing. The stunning Fall/Winter collection isn’t on sale yet, but the gorgeous leather and jade bags (from RMB 4,500) are most certainly worth snapping up, especially given the 30 percent summer discount on selected lines. This is a label to watch, and this larger second store is worth checking out. But if you must insist upon sporting attire, Shanghai Tang has released a “charming” take on a basketball shirt (complete with Chinesey embroidery).

Daily 10am-10pm. 1-2, 1/F, Ritz-Carlton Beijing, 83A Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District (5908 8048) Visit the website for more Beijing locations.
潮阳区建国路甲83号丽思卡尔顿酒店大堂层1-2铺

About two weeks ago, one of the interns who's working with our Immersion Guides team went and took a look around the recently opened Solana Mall or as they prefer to call it, the Solana Lifestyle Shopping Center. Located across the road and just to the south of the odd mixture of restaurants that, along with White Rabbit, make up the Lucky Street strip, the mall is nestled between the scented waters of the Liangma River and the vast expanse of Chaoyang Park. He reported back that, despite the attempts too create a Venetian Plaza feel, the mall was "more Malibu than Middle Kingdom" and it reminded him of the suburbian strip malls that dot the LA landscape. Similar comments can be found in this article and over at this thread on the Beijinger forum.

The place is indeed huge, and although not all the stores are open yet, can easily provide a whole afternoon's worth of distraction. In terms of what has already opened, Solana is home to Beijing's third Zara store, Sephora and Esprit; new branches of some of Beijing's most popular restaurants including Maxim's (opened last Sunday), Banana Leaf, Feiteng Yuxiang, 1001 Nights; as well as some new arrivals such as Todai and Latin Grill. Last weekend, Solana wrapped up a series of regular weekend activities (you can take a look at the program here), and also unveiled their new bar strip, although the reportedly "international" club Crobar is still yet to reveal itself. In terms of other diversions, the indoor ice-skating rink has already opened its doors and the cinema is set to open by the end of the month.

Until recently, the local front in the Nike versus adidas war has been played out on the billboards lining Wangfujing and Xidan. The two global brands are also struggling to be the providers of whatever sporting apparel athletes choose, or are instructed, to wear at the Beijing Olympics. The competition between the two brands in the Chinese market heats up with the opening of adidas' flagship store at Sanlitun's village tonight. The Beijinger's Fashion and Beauty Editor Halla Mohieddeen got a chance to take a sneak peek at the store yesterday and gives us her take below. Images by Simon Lim

adidas Brand Center
Daily 10am-10pm. Bldg 11, South Area, Sanlitun Village, 19 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District.
朝阳区三里屯南路19号11幢

Designed to create a village within a city, the striking development in the heart of Sanlitun is slowly taking shape. The boards have come down, and we're now starting to see more of the eclectic mix of structures that will make up the shopping and entertainment district. The first store to throw open its doors is the new adidas Brand Center, adidas' global flagship store.

Boasting 3,170 sqm of floor space, this new store will be adidas’ largest worldwide. What's more, it brings together all the brand's concept lines under one roof, another first for the brand. This means that whether you want shoes, kids clothing, accessories and apparel, or lines such as Y-3 or adidas by Stella McCartney, it's now all available under one roof.

Competition is starting to warm up in the Beijing beer market as the dominant, but reportedly cash-strapped, Yanjing (they control 85% of the Beijing market) and their arch rival Tsingtao are in the process of being surrounded by two beer producing giants: Snow (backed by China Resources) and Budweiser. The recent completion of Snow's new RMB 600 million factory in neighboring Hebei's Sanhe City, which is capable of producing 600,000 kilo liters of beer per year, was swiftly followed by Budweiser's announcement of a RMB 350 million investment in nearby Tangshan. Executives from both companies are openly stating that they're making a move on the lucrative North Eastern China market that’s centered on Beijing.

