(Hi-)MD in China

[WaywardTraveller]

Apologies if this isn't in the right place, but I thought I'd post some information on (Hi-)MD availability in Beijing in case anyone finds themselves there.

Go to Zhongguancun Electronics Market....huge, Huge, HUGE place - a rabbit-warren of all kinds of electronics from computer parts to laptops to cameras to you name it and they have it! Yes....even minidisc!

There are several buildings; I went to the one with the MacDonald's attached (sorry...I need to go by landmarks in China!). Just start asking around, especially where you see the Sony sign...many will end up taking you to the same stores when you ask about Hi-MD units, so it's all good. I found an NH900, but all you can get there by way of units is the NH1. Sony outlets will have the more insane prices (Y2000+...Y=Chinese RMB/Yuan), but I found one for much cheaper (Y1700 or so). Haggle like hell...that's the name of the game. Many of them won't want to; but there's some room to wander around and check out different sellers.

In an adjacent building, you can also find LIP4WM batteries for Y120, but IME these can easily be bargained down to 100. RM-MC38EL remotes are also Y100 (new)...just look for them in display cases.

In another adjacent market (can't remember the name, but it's on a street corner with Z--- Electronics Market in red English letters) you can get minidiscs for Y10...they don't even distinguish between 74min and 80min - I bought 9 of the blue TDK HOs for Y10 each (about CAD1.40).

peace

WaywardTraveller

[bland10000]

WT,

Are you seeing only hi-md units or do any of the stores have legacy units available?

[sector001]

good to know, but sux that i dont speak the mandarin dialect.

Edited September 12, 2006 by sector001

[WaywardTraveller]

bland: only Hi-MD as far as I've seen...often I have to show them my NH700 and/or MDs so that they understand what the heck I'm talking about!

sector001: I don't speak a word of Chinese...but my phrasebook does and as long as they have a calculator and you know the exchange rate, you can definitely bargain!

peace

WaywardTraveller

[9X000]

In Guang Zhou, the capital city of Guang Dong Province, or HONG KONG, you will find more with lower prices! Edited September 28, 2006 by 9X000

[WaywardTraveller]

In Guang Zhou, the capital city of Guang Dong Province, or HONG KONG, you will find more with lower prices!

9X000: I won't be going to HK again (I'd have to buy another Chinese visa if I did), but can you tell me where in Guangzhou I might find MD stuff? I am headed to Vietnam and could easily pass by there .

peace

WaywardTraveller

[sector001]

9X000: I won't be going to HK again (I'd have to buy another Chinese visa if I did), but can you tell me where in Guangzhou I might find MD stuff? I am headed to Vietnam and could easily pass by there .

peace

WaywardTraveller

when i was in MongKok HongKong, i didnt find anything on MD related, not even a blank disc. perhaps i was in the wrong part of HongKong.

[atrain]

9X000: I won't be going to HK again (I'd have to buy another Chinese visa if I did), but can you tell me where in Guangzhou I might find MD stuff? I am headed to Vietnam and could easily pass by there .

peace

WaywardTraveller

i found a heap of mdlp players & even a few no name flash players that looked like md players in the arcades & shops in the streets behind 'the tax centre' in saigon. worth looking in all those places but not really much of a saving.

the did have some himd too.

[9X000]

9X000: I won't be going to HK again (I'd have to buy another Chinese visa if I did), but can you tell me where in Guangzhou I might find MD stuff? I am headed to Vietnam and could easily pass by there .

peace

WaywardTraveller

Here is one:

Hai Yin Computer Center

TEL： 020-83792930

FAX： 020-83794902

ADD: No.56~58 Dong Hu Xi Lu, Guang Zhou.

Remember to cut prices...

Good Luck!

when i was in MongKok HongKong, i didnt find anything on MD related, not even a blank disc. perhaps i was in the wrong part of HongKong.

Go to Kowloon, Ya Liao Street, Mongkok, Bai Nao Hui, Feng Ze, they are all places in Hong Kong,

Once ￥1200 for SONY MZ-EH1.

SHARP V903SH, V904,...and other digital products.

But you need the most skills to cut prices in Ya Liao Street:)

You should have found in Mongkok...

Edited September 29, 2006 by 9X000

[Ishiyoshi]

How about Shanghai?

[9X000]

How about Shanghai?

1, Mei Luo Cheng.(Chinese name)

On the 3ed floor you will find Hi-Fi headphones.

