Wondering What to Buy from China? 10 Must-Buy Souvenirs Along with Some Important Tips for Your Trip to China (2019)

China is one of the most exciting places to explore and discover. Tourism in China has been increasing quickly over the last decade as the government is reducing the overall restrictions on movement. In 2015, china was the 4th most popular country among tourists with almost 59 million tourists per year, where the first place is occupied by Spain. It has a plethora of attractive and jaw-droppingly beautiful places to explore, ranging from Historical wonders to modern day Architectural Marvels, China has got it all covered. You will find anything you can ask for, here. China is a great place to tour, but there are some little and pesky problems, but with our nifty tips, you can make your China tour a perfect Trip.

The language spoken by majority of Chinese population is mandarin. Although you may find a lot of English speakers majority of conversation occurs in mandarin. You can get by using a bunch of translating apps but if you bring in a translator, it will be much more easy and effective way to travel and communicate in China. The translator will also come handy in professional environment like banks, airports, hospitals etc.

In most of the cultures around the world, giving tips is seen as a way to appreciate and thank a person's service and hospitality, but it’s not the same way in China, it can translate into an offending gesture. So, it's better to keep this is mind.

You can use visa, MasterCard or Union pay at a bunch of places in China including hotels, restaurant, theme parks and Malls. Little shops do also sometimes offer option to pay Cashless but still the majority of shopkeepers prefer taking payments in Cash. So, you should keep a good amount of cash in your pocket all the time.

China is a very safe country for tourists and you do not have to 'worry' about that aspect but still extra security is always a good option and will make your trip as hassle free and stress free as possible. So, get a travel insurance and you will get free from any little inconvenience that you might face without it.

This should be remembered as a caution. As tempting as it might seem but do not drink tap water in China, most of the Public taps in China do not offer drinkable water, so do not take the risk. You can find water bottle at roadside shops at a very minimal cost Instead.

This tip should save you from a lot of Ugly Inconvenience, Chinese washrooms usually do not provide toilet papers, you can find them in some hotels and restaurants but not everywhere. So, keep some handy. Also, some cities in china are dealing with the problem of air pollution so, if you find yourself going there, do keep an air mask with you.

Public transport is a lot more advanced in China compared to other countries, you can find a lot of comfortable and light-on-pocket busses everywhere. China also has 'G-trains' for you which can take you across the country in few hours. Plan your trip accordingly.

China is an enormous country and it has countless places to explore, although they all have something unique on offer. We have picked out the best 'cities' where you will enjoy China in its authenticity and completeness.

Beijing is one of the most visited places in China. Every year, a great number of curious tourists end here in search of the historical background and authentic rich cultural heritage of China, Beijing should be on your priority list when visiting China and Did we mention the 'The great wall of China' is in Beijing? The best places for shopping in Beijing include Silk city and pearl market for a variety of silk goods, garments, leather good and shoes while BJ APM is a tech hub for technology lovers, Raffles city can offer you any food delight you can imagine, Park view Green has a collection of great artwork and paintings from all over the china and Yandaixie Street and Maliandao Tea street are awesome to shop some great varieties of tea.

If you are a fan of Chinese movies then you must have heard of the famous 'Terracotta army'. The army of sleeping statues waiting for the first command of their king to Go and conquer the world. Well, Xian is the place you would want to go to meet them. you should visit the Tian Yi Jade factory for an awesome Jade collection, the Muslim market has a lot of sweet shops and market stalls, Beiyuanmen night market is a great place to get the best food, Xiangzi Temple Street can give some awesome paintings and tea while Paris spring department, Century Jinhua mall and Changan international mall will take care of your all other shopping needs.

Shanghai offer a beautiful blend of ancient Chinese culture mixed with modern technological advancements in a great proportion. You can find everything ranging from ancient memorials, gardens and water towns to the modern city 'Shanghai'. It is famous for its soothing boat rides in water towns and peaceful enchanting in Ancient Gardens. The Shanghai Melody area will present you with the best food shops, silk garments and old laneways, South Bund Soft Spinning material market is the place to go if you want to get a great suit tailored for you, the Tianshan Tea City has great varieties of teas to sample and buy.

There is also a shanghai propaganda poster art centre where you can find old memorabilia related to shanghai with old photographs of shanghai and the A.P plaza yin yang market is a place you just can't miss if you are into trendy and stylish glasses. The YuYUan Bazaar is also a great place to shop and get your name printed on Rice grains while the Shanghai IFC mall is a great place to stay and for breakfast also

This place will definitely make your Jaw Drop as it is unlike anything you would have seen before. If we have to explain how it looks, we would say like the Pandora from Avatar. It has sky rocketing peaks, forests, large caves and a great blend of flora and fauna. Taking a cable car to get across the forest passing between the beautiful peaks will be an unforgettable experience. Zhangjiajie dream collection, Time square, Yongfa Lap Specialty store, Zhangjiajie Tianzi Jie and Zhangjiajie Meini Shopping Centre are the best places for shopping in Zhangjiajie.

