I am working in Beijing for a month, and although I brought enough blades, thought I would see what was available locally. While almost every kiosk here sells electric razors, none of the shops or department stores I went to over the weekend had blades. This morning I went for a walk and found a brand new Walmart superstore (in Changping district out in the boonies!) and so took a look.
Unlike the US, Chinese Walmarts have associates in every aisle and are really into customer service, so when I couldn't find anything in the toiletries section I asked a young woman in Chinese whether they carried razor blades. She answered: "razor BLADES? What brand is your razor, Gillette (Jilie)?" I said yes, the old type (didn't want to complicate things) and she told me that they keep the blades in the back and she would see what they had. A few minutes later she came out with a selection of cartridges. I explained that i meant even older, and drew her a picture of a double edged blade. She promptly brought me back a box of "Gillette Blue" blades -- 5 for a US dollar.
They come in a cardboard box in a bubble card labeled "Gillette Blue" in English and "Gillette disposable stainless steel razor blades" in Chinese, along with the contact information for Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan and the patent information. The blades themselves are double wrapped (an inner wax paper wrapper and an outer one printed "Gillette disposable stainless steel razor blade" in Chinese, and on one side of the blade is printed "Gillette Super Stainless, Shanghai China" in English and something similar in Chinese (I put the blade I opened in my razor without reading it carefully).
The Gillettes I am familiar with are the Russian yellows and greens, the Indian blacks, and the Polish "Swedes" (of which I used my last one this morning). Anyone have more information on these "blues?" I'll report back in a week when I have tried one or two of them.
Unlike the US, Chinese Walmarts have associates in every aisle and are really into customer service, so when I couldn't find anything in the toiletries section I asked a young woman in Chinese whether they carried razor blades. She answered: "razor BLADES? What brand is your razor, Gillette (Jilie)?" I said yes, the old type (didn't want to complicate things) and she told me that they keep the blades in the back and she would see what they had. A few minutes later she came out with a selection of cartridges. I explained that i meant even older, and drew her a picture of a double edged blade. She promptly brought me back a box of "Gillette Blue" blades -- 5 for a US dollar.
They come in a cardboard box in a bubble card labeled "Gillette Blue" in English and "Gillette disposable stainless steel razor blades" in Chinese, along with the contact information for Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan and the patent information. The blades themselves are double wrapped (an inner wax paper wrapper and an outer one printed "Gillette disposable stainless steel razor blade" in Chinese, and on one side of the blade is printed "Gillette Super Stainless, Shanghai China" in English and something similar in Chinese (I put the blade I opened in my razor without reading it carefully).
The Gillettes I am familiar with are the Russian yellows and greens, the Indian blacks, and the Polish "Swedes" (of which I used my last one this morning). Anyone have more information on these "blues?" I'll report back in a week when I have tried one or two of them.