2, The 3ed floor of Qu Yang Business Center (Chinese name: Qu Yang Shang Wu Zhong Xin)for earphones and headphones.

3, Two Ocean Digi-Squares(Chinese name: Tai Ping Yang Shu Ma Guang Chang)

a: No.41 North Road of Cao Xi,Xu Jia Hui.

(Chinese Road: No.41 Cao Xi Bei LU,Xu Jia Hui.)

b：No.1117 Zhao Jia Bang Road, Xu Jia Hui.

4. Sai Bo Digi-Square, Wu Jiaochang Branch.(Chinese name: Sai Bo Shu Ma Guang Chang, Wu Jiaochang Dian)

5. Morden Elec-City for sencond hand units, (Chinese name: Xian Dai Dian Zi Cheng)

Located at the cross of Xiang Yang Road and Fu Xing Lu.

I'm not sure about the English Names, so the Chinese Ping Yin should be helpful.

Better to go to Guang Zhou and Hong Kong.

Edited September 29, 2006 by 9X000

[Ishiyoshi]

Brilliant! Thanks for the info.

[9X000]

4. Sai Bo Digi-Square, Wu Jiaochang Branch.(Chinese name: Sai Bo Shu Ma Guang Chang, Wu Jiaochang Dian)

ACTUALLY there are SIX Sai Bo Digi-Squares in Shanghai, go find yourself---for fun:)

[duancg]

For those who can not go to China but can read Chinese, there are Hi-MD units being sold on Chinese websites too. E.g., this site is similar to ebay but more popular in China:

http://list.taobao.com/browse/12-1206-120607/120607.htm

Some of the sellers provide international shipping. The prices are often lower. I bought my EH1 from this seller a few months ago.

http://my.taobao.com/mytaobao/user-rate-43...d585c0d5159.htm

[WaywardTraveller]

For those of you who may happen to find yourselves in Urumqi (capital of Xinjiang province in the far west), there's a good electronics market there as well:

First, get yourself to the intersection of Renmin Road and South Jiefang Road (Renmin Lu/Jiefang Nan Lu) (basically take the road due east from the Long-Distance Bus Station)...you should be around a Bank Of China with lots of moneychangers hanging around outside. Walk west a block or two until you see a covered market on the north side of Renmin Lu; there is a symbol over the entrance that looks like a yellow '2' as part of a circle.

Just walk around in there and ask about (Hi-)MD...it's a good idea to bring a unit and/or discs to show them in case you can't speak the language or they have no idea what it is...if they see it (i.e. the Hi-MD logo), if they don't carry it they will often ask around on your behalf and tell you where you can go to find it. I found a new silver MZ-NH1 for the equivalent of CAD262, no tax (is this a good price?).

On the second floor (by a stairwell) are shops that sell mostly computer stuff, but don't be fooled; media shops (look for the shelves full of CD-Rs) often sell MDs - just ask. There's a shop by a staircase (look for a small little cubbyhole with the CDs/MDs on the right) where I got 20 Saehan Natural Wave 74min MDs, a 10pk of Sony Neige 80min MDs, ad a multicolour 3pk of the TDK HOs for just slightly over CAD1.00 each.

peace

WaywardTraveller

[9X000]

www.taobao.com is only in Chinese language, so I don't recommend

Oh, Urumqi...so you get it

Tomorrow comes our 7-day National Holiday, I have typed a list of infomation for MD new shops in Shanghai and Nanjing...I'm in Suzhou SIP

Edited September 29, 2006 by 9X000

[WaywardTraveller]

WT,

Are you seeing only hi-md units or do any of the stores have legacy units available?

bland: granted, it's pretty far west, but in Urumqi I've found several legacy units while looking for Hi-MD (some of them only seem to hear MD, and others end up showing you DVD players..!?). They'll usually pull down a large box full of stuff that is no longer showcased, and pull out a couple of MD units...yesterday I think I saw an NE707(?) and a couple of old models. As for Shanghai or Beijing, I'm not sure...you can always ask if you're there.

In Urumqi though, you can get Sony 80min Neige MDs for 8.5 yuan each, and all colours of the TDK HO series (solid colours, boxes of 10) for 7.5 yuan each. The place I went to also had lots of 74min Neige, Sony Gold 74min, and some of the TDK Fine MDs.

peace

WaywardTraveller

[md-junkie]

1, Mei Luo Cheng.(Chinese name)

On the 3ed floor you will find Hi-Fi headphones.

