Love it, or loathe it, Halloween is fast approaching. More and more decorations and costumes are popping up in supermarkets and convenience stores in Chengdu, as China cottons on to another western commercial holiday – but Taobao 淘宝 is still king if you want to take first prize at the costume party.

Physical Stores

Metro, Carrefour, Ito Yokado, Auchan, Walmart and even shop like 7Eleven, Family Mart and Miniso all have accessories and often halloween candy. But if you’re looking for specialist stores, here’s a few:

Shi Er Nan Jie 十二南街

For Costume Hire

Near the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, on Shiernan street there are many costume hire shops with traditional Chinese clothes and lots of sequins.  Prices range from 30-300 RMB a day – don’t be afraid to bargain.

Address: 十二南街 (在四川音乐学院的附近)

Shiernan Street, near the Sichuan Conservatory of Music.
Some of the costume hire shops on 十二南街

 Houzimen Sport Equipment and Clothing Street

This market is mainly for gym clothes and accessories but other clothing is also available here for the DIY Halloween costume makers, from leggins, tank tops etc.

Address: Middle Renmin Road (Close to the Sheraton Hotel)

人民中路一段

 Hehuachi Whole Sale Market

This multi purpose market has a lot of options, from traditional Chinese clothing to more avante-guarde items. Its not a small market, so may require some dedication, but they have many womens, mens and childrens items.

Address: Beizhan East 2nd Rd, Jinniu District 金牛区2环北站西路

Toys R Us

 For Kids Costumes

Addresses:

5F, Mix City, No.8 Shuangqing Road, Chenghua District

成华区双庆路8号华润万象城5楼

4F, CapitaMall, No.183 Jiaoda Road, Jinniu District
金牛区交大路183号凯德广场2期4楼

4F, Ufun Mall, No.300, Jiaozi Dadao, Wuhou District

武侯区交子大道300号悠方购物中心4F

Keywords

If you can’t find what you’re looking for in English, here are some Chinese keywords to help narrow down your quest:

服装

fú zhuāng


costume

cos服

cos fú


cosplay item

面具

miàn jù


mask

成人

chéng rén


adult

儿童

ér tóng


child

均码

jūn mǎ


“one size fits most”

定做

dìng zuò


custom-made

Costume Keywords

Got all that? Easy peasy. We’ll come back to those later.

Next, here are some costume idea keywords in orange with actual screenshots copied straight from Taobao herself… we couldn’t make these up if we tried:

Note: we are not endorsing any specific Taobao shop in this list – just use for reference and ALWAYS check the comments and ratings before buying!

Batman


蝙蝠侠

biān fú xiá

Optimus Prime


擎天柱

qíng tiān zhù

Ninja


忍者

rěn zhě

Pumpkin


南瓜

nán guā

Trippy Panda Head


創意熊貓頭套

chuàng yì xióng māo tóu tào

Cavemen


穴居人

xué jū rén

Wonder Woman


神奇女侠

shén qí nǚ xiá

A Donut?


甜甜圈

tián tián quān

Pharaohs


埃及法老

āi jí fǎ lǎo

Your friendly

neighborhood

Waimai Delivery Guy


外卖司机

wài mài sī jī

Minions


小黄人

xiǎo huáng rén

Your Choice of

Harry Potter

House Robe


哈利波特斗篷

hā lì bō tè dòu péng

Creepy Old People


偕老面具

xié lǎo miàn jù

Princesses


公主

gōng zhǔ

Alien Abductee?


充气外星人

chōng qì wài xīng rén

Pizza


披萨

pī sà

Astronaut


宇航员

yǔ háng yuán

Security guard


保安

bǎo ān

This is Sparta!


斯巴达武士

sī bā dá wǔ shì

 

World Leader Masks


总统面具

zǒng tǒng miàn jù

Winnie the Pooh


小熊维尼

xiǎo xióng wéi ní

 

Virgin Mary


圣母玛利亚

shèng mǔ mǎ lì yà

Spider-Man


蜘蛛侠

zhī zhū xiá

Nemo


小丑鱼

xiǎo chǒu yú

Thor (and son)


托尔

tuō ěr

Iron Man


钢铁人

gāng tiě rén

Captain America


美国队长

měi guó duì zhǎng

Hulk


绿巨人

lǜ jù rén

Zombies


行尸走肉

háng shī zǒu ròu

Dancing Crayons


蜡笔

là bǐ

Jon Snow


琼恩雪诺

qióng ēn xuě nuò

Daenerys Targaryen

Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals (the Rhoynar) and the First Men, Lady Regnant of the Seven Kingdoms, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Mhysa, Breaker of Chains, the Unburnt, Mother of Dragons!


丹尼莉丝·坦格利安 卡丽熙
dān ní lì sī · tǎn gé lì ān kǎ lì xī

Journey to the West


西游记

xī yóu jì

Super Family


超人

chāo rén

Michael Jackson


迈克尔·杰克逊

mài kè ěr ·jié kè xùn

Newsie


卖报人

mài bào rén

Horse head


马头面

mǎ tóu miàn

Sumo Suits


相扑

xiàng pū

Pink Bunny from A Christmas Story


圣诞粉红兔子

shèng dàn fěn hóng tù zǐ

Corpse Bride


女僵尸新娘

nǚ jiāng shī xīn niáng

A Piano?


钢琴

gāng qín

Red Guard


红卫兵

hóng wèi bīng

Creepy Teddy Bears


泰迪熊

 tài dí xióng

String them together for precise searches.

Eg:

小熊维尼面具

xiǎo xióng wéi ní miàn jù

Winnie the Pooh mask


儿童万圣节服装

ér tóng wàn shèng jiē fú zhuāng

Child’s Halloween costume


定做成人公主服装

dìng zuò chéng rén gōng zhǔ fú zhuāng

Custom-made Adult Princess Costume


 

Hopefully this handy guide has helped you overcome the cultural barrier and celebrate Halloween in full costume!

With thanks to the team at Culturability. They consistently write useful content.