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China Guide » Shopping Guide » Shopping on the Silk Road

Shopping on the Silk Road

As everyone knows, the great ancient Silk Road is commercial trade & merchandise exchange route between the East and the West. Now China Silk Road is still thriving and rich in commodity products such us ethnic musical instruments, clay, copper and metal handicrafts, dry fruits, wine, Chinese art works in Shaanxi, Gansu, and Xinjiang. Visitors are recommended to do some preference shopping while traveling through the Silk Road China.


What & where to buy in Xian Shaanxi
Xian, the gateway from northwest area to central China, is a famous tourist city in this county. The tourist products here are unique in style and various in kind.

Replicas of bronze wares, Qin Dynasty antiques, tri-colored glazed pottery of the Tang Dynasty are made purely in the old method and are almost the same with the real ones. Among those with strong Chinese traditional flavor and local character of the ancient city are rubbings of ancient tiles, works of famous calligraphers in various dynasties, Qin embroidery, artistic porcelain, lacquer wares, jade carvings, cloisonné, paper-cuts, leather-silhouette, replicas of Tang Dynasty murals, and farmers' paintings of Huxian County.

Famous Streets
East Street (Dong Dajie)
The eastern of the four big streets descending from the central Bell Tower, full of regular fashion shops.

South Street (Nan Dajie).
South Street has finer clothes and shoes, and is home to boutiques like Prada, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Marc Jacobs.  

Baihui Market
It is Local youngsters shop here. It is one of those fake-brand markets.

Kangfu Road
Outside the east city wall, straight through the Northeast Gate. A great place for a bargain.

Shuyuanmen Old-Style Street
a Ming-Qing Dynasty Street restored in the architectural style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties of some three or four hundred years ago.

Beiyuanmen Tourist Commodities Street
It is the biggest of its kind in Xian and has a collection of more than 50 souvenir stores.

Main Shopping Areas
Wenbaozhai Store and Cloisonne Store
Xi'an Century Ginwa Shopping Center


What & where to buy in Gansu Lanzhou, Dunhuang
Lanzhou has a good selection of handicrafts and local specialties from all parts of Gansu Province. Dunhuang City is a favorite tourist city called "Gua(Melon) Zhou" in ancient China which means the hometown of fruits, besides tourists' will also find handcrafts, gifts and souvenirs readily available there.

Specialty
Chinese herbal medicines like aweto, astragalus, Chinese angelic Dong Quai, codonopsis pilosula, lily, sanpaotai tea, rose, wolfberry series are highly therapeutic and precious.

Handicrafts
Yeguang (boulder) Cups, paper-cut designs, scent bags, Yellow River windmills, shadow puppets show and Taiping drums are very typical handicrafts in Gansu.

Food
Sanpaotai, the most famous tea in Lanzhou, is made up of the spring tea, longan, date, apricot, preserved fruits, wolfberry, walnut, sesame, dried raisins, Honey Dew melon grown etc.

Famous Marketplaces
Hezheng Lu Night Market
Between Tiansuhi Lu and Pingliang Lu. A very authentic market from mid-afternoon onwards.   
Sanfo, 1 Youshengnan Road, Jinshui District.The leading outdoor gear stores in China.  
Xidan, (Off Zhangye Road). The main shopping district.


In Dunhuang, handcrafts of carpet, painted sculpture, craftworks of camels, luminous cup, calligraphy and painting and Dunhuang wax printing, etc are the most famous.

Dunhuang Shi Luminous Cups Factory (manufacturers of luminous cups)
Dunhuang Shi Carpets Factory (manufacturers of handcrafts of carpets)
Dunhuang Painting and Calligraphy Yuan (selling paintings and calligraphies)
Crescent Lake Craftworks Factory (manufacturers of art wares)
Museum Store (selling paintings, calligraphies and antiques)
Shazhou Market, a place to buy the local made products.


What & where to buy Xinjiang Urumqi, Turpan and Kashgar
Xinjiang is not only recognized as being a station on the Silk Road, but is also known as the 'Home of Fruits and Melons' Changes in temperature from morning to evening, long hours of sunshine and careful irrigation all work together to give the fruits of Xingjian bright color and sweet pulp. Xinjiang is also famous for carpets and silk with exquisite craftsmanship and brilliant artistic style, and folk handicrafts Full of rich history and unique ethnic character.

Urumqi Fruits and Melons
There are hundreds of species of grapes, muskmelons, watermelons, apples, pears, apricots, peaches, pomegranates, cherries, figs, and walnuts, and large quantities of fruits and melons are transported to other parts of the country and abroad.

Carpet
Xinjiang Carpets and Rugs are famous for their exquisite craftsmanship and brilliant artistic style. The design and color vividly reflect both national and regional features.

Atlas Silk
Atlas is a kind of silk fabric with fine intricate patterns that Uygur women like very much, and is renowned for its multiple and resplendent colors.

Handicrafts
folk handicrafts have a high place in today's exports of Xinjiang and can be found in the ethnic market. The Uygur-style hats, knitted sweaters, ethnic costumes, hand-made embroideries, jade carvings and carpets are all popular souvenirs bought by visitors.

Urumqi Marketplaces
The International Grand Bazaar
is an essential place to visit. It is a magnificent commercial architectural complex embodied with a strong flavor of Islam.
Century Ginwa Shopping Center
Parkson Shopping Center
Tianshan Department Building
Friendly Emporium
Urumqi Shopping Center
Carrefour Supermarket

Turpan Handicrafts
yingjisha knives
The knives made in Xinjiang are well-known throughout the country. They are not only practical, but also quite beautiful. Knives made in Yengisar are hand-crafted and represent the unique culture of Middle Asia. They are popular with visitors with their unique shapes and exquisite materials.
If you do buy one of the local knives and are traveling by air, remember that you will not be allowed to bring your knife on board the aircraft and you will need to pack it with your baggage that will be checked, or you may need to mail it to your home.

Colorful Cap
Colorful cap is part of the Uygur ethnic minority's habiliment, and also one of the symbols of the minority.But the chief types are "Qiyiman" and "Badanmu", generally called "Gaba" (four-sided tiny colorful cap).

Pa La Zi (Knitting Carpet)
Pa La Zi is another example of the traditional craftworks of Uygur. Pa La Zi is crafted by using colorful wool to knit a variety of geometric figures. Once complete, a carpet can be used as a rug, blanket, or even as a decorative wall hanging.Sometimes the locals will wrap the carpet on the back of their horse or camel in order to use the carpet as a riding blanket.

Turpan Marketplaces
Turpan's Department Store
It is a multiple commercial shopping center in Turpan.

Turpan Free Market
is the largest market dealing with farm and sideline products. It offers the visitors a wide variety of locally produced goods with distinctive folk features that are of superior quality and not at all expensive.

Silk Road Jade Carving Emporium
the emporium sells the local jade articles and special handcrafts.

Fairyland of Karez
It gives tourists a choice of locally made souvenirs with strong folk flavor. The more traditional clothing and carpets would make nice gifts for tourists to bring home to their family and friends.

xinjiang hotan jade
Hotan Jade is noted for its whiteness and flawlessness.Among the various hotan jade, the most famous are suet jade, black jade, and jadeite.

The price of everything is negotiable in Xinjiang, adding to excitement of shopping. Be polite in bargaining, but be mindful that merchants will overcharge you as a foreigner especially if you do not speak Uyghur or Chinese; so bargain hard. Price differences between locals and foreigners can easily amount to several hundred yuan so be careful.


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