2, The 3ed floor of Qu Yang Business Center (Chinese name: Qu Yang Shang Wu Zhong Xin)for earphones and headphones.

3, Two Ocean Digi-Squares(Chinese name: Tai Ping Yang Shu Ma Guang Chang)

a: No.41 North Road of Cao Xi,Xu Jia Hui.

(Chinese Road: No.41 Cao Xi Bei LU,Xu Jia Hui.)

b：No.1117 Zhao Jia Bang Road, Xu Jia Hui.

4. Sai Bo Digi-Square, Wu Jiaochang Branch.(Chinese name: Sai Bo Shu Ma Guang Chang, Wu Jiaochang Dian)

5. Morden Elec-City for sencond hand units, (Chinese name: Xian Dai Dian Zi Cheng)

Located at the cross of Xiang Yang Road and Fu Xing Lu.

I'm not sure about the English Names, so the Chinese Ping Yin should be helpful.

Better to go to Guang Zhou and Hong Kong.

I just returned from shanghai and checked the md scene overthere.

At 3, Two Ocean Digi-Squares(Chinese name: Tai Ping Yang Shu Ma Guang Chang) there was only one shop (booth) with 2 guys that had good knowledge of md. I have bought two LIP-4WM for each 160 yuan (offered for 220) and a RM-MC40EL & RM-MC38EL together for 300 yuan (appr. $38.-) (offered for 400 & 140). they have opened two new mz-nh1-boxes to give me the parts. it took about half an hour of bargaining to get the price for the remotes... the rest of the booths in the two 5 floor buildings had accidentally some media but nothing special. I expected at least the latest japanese media goods of 2005/06 but got disappointed.

At 4. Sai Bo Digi-Square, Wu Jiaochang Branch.(Chinese name: Sai Bo Shu Ma Guang Chang, Wu Jiaochang Dian) nothing special considering md media or md generally.

(100yuan = $12.50 = euro10.- )

does anyone now where to go in bangkok to get md-stuff? Is the new-siam-city-center still a place to go?

and in yangon, myanmar - any chance ?

[WaywardTraveller]

does anyone now where to go in bangkok to get md-stuff? Is the new-siam-city-center still a place to go?

and in yangon, myanmar - any chance ?

Don't know about Myanmar...but there is an Electronics Plaza in Bangkok I went to last time I was there....and dammit, I can picture it ON the map IN my mind, but the name escapes me...I'm headed to Bangkok in about 10 days, so I will definitely post the name here when I get my hands on a map. But in this plaza I found loads of the old Maxell Twinkle series (with those infamous plastic shutters) as well as a couple of the downloader units (on the ground floor, off to the left wall as I recall).

Like I said...once I get there and get a map I will post the plaza name.

peace

WaywardTraveller

[md-junkie]

@waywardtraveller:

that would be great if you could post the adress of the electronic plaza in bangkok. I will be there in about 4 weeks for a couple of days. (and I am going to hunt mds - as always on my trips around the world...)

md-junkie

[WaywardTraveller]

md-junkie: the plaza in Bangkok I was talking about is called PANTHIP PLAZA. It will be on any tourist map you get, and is definitely in the Footprint guide(and should be in Lonely planet, Rough Guide, etc). It's the Big Computer Parts Market in Bangkok, but it you check in the media shops you will often find MDs....I found LOTS of the old plastic-shutter Maxell Twinkles there, and the price was appealing. Happy Hunting!

I'll be there in about 10-11 days...will go to the Plaza (of course) and post an update and tell everyone what I find there.

peace

WaywardTraveller

[md-junkie]

great information.

thanx!

[md-junkie]

I just came back from asia and want to spread my current experience:

Panthip Plaza in Bangkok is a good place to get all kind of computer and mobile phone related parts. The price is not significally lower compared to bigger shops in germany. But there is another market area called BAN MO (pot house) located in the street 'Thanon Ban Mo'. There is a huge choice of (car)audio-, karaoke- and especially electronic-parts. But considering md nothing special. Only known md-media like Emtec, Maxell Twinkle (2004) and Sony's latest standard media is offered.

So I didn't bought any of them.

It seems that mini disc has lost a part of its common distribution. Nevertheless it's still the way to go...