Buying Pop Mart in China: From Shanghai Flagships to Local Restocks

If you’re a Labubu, Molly, or Skullpanda collector, a trip to China isn’t complete without hitting a Pop Mart store. The home market has the biggest flagships, the freshest restocks, and — crucially — the complete catalog that overseas stockists only cherry-pick from. Best of all, China’s upgraded tourist tax-refund system now makes the souvenir haul genuinely worth it.

Here’s your complete playbook for buying Pop Mart in China, from the flagship stores to the fine print of blind boxes and getting your tax back.

The flagship stores: where collectors actually go

China’s flagship stores are shopping destinations in their own right — immersive, oversized, and worth a dedicated stop. The two unmissable ones are both in Shanghai:

• Pop Mart Shimao flagship (Shimao Festival City, No. 829 East Nanjing Road) — the brand’s largest store worldwide, covering nearly 800 square meters across two floors with a full-glass facade and four major character zones, according to Shanghai’s official government site. It opened alongside the older HY Plaza global flagship at No. 288 East Nanjing Road, giving the famous street a dual-flagship presence.
• Pop Mart Hongyi Plaza flagship (299 East Nanjing Road) — spans over 500 square meters across two floors and reportedly carries Shanghai-exclusive and limited-edition items you won’t find elsewhere, per Trip.com traveler reports.

Beyond Shanghai, Beijing is the other collector stronghold, with stores at Wangfujing apm, Sanlitun Taikoo Li, Zhongguancun, and many more malls listed on Pop Mart’s official store directory. Opening hours are typically around 10:00–22:00, though the Hongyi flagship has reported late-night hours close to midnight.

For a quick orientation, here’s how the flagship landscape breaks down:

When to go: weekday mornings are noticeably calmer; evenings, weekends, and new-release days bring crowds and quick sellouts of the hot items. Restocks of popular lines like Labubu and Link Click merch can vanish within hours.

The blind box rules you need to know

Before you blow your budget, understand how the system works — it governs both what you can buy and your expectations:

• You can’t pick a specific figure. Blind boxes are sold as sealed, randomized units, and that’s by design, per Pop Mart’s official shopping policy. No requesting your favorite character singles.

• Secret (“hidden”) figures are probability-based. Drop rates vary by series and are printed on each product’s page and packaging. Getting a secret is never guaranteed unless a series explicitly states “secret included.”

• Buying a full set (“Set of 12 Boxes”) usually guarantees you receive 12 different designs — though if a secret is in the box, it randomly replaces one of the basics rather than adding to the total, as Pop Mart explains internationally.

• What’s actually rare: Collector communities note that secret-drop odds commonly run from roughly 1 in 72 to 1 in 144, depending on the series — so treat a secret pull as a genuine jackpot, not an entitlement.

Two practical outcomes: (1) if you want a specific figure with certainty, search the “POP NOW” online reveal feature or look for a series explicitly marked “secret included”; (2) plan your blind-box budget knowing you’ll likely get duplicates.

The WeChat mini-program and official app

The official channels are your best friend for restock hunts:

• Official WeChat Mini-Program “POP MART Service Center” — the mainland’s flagship digital shop, where new releases and restocks drop and you can browse the full catalog.
• Anti-counterfeit verification — Pop Mart’s official verification portal tells you step-by-step: in mainland China, open the WeChat mini-program and scan the security code on the box; overseas, use the customer-service page at m-gss.popmart.com. This is the single best safeguard against fakes.

Here’s the golden rule for authenticity: anything bought from official Pop Mart stores, the official website, or ROBOSHOP vending machines is guaranteed authentic and verifiable — whereas market-stall or street-seller “bargains” are where the fakes live. If the price is too good to be true on a random shelf in a tourist market, it probably is.

Tax refunds and taking your haul home

The biggest change in your favor is China’s upgraded departure tax-refund policy, which took effect in 2026:

• Instant refunds are available at participating stores: sign an agreement, provide a credit-card preauthorization, and receive your refund in yuan on the spot, per China Daily.
• You now get up to 28 days to leave the country, and refunds are mutually recognized across regions — so shop in Shanghai, fly out of Beijing, and still get your money.
• The 1.0 policy already cut the single-transaction minimum to 200 yuan and raised the cash-refund ceiling to 20,000 yuan, according to Xinhua.

Practical tips for your haul:

• Keep every original receipt and the packaging — they’re needed for both tax refunds and potential defect returns (Pop Mart accepts defective returns at any store within 15 days).
• Don’t over-pack blind boxes you can’t verify. Buying from official stores removes the counterfeit headache entirely.
• If you’re also scouting Chinese designer-toys beyond Pop Mart, you’ll find the same official-store-first logic applies across the whole designer toy scene. And for the complete foreigner’s shopping strategy — haggling, markets, and what’s actually worth carrying home — our China shopping haul guide has you covered.

Frequently asked questions

Can foreigners buy Pop Mart in China? Yes — anyone can walk into an official store or order through the WeChat mini-program. Foreigners may need to register the mini-program with a Chinese phone number or pay at the counter; either way, official stores are fully open to visitors.

Is Pop Mart cheaper in China? Prices in China are among the lowest globally for the same series, and the selection is far more complete. Add the tax refund and the home-market advantage is real — but compare series pricing, since some items are priced identically worldwide.

How do I know my Pop Mart is authentic? Buy from official stores, the official website, or ROBOSHOP machines, then scan the box’s security code via the mainland WeChat “POP MART Service Center” mini-program or the global m-gss.popmart.com portal to verify.

Can I get the hidden/secret figure for sure? No. Secret figures are probability-based (commonly ~1 in 72 to 1 in 144), and drop rates are printed on each product. Only series explicitly marked “secret included” guarantee one.

Can I get a tax refund on Pop Mart in China? Yes. China’s 2026 policy allows instant departure refunds at participating stores, cross-region recognition, and up to 28 days to leave the country — keep your receipts and shop at participating stores.

Sources

• Pop Mart expands on Nanjing Road with new flagship store — Shanghai.gov
• Pop Mart Global Flagship Store guide — Trip.com
• Official POP MART store directory
• POP MART Shopping Policies — official
• POP MART Help & FAQs — official
• POP MART Anti-counterfeit Verification Portal — official
• Visitor tax refund service enhanced — China Daily
• Economic Watch: Upgraded departure tax refund policy — Xinhua