What to buy in Shanghai? — 15+ must-buy gifts, souvenirs & best things to buy in Shanghai

Shanghai has long been the gateway to China. Located by the Yangtze River, Shanghai is known as the city on the sea, the Paris of the East. In addition, this city also has a lot of unique and interesting products, specialties with Chinese characteristics for you to buy as souvenirs or gifts for relatives and friends. If you are still wondering what to buy, please immediately note the great suggestions below. So, what is famous in Shanghai, what to buy in Shanghai, what to buy in Shanghai as souvenir and where to buy souvenirs in Shanghai? Let’s check out our Shanghai shopping guide with the list of suggested 15+ must buy in Shanghai, top Shanghai gifts, best souvenirs from Shanghai, best things to buy in Shanghai and cheap things to buy in Shanghai as follows!

When it comes to Shanghai, people will immediately imagine a most bustling city with a modern pace of life and skyscrapers. In addition, Shanghai continues to inherit unique crafts and distinct cuisine. When coming to Shanghai, visitors must definitely bring some specialties of this city as gifts for relatives and friends.

You are planning a trip to the bustling city of Shanghai but still have a headache and don’t know what to buy as a gift. Do not hesitate, continue to follow the article below. Here is a list of the best Shanghai gifts, souvenirs that we recommend to you. Let’s find out together!

Shanghai embroidery (# what to buy in shanghai)

If you ask what to buy in Shanghai as a gift, the embroidery here will be introduced to you first. Shanghai embroidery is a unique combination of Chinese embroidery art and Western embroidery art. This is not only the convergence of the exquisite traditional craft techniques of the southern Yangtze River and the characteristics of European and American decorative arts, but also Shanghai’s innovative integration style.

Shanghai embroidery is now mainly distributed in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. Velvet embroidery originated in Italy and was introduced to Shanghai at the beginning of the 20th century. Shanghai embroidery is very famous not only for its long history, but also as a unique technical craft, demonstrating sophistication in Chinese art and culture.

Chinese Ceramics (# best things to buy in shanghai)

In the progress of human civilization, the development of China’s ceramic industry not only promotes the prosperity of ancient Chinese handicrafts, but also promotes the formation of the world porcelain industry. This place is considered as the cradle of the ceramic industry, which developed through the dynasties and culminated in ceramics under the Qing Dynasty. The emergence and prosperous development of ceramics not only brought us beautiful pottery, but also wrote a brilliant chapter for the history of science and technology, art, culture and economy of China. In English, “China” means “China” and also means porcelain.

With world-recognized high-level graphic art, Chinese ceramics reach a level of excellence known not only for their quality but also for their clear lines, intricate patterns, and motifs that are extremely sophisticated, creative, diverse and rich. If you have the opportunity to visit Shanghai, don’t forget to buy exquisite tea sets, or very beautiful porcelain bowls, dishes, bowls, chopsticks and spoons that are hard to find elsewhere as gifts for loved ones. Choosing to buy ceramics will definitely be a better suggestion for those who are passionate about ceramics.

Chinese Scroll Paintings (# must buy in shanghai)

Scroll painting is also a pretty famous art form in Shanghai that any visitor from all over the world visit this place also buys as a souvenir. You can buy from local artists, because each of their paintings is often different and brings their own unique culture and national identity here, which can be murals, landscape, scenery, story, couplets… This will be one of those delightful gifts or an excellent home decor that you can’t find anywhere else.

Pearl Jewelry (# best souvenirs from shanghai)

What to buy in Shanghai as a gift? Of course, it is impossible not to mention pearl jewelry. Shanghai is one of the largest markets for pearls in the world. There are many stores with long-standing brands such as: Shanghai Yayi Gold Store, Demi Daimi, Tracey Chen, Heidi…

Visitors can easily buy pearl jewelry at a good price. The assortment of jewelry is very rich with pearls of various colors and shapes. A Shanghai souvenir is delicate enough, valuable and also brings unexpected joy to the recipient.

Tea (# what to buy in shanghai as souvenir)

Chinese people have been drinking tea for thousands of years and tea has become a true art form. So there are many types of tea available in Shanghai, each with different characteristics, flavors, colors and properties. The teas here are not only great drinks for health, but there are also many types of tea that have healing effects.

