Can't Write Chinese? Now You Can Use Photos to Shop on Taobao

For most of us, shopping on Taobao.com can be a headache. Even with our English guide (courtesy of the Beijinger's May 2010 issue), it's often impossible to pull up favorable search results.

But as of last week, China’s largest online shopping platform has (sort of) come up with a solution: Imagine, an image search engine. Can’t write Chinese? No problem. Simply upload a photo or enter its URL, specify a product category (so far it only supports clothes, shoes and women’s handbags) and wait for your list of matches.

Sounds neat, right? Well, let's put it to the test and see just how well it works.

We decided to start off simple, with a clean image and a recognizable brand: Nike Air Jordan 6 (VI) Black Infrared sneakers.

Instead of uploading a photo, we linked to a result we found on Google Image Search. (You must first right-hand click the image and select "Copy Image Location," then paste into the box below.) We zoomed in as appropriate, clicked 男鞋 (men's shoes) and 休闲鞋 (casual footwear, the only option), and then the orange button that reads 相似搜索 (similar results). (Admittedly, you might have to look some of these up. Look for our helpful translation guide at the bottom of this post.)

Hmm. We very much appreciated the price tags that accompany each photo ... but the results were a bit disappointing. You'd think a pair of sneakers would be easy enough to find. And are those heeled ankle boots we spot in the top left corner? Weird.

No matter. Our second time around, we uploaded a photo directly from our computer. China Internet Watch had good luck with a Burberry handbag, so we tried a purse by China's other favorite flashy brand: Louis Vuitton.

We selected 女包 (women's purses) and 手提包 (handbags) – your options are fairly limited in this department.

Now this is more like it, though still not exactly right. Oh well. We were impressed by the sidebar system – imperfect but undeniably helpful – where you can filter your results by price, style, shape, patterns and material. Plus, it saves your search history.

This got us thinking ... Imagine seems far better suited for pairing together prints and textures than specific items. So we tried our hand with a classic plaid button-down from Uniqlo.

We wondered how the plaid would look on a dress instead of a shirt. So rather than select 男装 (men's clothing) and 衬衫 (shirt), we opted for 女装 (women's clothing) and 连衣裙 (dress).

As suspected, it's a perfect fit. But why stop there? You can also shop for matching shoes (单鞋) or a handbag (手提包).

So what have we learned? Here are some fast tips:

If you want a super-specific brand name item, skip Imagine altogether. Just type it in English in Taobao proper. Case in point: When we re-searched "Nike Air Jordan 6" that way, we immediately found what we were looking for.

Don't get overwhelmed. Taobao searches turn up lots of duplicates but now you can instantaneously filter by price.

Imagine is utterly intuitive. You will go far with this photo search engine if you maintain this mindset: "I like this general form/pattern/style; show me everything that resembles it."

DROP BAR TRANSLATION:

• 女装 (women's clothing): 背心 (sleeveless garment, tank top) / T血 (T-shirt) / 衬衫 (shirt, blouse) / 雪纺衫 (chiffon cloth) / 半身裙 (miniskirt) / 连衣裙 (dress) / 牛仔裤 (jeans) / 休闲裤 (casual pants)
• 男装 (men's clothing): T血 (T-shirt) / 衬衫 (shirt) / 短裤 (shorts) / 牛仔裤 (jeans) / 休闲群 (casual pants)
• 女鞋 (women's shoes): 凉鞋 (sandals) / 凉拖 (slip-ons) / 单鞋 (dress shoes)
• 男鞋 (men's shoes): 休闲鞋 (casual footwear)
• 女包 (women's bags): 手提包 (handbags)

Have you tried Imagine? Share your tips and experiences here.

Photos: Webpages.scu.edu, Sheknows.com, Sneakerfiles.com, Louis Vuitton