Shanghai Glasses Buying Complete Guide

Shanghai International Glasses City is a super-large eyewear-themed shopping mall in Shanghai, located at the prime intersection of the North Square of Shanghai Railway Station and the Shanghai Long-Distance Bus Terminal. It has about 10,000 square meters of market space (per the market's official website) and opened in 2007. The market is one of the investment promotion projects of the former Zhabei District government and was jointly developed by multiple enterprises.

The market has four floors and brings together many eyewear manufacturers and dealers, providing one-stop services from eye exams and prescription fitting to frame selection and lens processing. According to the latest data from the market's official website, there are 57 shops and 15 brand categories; earlier materials show that more than 100 manufacturers once had a presence there. On the first floor, relatively more shops offer English service. Payment is mainly by Alipay/WeChat and cash; if you plan to use a foreign card, it is advisable to confirm before visiting. Regular prescriptions can be ready in about 20 minutes, while complex custom lenses take about 2–3 hours.

The market is well known among international tourists, ranking 5th among 620 shopping spots in Shanghai on TripAdvisor and being named a "2025 Travelers' Choice Award winner." According to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, "getting glasses" has become a high-frequency term in shopping guides for foreign tourists visiting Shanghai.

Sanye Optical City is Shanghai's most well-known optical chain brand. In 2001, it opened its first market at the North Square of Shanghai Railway Station, and later relocated to Huanlong Building at the South Square. After years of development, Sanye Optical now has multiple chain stores (Shanghai Railway Station store, Nanjing Road store, Lujiazui store, Wujiaochang store, and others).

The Shanghai Railway Station mall is Sanye Optical's flagship store, located on the 4th and 5th floors of Huanlong Building, with 189 eyewear manufacturers and a total area of over 12,000 square meters (per the operator's official website). It offers a wide selection of frames and lenses. The market has lenses from brands such as Zeiss, Essilor, Mingyue, Kemi, and Conant. Most shops can process lenses on site and provide them while you wait. English service is not as common as at the International Optical City.

Qingyun Road Eyewear Street is the most concentrated specialty commercial district of optical shops in Shanghai. It starts from Baochang Road in the east and extends to North Xizang Road in the west, with a total length of about 500 meters. Here, several large optical markets, including Riyue Glasses City and Kaitai Glasses Market, as well as a large number of optical shops along the street, are gathered together, making it a miniature of the development of Shanghai's eyewear industry.

According to a 2022 report by Zhoudao Shanghai (under Shanghai Morning Post), there are around 250 optical shops within 500 meters of Qingyun Road Eyewear Street. This area has a history of more than 20 years in the eyewear business, originating from the industrial foundation of the former Shanghai No. 2 Optical Factory. Most shop owners were former employees of the optical factory who switched to running their own shops, and they have solid professional and technical skills.

Qingyun Road Eyewear Street is characterized by affordable prices, diverse choices, and room for bargaining, and the merchants are warm and friendly. Kaitai Glasses Wholesale Market is one of the larger venues here. However, most shops here are small and medium-sized, and English service is limited, so it is recommended to bring a translation app with you. It is suitable for visitors who have some time, want to compare several shops, and pursue good value for money.

Sanye Glasses City Jing'an Temple Store (Huashan Road Store) is located at No. 27 Huashan Road, near the intersection with West Nanjing Road, in Jing'an District, Shanghai. It is situated on the B1 floor of the Jing'an Temple shopping mall. The store's biggest advantage is transportation: exit from Exit 1 of Jing'an Temple Station on Metro Lines 2, 7, and 14 and you can directly reach the mall, and the mall is connected to the metro station hall and the Huashan Road underpass, so the entire route is unaffected by weather above ground. This is unique among Sanye's Shanghai stores. The surrounding area is adjacent to Jiuguang Department Store, Kerry Centre, Crystal Galleria, and Jing'an Park, making it one of the densest areas for high-end business and shopping crowds in the city center.

Compared with the established large wholesale stores known for being "large and comprehensive," such as Huanlong Shopping Mall near the railway station and Qingyun Road, the Jing'an Temple store is more compact, but its positioning is closer to the business and white-collar customer base of West Nanjing Road. The interior environment is relatively orderly, and it does not feel too crowded when browsing. Pricing continues Sanye's usual model of direct supply from manufacturers and independently operated stalls, with frame and lens styles covering everything from budget-friendly to accessible luxury, and ample room for bargaining. However, affected by rents in the core commercial area, overall prices are slightly higher than at traditional wholesale stores (third-party platforms show average per-person spending of about 700–1,000 yuan, which is that platform's own figure and is not on the same basis as the reference prices for the markets on this page; it is for comparison only). Business hours are 10:00–21:00, and hours may be shortened during Chinese New Year and other holidays (for example, open until 15:00 on Chinese New Year's Eve and until 17:00 from the first to the third day of the new year). It is recommended to call ahead to confirm before visiting. Note that the merchants in the mall operate independently, and optometry equipment and quality control levels vary. It is recommended to bring prescription data from a hospital or professional institution to the store, check brand authorization and anti-counterfeiting traceability when choosing lenses, and avoid overly large frames for people with high prescriptions.

Sanye Glasses City Lujiazui Mall is located inside the Oriental Book City at No. 660 Shangcheng Road in the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone in Pudong, near Nanquan North Road, adjacent to First Yaohan and south of Pacific Digital Plaza. It is currently the only large professional eyewear mall in the Pudong area.

The mall has two floors, with a total area of about 3,600 square meters and 42 professional eyewear manufacturers. Although it is smaller than the stores in Puxi, it offers a convenient option for visitors staying in Pudong or visiting the Lujiazui area. Most shops can process lenses on-site and provide same-day pickup. English service is limited, and only a few shops have English-speaking staff.