Travel China and Beyond

What to buy and what NOT to buy in China

Recently I have come across a series of questions (on various web sites - not only on this blog) about what to buy in China. The reality is that the answer to such question depends heavily on your likes and dislikes. However, if you still want to have a general idea as to the types of goods to seek out or plan to purchase and more importantly which ones NOT to expect to get a good deal on, here is a summary:

You could purchase many types of tea that may be available overseas, but not even close in price. If you like tea, and plan to be in Beijing, you should plan for an afternoon at the Tea Street in South East Beijing. Here is a link to some earlier posts on this:

Furniture: various styles and types of Ming and Qing dynasty furniture is available - of course keep in mind that most of it is essentially replica of old pieces. You should not plan to get antiques anyway - you will have trouble shipping them out of the country. Same applies to pottery.

If you are looking for pearl, cloisonne, cinnabar jewelry - this is also the place to get it. There are many postings on this blog addressing shopping for jewelry…Here are some and another one
I would NOT recommend electronics — many people are surprised to find out that the US is actually significantly better place to buy electronics (when compared to China).