What is actually worth buying#
Skip the mass-produced souvenir. The things worth carrying home are the ones China makes better, cheaper or differently than anywhere else.
Before you buy for someone else, note that a short list of objects must not be given as gifts in China — clocks above all.
Tea. The single best buy in the country. Longjing from Hangzhou, Tieguanyin from Fujian, pu'er cakes from Yunnan, keemun black from Anhui. Buy from a proper tea shop where they will brew samples for you, not from a station kiosk. Expect ¥100–400 for a genuinely good 100 g of a named tea, and far more for aged pu'er.
Silk. Suzhou is the historic centre and still the best place for quality. Look for the weight and the burn test if the seller allows it; real silk smells of burnt hair and turns to ash, polyester melts into a bead.
Porcelain and ceramics. Jingdezhen in Jiangxi has made imperial porcelain for a thousand years. Even outside it, contemporary Chinese studio ceramics are excellent value.
Tea ware. Yixing clay teapots from Jiangsu, which season with use. A genuine one is ¥300+; ¥50 pots are moulded, not thrown.
Calligraphy supplies. Brushes, ink stones and paper from a specialist shop are beautiful objects regardless of whether you use them. Beijing's Liulichang street is the classic destination.
Chops (name seals). A carved stone seal with your name transliterated into Chinese, cut while you wait. ¥80–400 depending on the stone. What you are actually buying — and why the shop may ask to see your passport — is worth two minutes before you choose the characters.
Silk-road textiles, in Xinjiang. Atlas silk, embroidered caps, carpets.
Tailoring. Made-to-measure in Shanghai's South Bund Fabric Market or Beijing's tailor streets: a suit in three days for a fraction of European prices. Quality varies enormously — go with a recommendation.
Cosmetics and skincare. A major category for Chinese shoppers and an opaque one for visitors, until you know that the label carries a number saying which of two regulatory regimes the product went through.
Electronics and phone accessories. Cheap and abundant, though the flagship phones are not meaningfully cheaper than at home. Huaqiangbei in Shenzhen is the world's largest electronics market and worth visiting as a spectacle.
Glasses. Prescription spectacles are made and dispensed cheaply and quickly, and the counter beside them is legally a different shop: what changed in the standard in March 2026, and why contact lenses are Class III medical devices.
Designer toys and blind boxes. The sealed-box walls in every mall are a category of their own with a rulebook of their own: the odds and the contents have to be posted before you pay, and opening one bought online can cost you the seven-day return.
How bargaining works#
Bargaining is expected in exactly three contexts: tourist markets, antique and curio streets, and with street hawkers. It is not appropriate anywhere with marked prices — shops, supermarkets, chains, restaurants, taxis, ticket offices. Those marked prices exist because displaying them is a legal obligation rather than a courtesy, which is also why nothing may be added to one at the till.
The mechanics, which are ritualised and good-humoured:
- Show mild interest. Enthusiasm sets the price.
- Ask the price — 多少钱 (duō shao qián).
- Counter at around 30% of the asking price in a heavily touristed market, 50–60% elsewhere. The opening ask in Beijing's Silk Market can be ten times the real price.
- Meet in the middle across two or three rounds.
- Walk away once. This is the essential move. If the price was near the floor, you will be let go. If it was not, you will be called back — and the call-back price is the real one.
- Once you name a number, honour it. Naming a price and then not buying at it is genuinely rude.
Use a calculator or your phone to exchange numbers. It removes the language barrier entirely and is what locals do.
Where to shop#
| City | Place | For |
|---|---|---|
| Beijing | Panjiayuan Antique Market (weekends) | Curios, calligraphy, genuine junk and occasional treasure |
| Beijing | Liulichang | Brushes, ink, seals, art books |
| Beijing | Silk Market (Xiushui) | Tailoring and touristy goods; hard bargaining required |
| Shanghai | South Bund Fabric Market | Made-to-measure suits, shirts, coats |
| Shanghai | Tianzifang | Small design studios, prints, jewellery |
| Suzhou | Silk museum shops and Pingjiang Road | Silk, embroidery |
| Xi'an | Muslim Quarter | Spices, dried fruit, Silk Road curios |
| Chengdu | Wide & Narrow Alleys, Jinli | Sichuan crafts, tea, chilli products |
| Hangzhou | Meijiawu, Longjing villages | Tea, direct from the growers |
| Shenzhen | Huaqiangbei | Electronics, components, repairs |
| Kashgar | Sunday Bazaar | Textiles, knives, carpets, hats |
Tax refunds#
China operates a departure VAT refund scheme: purchases of ¥200 or more in a single day at one licensed refund store, taken out of the country within 90 days, qualify for an 11% rebate (net of a service fee). Ask for the refund form at the till, keep the receipt and the goods unused, and process the claim at the airport before check-in.
