About What to Buy in China
What this site is
What to Buy in China is an English-language shopping guide for people visiting China. We answer one simple question: what is genuinely worth buying here, and where do you buy it without getting ripped off?
Every category guide on this site covers what to look for, honest price anchors in yuan, and practical buying tips — from which tea harvest matters to how bargaining works at craft markets. We describe product types rather than pushing specific models, so our advice stays useful even as products change.
Who it's for
This site is written for inbound tourists: first-time visitors, returning travelers, and anyone with a free afternoon in a Chinese shopping street wondering what to bring home. You don't need to speak Chinese or know anything about tea, jade, or electronics to use these guides.
How we write
- Original research, plain language. Everything here is written in our own words for travelers, not copied from travel brochures or translated from shopping sites.
- Price anchors, not promises. Prices in China vary by city, store, and season. We give approximate ranges so you can recognize a fair deal — and a bad one.
- Honest about what we earn. Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure for the full details.
- Updated regularly. Guides carry a last-updated date, and we revise prices and recommendations as the market changes.
What we're not
We're not a store, we're not a tour company, and we don't sell travel packages. We don't take payments and we don't arrange shipping — we're a guide to help you shop smarter while you're in China.