People always tellin me, “yo Heatwolves, you always tell me where the ill party be at, but I’m blind/my Ayi broke my glasses/my cab driver drove off with my bag, which contained my passport and glasses/I want ‘smarter’ frames,” or some shit.

Lucky for you, the folk at the Yanjing Shichang (Eyeglass Market) can make new glasses for you in about thirty minutes. Should cost about RMB150 ($25) or less, unless you want some fancy German turtle-shell, hounds-tooth titanium, but really though?

Just bring your prescription (English is fine) and take Metro Line 1, 3, or 4 to Shanghai Railway Station (NOT South, NOT Hongqiao). There’s no English sign, but across from the train station there’s a large fruit store on the first floor (peep the sign in the picture below). You can also enter the market from the second floor of the KFC. Take the elevator to the 5th floor and dey it go, glasses everywhere. Some peeps even speak English. Lots of bootleg makeup and electronics on the 3rd and 4th floor, and again, delicious KFC on the 2nd floor. If you get lost, just ask peeps “Yanjing shichang zai nali?”

Remember – frames cost almost nothing to make here. Bargain hard, but keep in mind that if you have really bad Mr. Magoo eyes, you will need to pay a bit more for thicker frames. Feel good about your bargaining skills if you walk away with two pairs for RMB300 – 400 total.

For my contact-wearing peoples, don’t let anyone remove/insert contacts for you. Bring your own contacts case and solution too.

Some rock musics. This brings me back…way back.

Modest Mouse – A Life of Arctic Sounds

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