After reconnecting with mother nature and all sort of soul-searching. You should be ready to come back to 21st century and start a modern-day adventure that is also known as 'Shopping'. Well, Hong Kong is the place to go for all your needs. It has huge shopping malls and streets are filled with fashion, the Hong Kong Disneyland is here and also an old Portuguese harbour, if you too, like to feel like Captain Jack sparrow just, once in a while. the best places where you can enjoy shopping in Hong Kong Include Kowloon street shopping that has everything, Temple street night market can offer some great deals on clothes, stall food, watches, and electronic souvenirs.

The Harbour city is great for cinema and food lovers alike while the Jade market & Jade street is great for Jewellery lovers. The Pacific place has 130 outlets and 3 department stores to cater for your needs, the stanley market can give you some great Antique Chinese items with some silk goodies. the Ladies Mall and Elements shopping mall are great places to shop here too.

After riding, flying and sailing through the rich and diverse China, when it's finally time to head back home. These are some of the best things you can possibly bring back to your loved ones and to yourself, to stamp the memories of this great Chinese adventure in your hearts for a lifetime.

Unbelievable as it sounds, there are people who can write on a 'Grain' of rice! Rice Writing was first started in Indian and turkey and then spread to other parts of the world. it was started as a ritual medium but as the time passed, people converted it into an Art form which has been continuing down the Generations. You can imprint anything you want on a rice grain, ranging from your name to a farewell message from China. It's up to you, get creative.

Who hasn't heard of the famous 'Silk route' that connected ancient Chinese traders to the rest of the world, it was the starting of global trade. In today's world too, Chinese silk is immensely popular among people especially the ladies. You can find a bunch of silk products in china ranging from silk carpets, bags to other luxurious wall hangings accessories. You can also go to specific shops alongside the market and get silk clothes tailored for your, it is a great thing to brag about back home. Shanghai is a great place to buy Chinese silk along with Xinjiang and Hangzhou. The prices start with 8$ per meter.

In China, jade is a symbol of grace and purity and if you love collecting things with mythical abilities like Keeping the pesky ghosts away, which keep sneaking upon you from time to time then Jade should be on your buying list. Also, Chinese believe jade contributes in maintaining your health by balancing your yin and Yang, now that's cool. You can gift this to any lady in your life, be your wife, girlfriend or mother, it is sure to impress everybody. You can get a pretty necklace around $30 and the price goes up with quality.

Now-now, dried fruit might not seem a very convincing buy to bring back from a whole another 'country'! But believe us, China offers some such unique and worthy-to-taste dry fruits that you cannot find anywhere else in the whole world. You can find every variety of every dry fruit ranging from Dates to raisins and all other in-betweens and China has its own ones to offer. Their pocket friendly size also helps in making them a great and hassle-free treat to bring back home for your loved ones.

Chinese people are fan of personalization and love to customize things according to their taste and style. Above all that, it is relatively cheap to get tailored clothes in China so when you reach china, it is worth the time and effort to find a decent shop to get a tailored suit or any tailored garment for yourself. You can even opt for traditional Chinese garments if you want to, you can choose from various fabric options that of course, includes silk too. You can even get gowns and prom dresses tailored at a very low price. You can also share any special idea for the dress if you have it in your mind, the tailors there are open and friendly to deliver you the dress, completely the way you want it to be.

China is one of the countries which are blessed with natural pearls, the freshwater pearls in China are sold at a price that is not seen elsewhere. You can Find some great pearls at a relatively low price, Chinese culture believes pearls bring purity, love and beauty to you so, no need to spend thousands on makeup kits anymore! It is a meaningful present that will surely be loved by all the ladies in your home.

They also come with health benefits as if their beauty and love-pulling abilities weren't enough. You can choose from various sizes, colours and lustre. While buying, keep in mind that real ones have a bit of rough surface while fake ones are flawlessly smooth. Han city shopping centre and Hongqiao International Pearl City are two of the best places to buy pearls.

China is a heaven for a tea lover as Chinese culture is deeply intertwined with tea and you can find a plethora of tasty and classy tea varieties. Shanghai is one of the best places to buy tea in china and it has whole markets dedicated just to sell high quality tea varieties in China. You can have jasmine tea, dragon well tea, longjing tea, tie guan yin tea and many more ones. When you finally buy a bag full of tea leaves, they will also have beautiful tea pots and dinnerware waiting for you to buy them.

