AntiquesA good place to find a wide selection of antiques is at Liulichang, Panjiayuan and Beijing Curio City. This area has everything from scrolls, to jade articles to decades old cigarette ad posters. There are definitely treasures to be found here, but it is hard to tell genuine antiques from dirty fakes. Real antiques are supposed to bear a red official seal that proves their authenticity, but sometimes real ones don't have it and fake ones do. The best attitude to have is: if you like it and you can bargain down to a price you can accept, just go for it. Small jade articles and silver trinkets make great presents for people at home and they are easy to take on the plane. PorcelainPorcelain, the original China, is still a major industry, producing dinner services, figurines and reproductions of antique vases, teapots and the like. The finest porcelain in the world can be easily purchased in China. CloisonneCloisonne is a unique art form that originated in Beijing during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368). Cloisonne(enamel formed in patterns of copper wire) is an art form developed in the 15th century, and now used to decorate vases, bowls, lamps, jewelry and ornaments. Now this traditional handicraft unique to Beijing features a colorful range of varieties shaped in various models including furnace, tripod, and quadripod, ash-tray, stationary and lantern. Among them, the blue glazed ones with golden colour are most colorful.

LacquerwareLacquerware consists of up to 500 coats of lacquer applied to a copper base and carved into designs. The colors are red, green, yellow and black, while favorite patterns show flowers, birds, landscapes and figures. Lacquer is used for vases, plates, bowls and figures. Lacquer is used for vases, plates, bowls and screens. Some lacquerware is inlaid with gold, mother-of -pearl or jade, to decorate folding screens and furniture which are genuine works of art. SilkSilk, which has brought fame to China, can be readily found in a dazzling array of colors, patterns and textures. While large State-owned stores like the Beijing Yuanlong Silk Corporation, Ltd. Can be trusted for quality and offer ready-made clothes as well as a complete array of fabric, private markets like Silk Market sell all kinds of silk clothing from shirts, underwear and trousers, to pajamas and bedspreads at negotiable prices. Most vendors at the markets are self-employed and speak some English. All the products are marked in Western sizes. Chinese long gowns are considered the most elegant garment most suitable for women's figures. Silk gowns can be a truly long-lasting and useful item to purchase in China for yourself or as gifts for those special people back home. JadeJade is regarded by the Chinese as a stone descended from heaven. They value its hard, cool texture and translucent colors. It is extremely difficult to carve but China's craftsmen create incredibly intricate ornaments and jewelry from jade. Painting and CalligraphyPainting and calligraphy works are found in hundreds of stores. They vary in age, quality and price with the finest being true works of art. The brushes, ink slabs, ink and paper that were the scholars traditional tools can be found in most antique shops. One of the best sources is the China Book Store, off the courtyard-parking in East Liulichang.