The threshold used to be ¥500 and a great deal of published advice still says so. It was cut to ¥200 in April 2025, alongside a rise in the cash refund ceiling from ¥10,000 to ¥20,000, as part of a push to increase spending by inbound visitors. The practical effect is that far more ordinary purchases now qualify than most guidance suggests — though a small claim may still not be worth the airport queue.
One condition decides whether a bulky purchase is worth claiming on at all: the goods have to leave the country with you. Shipping it home instead is a trade you should make deliberately, because it forfeits the rebate.
Customs: what you cannot take home#
- Antiques are governed by a graduated rule, not the single 1911 cut-off most guidance quotes. Anything made in or before 1911 is flatly prohibited from export. Items from 1912 to 1949 with historical, artistic or scientific value are prohibited in principle too, which is the part usually left out. Beyond that, works by named deceased artists after 1911 — across calligraphy and painting, ceramics, sculpture, fans, embroidery, seals, snuff bottles and lacquer — sit on restricted lists of their own. Genuinely old items sold legally carry a red wax seal from the cultural relics bureau; without it, an item that is actually old will be confiscated.
- Ivory, rhino horn, tortoiseshell, tiger products — illegal to buy and illegal to import into essentially every country. This includes items sold openly in some markets. The statute behind this puts a traceability mark on anything lawfully traded in the category, and a permit behind anything exported.
- Traditional medicine containing endangered species — check the ingredients. Packaged health food is a different category again, and the blue hat and the warning zone are what distinguish a registered one.
- Large quantities of tea or single products may attract questions on the way out and duty on the way in; check your home country's allowances.
- Counterfeit goods are confiscated by customs in the EU, UK, US and Australia, and can carry fines.
That list is about goods. Money is governed by its own rules and its own thresholds — the renminbi and foreign-currency ceilings, and the declaration that keeps you the right side of them — and they apply on the way in as well as the way out.
None of the above is a plan for what happens if a purchase turns out not to be what it was sold as. That has its own rule and its own number: a refund plus three times the price, with a floor beneath it.
One last distinction worth carrying into a shop: none of the protections above cover a straightforward change of heart. Whether you can hand something back and get your money returned turns on whether the sale was made in person or at a distance, and the answer is not the same for both.
Frequently asked questions#
How do you bargain in China?#
Counter at roughly 30% of the asking price in a tourist market, negotiate up over two or three rounds, and walk away once — if the price was inflated you will be called back. Use a calculator to exchange numbers. Never bargain in shops, chains, restaurants or for taxis and tickets. See is bargaining expected in China? for where it applies and where it does not.
What should I buy in China?#
Tea, silk, porcelain, Yixing teapots, calligraphy supplies and a carved name seal are the classic quality buys. Made-to-measure tailoring in Shanghai is excellent value. Avoid jade and "antiques" unless you know the market.
Can I get a tax refund in China?#
Yes. Spend ¥200 or more in one day at a licensed refund store, keep the goods unused, and claim an 11% rebate at the airport before check-in within 90 days of purchase. You need the refund form issued at the till and your passport. The threshold was ¥500 until April 2025, so older guidance sets the bar too high. What to do in the shop and at the airport goes through it step by step.
Can I take antiques out of China?#
Rarely, and the common advice that anything after 1911 is fine is wrong. Items made in or before 1911 are flatly prohibited. Items from 1912 to 1949 carrying historical, artistic or scientific value are prohibited in principle as well, and separate lists restrict works by named deceased artists after 1911. Genuinely antique pieces that may leave must carry the official red wax seal from the cultural relics authority; without it, anything actually old will be confiscated at customs.
Is shopping in China cheap?#
Everyday goods, electronics accessories, clothing and tailoring are cheap. Branded international goods are often more expensive than at home due to import duties. The best-value purchases are the things China makes distinctively — tea, silk, ceramics and tea ware.