The beautiful art of calligraphy has its roots in ancient China and continues to make the world a better and beautiful place. Chinese calligraphy is not famous in the whole world without any reason, the Chinese culture produces some of the finest example of this art. There are young people doing it but you can also find old and experienced ones. You can find a special Chinese calligraphy characters for you on the basis if your own personality, if you want to gift this to someone, explain their personality and the man will prepare the art with those selected characters, also seeing the artists draw the art is one of the most satisfying things you can see.

Chinese culture representation on movie screens often incorporates the use of Chinese masks, and rightfully so because masks have a special place in Chinese culture. The masks are specially prepared with lively and vibrant colours with artistic touch, they prove a great accessory to hang on your wall or to decorate the already great shelf with. The colours of the masks have different meanings and significance and you can also get to see some street performances in china using these masks, Beijing is one of the best places to buy these masks.

Cloisonné is actually a name of Chinese artform, that was limited only to metals in the past but now, the incorporation of cloisonné with ceramics gives birth some awesome and beautiful creations that are a must buy. The cloisonné items are very popular among tourists, although they are a bit costly because of the mastery, attention to detail, amount of time spent making them, and intricate procedure that is used to prepare such artefacts but the beautiful souvenir is worthy of the high price, they have gold dust mixed with the enamel layer to finally prepare the ceramic.

A popular prop that is used movies when showing Chinese culture on the big screen, these Chinese fans are always in high demand among the tourists. They are been used in China from the ancient times, sometimes as a practical tool to ward off some of the intense heat, otherwise It works as a fashion accessory. You can find handmade Chinese fans and mass-produced fans are also on offer, they come with beautiful drawings and artwork printed on them which usually has dragons, birds and other chinese animals on them along with natural landscapes like mountains, lakes etc.

Traditional Chinese medicines are popular all over the world but the most authentic herbs in their raw form can only be found here, the Chinese medicines are very beneficial to a variety of people, they help in regulating blood sugars levels, metabolism and all other sort of diseases. You will probably need help of a translator to buy the right ones for you. Ginseng, ginger root and Ginkgo Biloba are one of the many Chinese herbs you should buy from your Chinese trip.

These chopsticks should make a great gift for a 'picky eater', if you ask us! Jokes aside, chopsticks have been a part of Chinese culture since ancient times, a really 'picky' tool for having a meal. You can find them anywhere, on any street and at a very cheap price. You don't really have to eat with them but they make great Chinese souvenir, you can find them in a bunch if varieties like bamboo or wooden, painted or simple ones, some are long some short, short ones will be easy to carry though. Eating with chopsticks is fun, if you believe us but don't just try it in front of everyone when it's your first time. You might look a bit silly but never mind, it's all just fun and games after all.

You should keep this in mind, as we said, Chinese people love customising and there are a lot of shop Owners who offer customized products according to your demands. Do ask the shopkeepers if they offer any kind of personalization, and you can get off with something No one else has.

With the best gifts to buy from china, these are the best places you must visit during your stay in china..

Declared the world heritage site by UNESCO which is one of the 7 wonders of the world and the only one structure in the world, that can be seen from the space, it's the longest wall in the world. The great wall of China in Beijing is a must visit place. The wall was built by Emperor Qin Shi Huang as a guard against northern Invaders and still stands strong as ever.

The Terracotta warriors were discovered by farmers in 1974 when they were digging a well, the warriors were waiting under the ground from 2000 years, these life-sized statues of warriors are a Great example of ancient chinese sculpting prowess, they are worthy to be seen with one's own eyes.

The imperial palace in forbidden city of Beijing was meant for the kings of China, and ordinary people weren't allowed to enter there. Luckily, not anymore and you can wander around exploring the extravagant life the kings used to live. The palace has over 8000 rooms to explore! It was occupied by actual kings till 1911 but It's a world heritage site now.

If you want to inspire the writer, the poet inside you and want an ethereal place to start, the karst landscape along the Li river is the one. The beautiful landscape around the Li river has inspired generations of chinese poets and artists to bring out the magic hidden inside. It has mountain ranges around it and is a great place for memorable photographs.

The three Georges is a massively big hydroelectric Dam in China built upon the Yangtze river, the dam is an example of the might of modern architecture, it once held the record of producing the most electric power in the world until the crown was taken by Itaipu dam. Cruise boats sail along the waters of Yangtze river and there is also an underwater museum which has ancient carvings on rocks beneath the water surface.

China has won a bunch of 'world heritage site' tags to his name, this is one more! The classical gardens of Suzhou is a collective group of gardens situated in Jiangsu Province. They are almost a thousand years old but still are stunningly beautiful, these gardens were built by scholars and the interesting thing is that they were made, mimicking the landscapes having rocks, hills and rivers. There are a lot of beautiful eye treats to explore here and are known as 'the most refined form if Garden art'. So, get up and get going. Maybe, you will also get some great ideas for your own little garden.