What/Where to Buy

What to Buy
China is a country with a vast territory and splendid civilization. Chinese people belong to a nation with a rich imagination and creativity. Artisans create arts and crafts with fine workmanship especially for tourists. These products are practical and unique, teaching tourists about China. For a long time they are considered ever-longing treasures by the tourists from abroad. In addition these products provide chances for the oversea tourists to know more about China.

 Silk
For thousands of years silk has been an emissary transmitting Chinese civilization to the world. It conquered the world by its distinctive glamour, florid color, soft smooth character and rich cultural connotation. The creation of silk is a great contribution made by Chinese people to the entire civilization of the world. Thousands of years have passed and science has undergone world-shaking changes, while silk comes from a little silkworm, as always.

 Tea
China is the home of tea. Regardless of age, gender, occupation and position, Chinese people love tea. In China, tea is not only a plant or drink, it also represents a culture and art considered an indispensable part of the splendid Chinese civilization. Enjoying tea is a good way to better understand Chinese people and culture. Tea is good for physical health. In addition, it is good for spiritual health because to some extent tea culture is a sort of philosophy.

Click to learn how to select good tea

 Porcelain
Porcelain is another very important dedication made by Chinese people to the whole world. Meanwhile Chinese porcelain has a very good reputation throughout the world for its high quality and exquisite design. The most famous producing area for porcelain in China is Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. Most of the porcelains produced here are daily life used ones and furnishing used ones. A great many sorts of porcelains will make you feel content.

 Painting
Chinese painting is a unique art throughout the world. For a long time Chinese painting has had its distinctive flavor and deep sense of traditional culture admired internationally. Painting is a vital component of Chinese cultural history providing visual enjoyment and enlightenment.

There are many other worthy products including replicas of Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses in Xian, shadow puppetry in Shaanxi Province, and tie-dye in Yunnan Province, and so on.

With sustained economic development and social advancement in China, the number of people with high, disposable incomes has grown steadily. This economic advancement has led to profound changes in people's consumption patterns, primarily from daily shopping for necessities to impulsive, leisure shopping, which is shopping purely for its own sake. Catering to this huge demographic shift, places to shop are also transformed and are subdivided into four main categories. First is the convenience store (more commonly known as a street vendor stand) that displays simple daily goods for quick purchase and urgent needs. Second is the supermarket, which is a self service store that contains various goods sold at lower price but still possess good quality. Third is the leisure square and shopping mall, a kind that pays attention to the decoration of the store and is dainty in the display and quality of its goods. Lastly is the shop maintaining an image of exclusiveness, catering to the upscale buyer and specializing in selling goods with standards of international fashion and the highest of quality.

Where to Buy

Because of increased competition, the traditional department store is also trying to regain its position among the shops. The emerging discount store and membership-system warehouse stores, including the likes of Wal-Mart, Carrefour, and Makro and Business Street are also competing for places to shop in China.

Here are some detailed and practical hints and information about shopping in China. Things of lower price are sold in bargain market; most daily goods with reasonable price and good quality can be found in supermarket. Souvenirs like silk, jade, and porcelain can be purchased in special stores. However, you had better not buy souvenirs in, around or near scenic spots, since such items sold there are much more expensive than in big shopping malls or specialty shops.

 Shopping Online

Today, shopping online has gradually become a fad because of the large internet development in China. More and more people turn to search for and buy goods through the internet in order to save time and energy. However, remember that the internet is a virtual world and you should be more careful about security when buying items online. Check the certificates, symbol and sales clause of the company before you buy. Don't submit any thing about your personal privacy, especially your credit card information until you make sure that the data has been encoded and transmitted by a safe interlink.