Shine Hills Shopping Center

I thought I’d wait a while before visiting Shunyi’s newest shopping center, Shine Hills. I had hoped that more stores and outlets would be open by now, but progress appears to be slow. For those of you unaware of this shiny new addition to the Shunyi shopping scene, Shine Hills is located on Anxiang Dajie, not far from that other shopper’s paradise, Euro Plaza. It’s far bigger than I expected, looks well laid out and easy to navigate, and it has plenty of potted plants and public seating already in place. Just not enough shops open or people just yet. The good news is that quite a few restaurants and cafes are now fully open for business.

For coffee, cake, and sandwiches, there’s Costa Coffee, Starbucks, and Momo Coffee. Both are large size outlets, with outside seating available. For fast food, head to Burger King. Beijing only has a handful of Burger King restaurants, compared to hundreds of McDonald’s, yet two of those stores are within a stone’s throw of each other in Shunyi. Kro’s Nest serves up some immense pizzas, with a range of interesting toppings. The restaurant also does take-out and delivery. Loft Eatalicious is perfect for lunch or dinner, serving authentic Italian cuisine. They have just launched their new spring-summer menu, which introduces some new pasta and grill dishes, as well as delicious salads and pizzas. Other dining options include O’Steak, Jigsaw Restaurant & Bar, and Häagen-Dazs.

What Shine Hills has a lot of, is kids stores. Clothing, toys, furniture, accessories – everything you need for babies and little ones. Not all the stores are open yet. When they are, parents of younger kids will be spoilt for choice. Motherswork specialize in strollers, car seats, carriers, and baby safety equipment. They also stock kid’s books, toys, and games. Kid’s Land is good for toys, games, and presents for little ones. Other stores include Adidas kids for clothing, and Blue Pink Baby Home. For groceries there’s Hola and BHG Supermarket, for toiletries Watson’s, and for your pet Pampers. For clothing there’s GAP and Uniqlo, neither of which are open yet. For the home there’s Brenda Interiors and Miss Cucci Home.

Shine Hills also boasts a cinema, although it looks as if English-language films will be limited, and the website isn’t in English. This new shopping center has sprung up to cater for the rapidly growing population in the area. A big number of apartment buildings have gone up in the last few years, and they are just starting to redevelop another piece of land opposite the Lexus garage. So whilst we can look forward to the opening of more stores and places to eat, we can also look forward to even more congestion on the Jingmi Lu.

Shine Hills
9 Anxiang Dajie, Shunyi District 安祥大街9号院中粮.祥云小鎭

beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent Sally Wilson moved to Beijing in 2010 from the UK with her husband and son. Her daughter was born here in 2011 and both her kids keep her happily busy. In her spare time, Sally loves to stroll through Beijing’s hutongs and parks. She is a (most of the time) keen runner and loves reading: books, magazines, news, and celeb websites – anything really. Sally is also a bit of a foodie and loves trying out new restaurants.

Photos: Sally Wilson