Table tennis equipment in China

If you are going to be in the very center of Beijing, close to major tourist areas, there is a very large sports store on Wangfujing Road. It is directly across the street from the Wangfujing Cathedral (which is the largest Christian church in China and a tourist attraction of sorts, and most importantly, very easy to spot since it is the last thing you would expect to find in China). This is a large pedestrian street, mostly shut off to traffic. There is interesting street food there, some very high end hotels, tons of other shops, and it is generally considered one of the must-see areas of Beijing. Everybody knows where it is, it is in the geographic center of the city. It is close (walking distance) to the Forbidden City, not far from Tianenman Square, and the Temple of Heaven, very easy to find, and close to other things you simply have to see if you go to Beijing. As a side note, the pollution is terrible in Beijing and the place is crowded with bad traffic, but it is also an incredibly interesting place with lots to see. I personally find it infinitely more interesting than Shanghai, having been to both cities quite a few times. Shanghai has cleaner air because its on the coast, but that's about its only advantage as far as I can see. Anyway, almost the entire basement of this massive Beijing sporting goods store is devoted to TT and the selection is huge.

Last time I was at the Wangfujing store, they had everything you could imagine from every maker, and not fakes. This is important. Their prices are not cheap, but lower than you would pay outside of China at least for Chinese stuff -- DHS etc. Same price as everyplace else for Butterfly.

The people who work at the big Wangfujing store are very knowledgeable, and they can help you find a place to play also. One very good looking woman there at the time could speak English. Oddly enough, you need to go upstairs (fourth or fifth floor?) to find TT clothing -- shoes, shirts, shorts, warmups. Last time I was there was 2008 but I doubt the general arrangement will have changed much, and this is one of the largest sports stores in Beijing. By the way, I found two TT clubs just walking along Wangfujing Rd. One is in the basement of a hotel (8 tables or so) and one is just in a building tucked off the street. I should say my wife found them. Being Chinese, she could read the street sign where it says "ping pong club". Most of the players at those particular clubs were in the 1800-2200 level. So, the main advantage of the place I am mentioning is it is easy to find, and convenient to other things worth doing in Beijing.

Here is a link with a map to this street.

http://www.beijingimpression.cn/beijing-shopping/wangfujing-street.shtml

This one is easy to find. I can remember a couple of shops but I would not be easily able to describe how to find them.

I have never been to Xian, one of the must-see places I haven't seen yet.