Shopping: what should you bring back from China?
What should I bring back from China?
Several Chinese cities, especially Hong Kong and Shanghai, claim the title of "shopping paradise". But generally, whether you are in a little village lost in the rice paddies, or an enormous city with immense shopping malls, you will always have a chance to stroll among market stalls or up and down a mall, visit a traditional artisan's workshop or find a stall in a lane.
Every region (even every town) has its own specialties - so it's difficult to make up a list for each destination - but certain typically, unmissably Chinese products are found almost everywhere in the country. This is the case, for example, for the mythical Chinese tea, pearl or jade jewelry, clothes or calligraphy.
What you buy will depend on where you are and on what type of trip you are doing. From a trip to Beijing or Shanghai you could bring back furniture, porcelain, or works of art; from a journey to the Silk Road or through the minority villages in the south, traditional crafts (fabric, embroidery, kites...); from a visit to Tibet, carpets; from Macau or Hong Kong, low cost electronics, etc.
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Rules and tips for "shopping" without cares
In China, outside of supermarkets and shopping malls (still), bargaining is the rule. The price you are given is always much higher than the object's value because the salesmen expect the buyers to bargain. It's no place for being shy - have a go!
The ideal thing is to master a few Chinese words and expressions which will help you bargain, rather than getting stuck with the "tourist" label and risking paying a much higher final price. To get an idea of what the object is really worth, you have to take the time to compare, look at what the competition is offering, and, best of all, see what price a Chinese person pays.
Whatever you are buying, check the quality by carefully examining the one you are buying and not just the model you are shown as an example. And, of course, look out for counterfeits, whose quality is often not very good, and which are illegal in the States. The things most likely to be counterfeited are watches, jewelry, CDs, DVDs, bags, and designer clothes.
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