When it comes to gifts, women tend to lust for lavish treats like nail manicures, flowers or frocks. Men, on the other hand, invariably have their eyes on a different range of items.
This Father's Day on Sunday is no different with an overwhelming selection of items available ranging from hardcore electronics to sporting equipment and even miniature car collectibles, sure to leave dads grinning from ear to ear.
For starters, Cybermart at Huangpi Road S. has a massive array of electronic goods on offer under one roof, including laptops, gleaming LCD TVs and large-screen projectors.
A three-story electronics haven, Cybermart has everything from simple earphones to swanky global positioning system (GPS) gadgets available in two forms - national tracking or international tracking.
There are also usual items such as DVD players, Web cameras, speakers and MP3 players as well as the fun stuff such as PlayStation Portable (PSP), Nintendo DS Lite and Wii.
Wander through the labyrinth of stalls and you will find cool knick-knacks such as a "handwriting mouse" that requires you to use a stylus to write a Chinese character on the mouse, after which the Chinese words appears on your computer screen.
Another ideal location for an electronics overload is Xujiahui where the shopping begins right at the Metro station. Rows of display counters in the station sell memory sticks, English-Chinese dictionaries and even notebook computers.
Pacific Digital Plaza by Exit 10 is another shopping paradise for electronic geeks. Be prepared to be confronted by an overwhelming array of laptops and computers the moment you enter.
Also in Xujiahui is Buynow, a department store offering a vast range of electronic gear. Located in Metro City, it has the most orderly layout of the three electronic malls.
Well-known brands such as Fuji Xerox and Apple, for example, are each situated in one of the many stalls that line the circumference of Buynow on each level. In the middle of each floor are display counters selling items from a mixture of lesser-known brands.
There are four levels in Buynow which similarly sell the same range of gadgets as Cybermart and Pacific Digital Plaza.
Just outside Buynow on its highest floor is the Metro Hi-Fi Center where shops such as Bang and Olufsen, Bose and Wharfedale sell elaborate sound systems.
Further up on the same floor is Communication World which sells a wide selection of mobile phones, walkie-talkies and landline phones.
If dad is more into sports then the wares at Sports City at Zhongshan Park might be of more interest to him.
Sports City has one floor featuring major brands such as Nike, Adidas, Spalding and Puma. It sells tennis rackets from Wilson, badminton rackets from Yonex as well as table tennis equipment.
For the outdoors dad Sports City also sells windbreakers, backpacks, tracking shoes and sleeping bags. There are also shops just beside Balcony 5 of Shanghai Indoor Stadium for the adventure-loving dad.
For dads who like collectibles, the Mod Toy shop sells models of heavy-duty construction vehicles such as mining trucks, wheel loaders and even a hydraulic excavator.
A neighboring shop called My Car on the other hand sells models of sleek cars such as Mini Coopers and Ferraris and Vespa motorcycles.
(Shanghai Daily June 13,2008)