Tsingtao, who have been trying to make inroads into the Beijing market for a long time now, are also trying to take advantage of an Olympic spike and increase their market presence before the big beer groups arrive. They're working on a "Taste of Beijing" beer developing a more "Beijing style" approach and have invested RMB 20 million in setting up a large "Beer Culture Area" in Chaoyang Park during the Olympics.

Hopefully all the competition, which consumers will recognize by the presence of Hapi (Harbin Beer – owned by Budweiser) and a new Snow product called "Snow Beishuang" in stores, will put pressure on Yanjing to, despite the rise in the price of raw materials, stop raising their prices.

It came as a surprise to most when earlier this year China's State Council announced plans to impose limits on the use of plastic bags starting from June 1. The new regulations were introduced as part of a campaign to reduce energy consumption and the amount of Baise wuran, or white pollution, caused by the excessive use and low rate of recycling of plastic bags in China. With just over two weeks before the new regulations – which ban the production, sale and use of ultra-thin bags (defined as less than 0.025 mm thick) and prevent supermarkets and shops from giving away free plastic bags to customers – go into effect, Beijing's supermarket chains are busy getting ready. Reports in yesterday’s Beijing Evening News (translated summary available here) reveal that major supermarket chains such as Jingkelong, Carrefour and Chaoshifa have started to introduce new thicker bags that can hold up to 20kg and that will sell for somewhere between 1 and 4 mao each. The new bags will gradually be introduced into other Beijing supermarkets over the next couple of weeks. Some of the new bags, which according to CRI, bear safety tips and suggestions on how to preserve the environment, appeared at Wumei stores yesterday. It's hoped that by making customers pay for bags, they'll have an incentive to bring their own reusable bag.

The State Council announced the new regulations after store-run campaigns (that included the sale of alternative cotton or canvas bags at reduced prices and checkouts devoted to customers not using plastic bags) to reduce the use of plastic bags were not as successful as hoped. Recently Wal-Mart has started to open up similar "green" (绿色通道) lanes for customers who are willing not to use plastic bags. The lanes are likely to be quicker and if you didn’t bring your own bag you can purchase a 3 kuai reusable bag from the checkout.

image from America's Next Top Model's show at the Workers' Cultural Palace

Yohji Yamamoto Fashion Show in the Forbidden City

With all eyes on China, Beijing-based events seem a sure-fire winner in terms of garnering publicity. Although recent cancellations have been disappointing for event organizers and potential attendees alike, one major international event which did go ahead was a fashion show by Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto. Held in a small temple within the Forbidden City complex (the Workers' Cultural Palace to be exact - also the venue at which tonights Olympic Song 100 Day Countdown to the Olympics Party will be taking place), Yamamoto showcased a one-of-a-kind 60 piece Y's collection, and launched the Yohji Yamamoto Fund for Peace. The clothes were then auctioned off at the Beijing hotel on Saturday, with all proceeds going towards the fund, which aims to foster creativity amongst promising Chinese designers by sending them on a 2-year training scholarship to Europe of Japan. The foundation will also sponsor a female Chinese model to debut during Paris Fashion Week.

the video is no longer available.

Last Friday, as I took a cab with some colleagues from my CBD office to a nice hot pot place on Gui Jie, the first thing that the cab driver asked us when we got in the taxi was what country we were from – not such an unusual question – but it was what came next that surprised us, after establishing that none of us were from France, he unleashed a tirade against the French and the reception that the Olympic torch relay had received on the streets of Paris.

It seems this random driver is not the only one who's angry about the disruption of the Olympic torch relay, the above video (no longer available) shows a police officer trying to persuade a young woman who was holding up a sign outside the Baishiqiao Carrefour in Haidian District to find another method of protesting. The sign she is holding calls for truthful reporting and non-violence in English, Chinese and French and features an image of the torchbearer Jin Jing as the China Daily puts it "fiercely protecting the flame from attackers ... "

Carrefour has also become the focus of an online campaign calling for Chinese consumers to boycott French goods. The call to boycott French goods, and especially Carrefour, has spread through Chinese-language online forums and mobile phone messages and is now being reported about in the Chinese press.