Shopping in China - MUST HAVE items

I'm on a roll with "must have" reflection posts. As much as I was anxious for Josie, I was equally excited to do some serious shopping while in China. I loathed the bartering, but Chris was the master of negotiations and we came home with some really lovely acquisitions. I should mention, that we never made it to the alley with the knock-off purses, sunglasses or designer clothes, but I'm so pleased with the special items that we did bring home from Josie's country.

Here are a few of my favorite purchases in China:


Nanchang is know for its porcelain and I just love this hand-painted tea set. Both Emma and Josie also picked out smaller tea sets as well as several vases and hinged boxes. The prices were a steal (my large tea set was around $35). If we would have had more room, I would have bought more tea sets for relatives and friends. The hinged boxes and vases ranged between $3 - $7. These same items were so much more money in Guangzhou.


Chris's chess set


Chris purchased two different chess sets while in China. One set he has at his school and one set is at home. They are made of ox bone and the carving on each piece is simply amazing. The price was an absolute steal. He paid $26 for his larger set. If it wasn't so big and heavy, he would have bought additional sets for friends. Chris bought his chess sets in Guangzhou.



Several stores in Guangzhou offer a service of doing reverse painting inside glass bottles. You can drop off a picture and then within 24 hours, you can pick up your painted bottle with the image painted inside. The only picture we had already developed of Josie was her identification card from her orphanage. Her bottle doesn't really reflect what she looked like at the time, but it's priceless. Emma's picture is very close to the school picture that we had in our wallets. We were so pleased with these purchases. They are such keepsakes.

I remember seeing my friend Steffie's daughter wearing a tiger hat while they were in China and I was on a mission to find one for Josie. The tiger hat is a traditional baby gift in China. The tiger is believed to protect the child from bad spirits and bring good luck. Our guide later told us that typically only boys wear these type of hats. Oh well. We thought she looked pretty darn cute in it.


I bought the girls several matching outfits in China and even bought Josie's baptismal dress. I'm so glad I bought several different sizes so that Josie can continue to wear them through the upcoming years. The prices are so low in Guangzhou for these type of outfits. The outfits cost around $5 or less. Some outfits were a bit pricier, but well worth it. While in Nanchang, our guide kept telling us to wait on purchasing shoes and outfits until we got to Guangzhou, and I'm glad we waited. She was right, the prices were half the cost as what we were looking at in Josie's province.




We bought the girls each big beautiful paper kites in Beijing. They weren't easy to pack in our luggage, but we never saw them in Nanchang or Guangzhou and I'm glad we bought them in Beijing. The kites cost about $5 and the detail work is amazing.

"A Gift From China", Guangzhou's First Charity Store has different items than most of the stores in Guangzhou. The items are a little more money, but better quality. One of my adoptive friends (thanks Cindy) told me about the dolls from this store and I couldn't resist buying each girl a set of mother/daughter dolls.


Our guide took us to the pearl market in Guangzhou to buy our pearls. I'd love to say our shopping experience was a lovely one, but Josie was an absolute terror while we were in the store. Chris ended up picking out all our jewelry (while I paced with her outside in her baby carrier). He did a wonderful job at negotiating and picking out several beautiful pieces. I can't say it enough...buy, buy, BUY. The prices are so inexpensive and earrings make great gifts for friends and relatives.

For my readers who are about to travel to China, I'm sure they would LOVE to hear from other adoptive families regarding their favorite shopping adventures and China acquisitions. I can't wait to read your suggestions. It makes me want to go back and shop, shop, SHOP!! Thanks, friends!!