Finally, there's the Shanghai Xin Mai Peng Electronics Market. Known to some as the Gray Market, it's dark and a little dirty. There are lots of electronics, but I've seen everything from swords to baseball bats. A couple of shops sell iPods: Best not to ask where they came from or, as a friend discovered, expect them to work very well.

A little pink book called inSHop ($4) provides brief introductions to 50 cool boutiques and studios, as well as interviews with 20 up-and-coming designers. The text is in English and Chinese, perfect for showing taxi drivers during communication breakdowns. Everything is organized by neighborhood, with maps. Zheng Ye, one of the book's editors, says they plan to release a new edition each year. In a city changing as rapidly as Shanghai, that's a necessity; sections of the 2005 edition are already out of date, thanks to good ol' Mr. Wrecking Ball. InSHop is available at two of my favorite bookstores, Garden Books (325 Changle Lu, near Shaanxi Nan Lu, 011-86/21-5404-8729) and Shanghai Foreign Language Bookstore (390 Fuzhou Lu, near Fujian Zhong Lu, 011-86/21-6322-3200).

(Ryan Pyle) [enlarge photo] SHANGHAI LISTINGS These names and addresses are all available in Chinese characters. If you don't already have it, you will need Adobe Acrobat, a free (and easy!) plug-in, to read the listings Download the listings Download Adobe Acrobat DAN WASHBURN'S SHANGHAI • Eat • Shop • Play • Dan answers your questions JULY/AUGUST 2006 ISSUE • Table of Contents: July/August 2006 • Secret Hotels of the Amalfi Coast • My Shanghai Is Better Than Yours • Four Walkable Cities • Road Trip: The Catskills • Tips for Traveling With Pets • 40 Best Vacations