Among them, the most popular ones are green, Oolong and flower tea. This is the most suitable gift for the elderly and for those who love to enjoy tea. So on your trip to Shanghai, if you are wondering what to buy as a gift for your loved ones, you can make a note of this item right away!

Calligraphy (# where to buy souvenirs in shanghai)

China is also known as the cradle of Confucianism, hieroglyphics and the famous art of calligraphy. Chinese calligraphy is not attractive to viewers because of its bright and eye-catching colors, but because of its elegant and sophisticated lines in each sophisticated handwriting, adding simple but extremely dotted lines, soulful and poetic. If you are a lover and interested in calligraphy, when traveling to Shanghai, you can buy it as a souvenir or give it to those who are passionate about calligraphy.

Jade

In China, jade is one of the objects symbolizing nobility, power, luxury, steadfastness and even strength. The jade works here are all extremely delicate and beautiful.

This will be a real souvenir not to be missed in Shanghai. These jade works are extremely delicately and beautifully crafted. Jade jewelry in Shanghai has many designs and styles suitable for all ages and has a wide range of price. You can have some products made from jade such as pendants, rings, bracelets, earrings… to show the sophistication of the giver and the luxury of the gift.

Jade jewelry in Shanghai has many designs and styles suitable for all ages and its prices are also extremely diverse.

Yu Hua (Rainflower Tea)

Talking about tea culture, China has a history of drinking tea for thousands of years. This has become a traditional cultural feature of this country. And in Shanghai, where there are many types of tea from all over the world, including Floral White Tea.

Floral White Tea was originally produced at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing and the Yuhuatai Scenic Area. The tea was produced since 1958 and named after Yuhua tea. When harvested, it takes 90,000 buds and tea leaves to make one kilogram of premium Yuhua tea. The quality characteristics of finished product of Yuhua tea are straight, green and even. Tea when enjoying will have a strong aroma but not harsh, ethereal with clear green water color. The scrumptious and meaningful gift deserves to be included in the list of suggestions for what to buy in Shanghai as a gift.

Silk

Shanghai is one of China’s leading silk producers and exporters. There are different types of silk, satin, brocade, velvet, etc. with many different designs and colors. Famous brands like Shanghai Story and Silk King all have large stores on Nanjing Pedestrian Street. As the last starting point of the ancient Silk Road, China is the best place to buy these rare fabrics. The different quality of each type of silk makes a difference in its price.

Chinese silk is famous in the world for its good quality, rich in colors and designs, and eye-catching delicate floral embroidery will make you impressed from the first time you see it. Therefore, in the list of the first souvenirs in Shanghai you cannot miss, it is silk. You can find products made from silk everywhere in Shanghai, including Western and Chinese dresses, scarves, bedspreads with different prices. This gift is very suitable for you as a gift for mothers and sisters to sew cheongsam, clothes, or other accessories.

Fashion and accessories (# what to buy in shanghai)

For women, clothes and fashion items are often their first priority when coming to the land known as the Paris of the East. Shanghai is also the leading fashion capital of China, so this city has shopping places that can satisfy all the needs of shopaholics. Therefore, when arriving in Shanghai, fashionistas will easily see a lot of stalls, affordable fashion stores to high-end fashion items of famous brands, guaranteed meet everyone’s shopping needs. Coming to this place, you will be overwhelmed by a variety of men’s and women’s fashion, high-quality trendy outfits, even children’s clothes, and even famous brands with many styles. Various designs, rich colors and different prices.

The designs of the accessories here are also appreciated by many visitors as beautiful, luxurious and equally lovely. You can easily find any kind of fashion accessories from necklaces, earrings, watches to eyeglasses, bags… anywhere in Shanghai.

These unique accessories are perfect for fashionistas who pursue a unique style. You can easily find these items at large department stores or stalls on Nanjing Street, in Shanghai markets. In particular, the items in Shanghai have many diverse and rich designs for you to choose from. Besides, this place also gathers many famous brands in the field of leading fashion accessories in China so that you can easily buy gifts for yourself and your loved ones.

Folding fans (# cheap things to buy in shanghai)

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