Color coded: McQueen's loafers and ladies' pumps. Photo by Pauline D. Loh / Shanghai Star

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If Suzhou Village is any indication, outlet shopping has been kicked up to a different stratosphere.

The complex at Yangchenghu is huge, about 35,000 square meters, and visitors drive into a large car park. Shuttle buses will also ferry visitors from various transport points including the rail and bus stations in Suzhou and Kunshan.

Groups or visitors needing some guidance are ushered into an up-scale lobby where the concept is explained and they can look through guide maps so the eager can plot their shopping strategies.

When they called it a village, they were not joking. Designer brands are housed in individually designed European-influenced edifices, so you get the feeling you are strolling through a doll's house village of shops.

They are all there — Alexander McQueen, Michael Kors, Dunhill, Bally, Dior, Armani, Lacoste and so on.

So you stay longer and shop more, there are also plenty of restaurants and food and beverage outlets from sidewalk cafes to full-service Chinese restaurants. There is also a nice landscaped park with hillocks and water features for when you need to surface for air after bouts of retail therapy.

When the weather allows, live music will also be there in the park to get visitors in the mood, and to stay on for wining, dining and, of course, more shopping.