First of all, it is really hard to research stores that carry Gunpla in Shanghai, or anything Gunpla related. Maybe because I Googled (ban in China) using Roman characters? Or maybe Gunpla is rare in China? Or maybe there are no more physical stores since they sell thru Taobao/Tmall/Alibaba? Who knows…. But for a city that hosted GBWC, I’m pretty sure Shanghai would have more Gunpla shops. I just didn’t know where to look.

Wenmiao Lu

This is the only searchable info thru Google. You can get better pictures of the street from here, and here. Just 2 blocks away from Laoximen MRT St., walk South on Zhonghua Rd until you see a Chinese gate on the left. That is the beginning of Wenmiao lu.

Just a few steps in, you’ll start to see a few small toy stores, and I mean small as in just a row with shelves right and left. I didn’t ask for prices, but I saw kits (HG, MG, and even PG) in these stores.

After walking past the Confucius temple on the left, you’ll start to see bigger shops where it’s a little comfortable to browse. I went to the shop with RX-78 in the store front. In this store they had a good selections of tools (Mr Hobby stuff), paint (Tamiya) & kits and even the new PG Exia. Prices are not crazy cheap (compare to other countries), but it’s the best during my short visit to Shanghai. Prices are not marked on the item so you gotta ask every time.

After these bigger shops, I didn’t go further because Wenmiao lu turns into a dark alley.

Fuzhou Lu

I came across Fuzhou Rd during my Google search as the “stationery street” in hopes to find Gunpla tools here. It is located 2-3 blocks South of Nanjing East Rd MRT. Walk down Henan Middle Rd and turn right on Fuzhou Rd.

After 1-2 blocks you’ll see stores that sells stationery. I went inside the building below which contained small art stores. If you’re a painter, then this is your paradise. It has all kinds of paints, canvases, pens, tapes, all sorts of stationery.

It’s not Gunpla specific, so there’s no Tamiya or Mr Hobby tools. But you’ll find plenty of markers, brush, masking tapes, cutters, etc.

Nanjing Rd.

As one of tourist destinations in Shanghai, the closed section of Nanjing Rd. (stretching from MRT People’s Square to Nanjing East Rd.) has shops left and right. I came across the Bao Da Xiang toy shop. Go up the top floor and you’ll find a corner dedicated for Gunpla. Prices here are crazy high though. I saw PG 00 Raiser in Wenmiao lu for 1300RMB sold here for 3250RMB!! I guess the rent is that much higher.

Conclusion

That’s all I’ve got for Shanghai. I went to Jing An Temple area following on a lead I read on some forums but found nothing. Strangely enough, I didn’t see any bootleg kits (Hongli, Daban, Super Nova, etc.) in the stores I visited. Are they hidden behind secret compartments?? Overall prices for kits are higher than Hongkong.