Shanghai Carrefour Showcase
I found this 8-page Carrefour ad in my mailbox the other day, and I thought I’d scan it and share it. For those of you not in the know, Carrefour is a French supermarket chain that is super popular here in the PRC. It just recently opened at its new Zhongshan Park location in Shanghai. Anyway, I would think that this these pages might be very interesting for anyone interested in China, Chinese, or Shanghai.
Highlights:
– Page 3: find out once and for all what the price of eggs in China is.
– Page 4: the chicken’s not fresh unless the head is still attached.
– Page 5: the electric bug swatter is one of the coolest things you can buy in China, period.
– Page 8: maps and bus schedules! (Micah is loving this page even if no one else is.)
I have added a few of my own comments on the individual pages on Flickr. Note that on the individual pages for each scan on Flickr you can click on the “all sizes” button to see a much larger version of each image. You may just want to go to the Flickr Shanghai Carrefour Ad set page.
I’ve got a question. Where’s the ice? Me and some friends wanted to put some drinks on ice for a BBQ/party the other night and couldn’t find bags of ice for the lives of us. 在中国真的没有吗？ Granted we went to two places, but the clerks seemed perplexed by the notion.
I prefer to call the place “Jolly Fool”. It’s good for confusing Chinese people — since some of the smarter ones might undrestand “Carrefour”, and it serves them right away for calling our beloved President “Bu-Shi” (Not To-Be).
I only paid 10 kuai for my bug/mosquito swatter! It is the coolest thing ever in the whole entire darn world, zap zap zap. Come’on mosquitos come’at me.
The mosquito swatter is pretty common among Chinese for years already. I didn’t know you can’t get one of those in western countries.
You mean that thing is for killing bugs and actually works??? I was afraid to think what was its use.
I dont know, I still think some of those Items look a tad expensive, Im a cheap skate and would not pay that much for most of these items. I wanted to go to Shang Hai but its the thought of how expensive everything is thats puting me off. The reason I like China is because I can get almost anything I need for under 1000 kuai, in Shen Yang anyway.
You have me pegged: when I saw them on Flickr, I clicked on the chicken head and the maps/bus schedules 🙂
Jason S,
You can’t buy bagged ice in China, as far as I know.
Lantian and Heilong,
It’s true that Carrefour doesn’t have the cheapest prices, but it’s got pretty good quality, and it’s got a nice balance between domestic brands and imports.
money,
Those things are pretty dangerous. Yeah, it has that metal screen covering the electrified part, but if someone were to say, get drink and purposely try to touch it, it would really hurt. (Errr… so I hear.)
9.9 kuai for 15 eggs? Thats ridiculous. I can get eggs cheaper in the U.S.
I remember visiting a carrefour in Hangzhou, It’s got such a strong Walmart vibe to it
Sorry John, my fault I didnt consider the shop thats selling this stuff, of coarse its expensive.
John, I wonder if the Shanghai Carrefour operates along Chinese lines like the Kunming one? I mean much of the stock on show is not available for purchase owing to the 没货 and 卖完了 problem; there are curious omissions in stock coverage (eg no lemonade to go with the Martini Rosso because the store manager seems to think Martini Rosso should be mixed with green tea, seriously); French bread which is as hard as blocks of concrete is for sale; and if you eat anything from the cooked food department, you can expect a few days hovering over the toilet vomiting. Or is the Shanghai Carrefour run along French lines?
I once got drunk out of my face and stuck one of those electric fly swatters on my room mates cat, the cat never felt a thing so I thought it was broken, I stuck the swatter on my hand and got a healthy jolt.
It wasnt broken after all.
Carrefour is the French word for crossroads, by the way.
Yeah, ash, you’re right. The electric fly swatter is not life threatening to human, and it’s not very effective against big bugs either. But for mosquitoes, it works like a charm. Instead of clapping your hands furiously in mid-air, you just need to switch on and give it a few good waves in the air, if you’ve successful killed a mosquito, there’ll be a tiny spark. And the one i used to have, it will emit a gradual high pitch tone whenever you swicth it on. Cool~~~
Jason S and John,
I can get bagged ice in my local lawsons. In fact, at many “bianlidian.” Maybe only in my, ahem, civilized and cultured corner of Shanghai though. They also sell bags that you can fill with ice yourself at Carrefour and other supermarkets.
And then there’s always the ice man: 13651 839 916. You have to want a lot of ice, like 2 x 20kg bags minimum order. But it’s cheap. I think a 20kg bag clocks RMB40. It’s been a while though. Again, this may only work if you live in my corner of Shanghai, he delivers to the bars on Maoming, so getting him to cycle up to the backwoods of Zhongshan Park or the extremities of Zhabei or Hongkou would probably be pushing it. But, I’m pretty sure every bar in Shanghai has someone like this to do their deliveries, so find your nearest and ask.
Those bugswatters are NOT as easy as they look. Sure, it’s cool when you actually connect — there are fireworks and bug-shrapnel and a GREAT noise. But be warned — it takes lots of practices and strategy. NOT to be mixed with alcohol. (Trust me on that.)