[KarenInCa]

For anyone who has already BTDT, and wants to share, I thought I'd start a thread about things you can buy in China for yourself, your family or your adopted child.

First, I wanted to mention that it's customary to haggle prices. They expect it.

Also, as a tip about buying jade, I was told by a friend who's from China, to stay away from the side street venders for jade. glass bracelets can be dyed to look like jade. While we were in China, a merchant showed us how to test for real jade. She took a piece of hair from her head, and wrapped it around the jade bracelet, then she lit a lighter under it, and the flame did not burn the hair or the bracelet. I don't know if that's an 'official' test or even a test at all, but it was impressive.
Obviously you can't do this yourself, but it would be interesting to ask to have it done for you when buying the jade.

As for pearls, I learned a long time ago that real pearls feel gritty on the teeth when you rub it against your teeth. But I'm not sure how to tell if it's fresh water or salt water pearls.
We bought strings of pearls for more than we expected to pay but when we came home, realized that they were about 3-4 times more than we had paid for them.

So besides the obvious (pearls and jade) Here's one thing we were very impressed with, and would encourage ANYONE else to do.
At any of the store fronts in GZ, you can have a glass globe painted. We printed our favorite pictures of our daughter, from the digital camera, using the White Swan's conference room printer. One was a picture of our daughter with her nanny, and one was a picture of our daughter on adoption day.
Then we gave the two pictures to the merchant. In a matter of only 2 days, an artist hired by the merchant had 6 glass globes painted with the picture on the inside of the globe.
Keep in mind, these painted globes were painted from the inside out! The artist used a very fine brush and the painting looked astonishingly similar to the original pictures.
Each globe was only 20 US dollars. It's one of the most beautiful pieces of artwork I've ever seen....So much detail, and to think that they were painted from the inside, on the bubble of the globe is beyond amazing. These were beyond expectation and we will definitely plan to do it the second time around as well. If you decide to do this, make sure that you give the artist at least two or three days, or expect to have it shipped back to you once you're home.

Who else has something to share, for the 'must have' list??

Here is a picture of the one with our daughter and her main nanny.

[specialk4b]

I'm making this one sticky so it doesn't get lost.

All you who've BTDT, bring on the ideas!!!!

[Couchkat]

Pick up squeaky shoes in every size that they make. I only got 3 pairs and wish I had gotten more! They are so cheap too only about $3 per pair.

[KarenInCa]

Squeeky shoes are WONDERFUL. They appear to be real leather, and come in the cutest styles. We did pick up every size imaginable, and used them till she was over 2 years old. They're durable, comfortable, and you can take the "squeeky" whistle out of the side of the shoes very easily if you want them to just be a cute pair of shoes. If I recall correctly, we got the squeekies for approximately $3 a pair.

Another thing to buy in China is the stroller you're going to use. Don't bother bringing a stroller with you, pick one up in GZ.

We got a wedding tea set for her, made out of porceline.

And chops with her Chinese sign on one, and her Chinese name on another.

I wish I would have gotten more clothes for her there. They were very cute, western types of clothes. Baby Gap styles.

What else?

[prechrswife]

I agree on the sqeaky shoes. We also bought Chinese dresses for our daughter in multiple sizes. Another thing we got that we really like are the black and white paintings that are done using only the fingers and hands--no brushes. If you catch someone doing these, stop and watch. It is pretty amazing. If your child is from Jiangxi, be sure to get some porcelain made in the province.

[overflowing]

We got the stone etching's in Guangzhou and were happy with them. We got these for all of our sisters and brothers with their kiddos on them. All you need to do is bring pictures of who you want on each stone. They were able to add our daughter in with our 4 other kiddos.

We LOVED shopping at Michael's place in Guangzhou. They were very honest and had wonderful prices (owned by a very precious husband and wife and young son). I found it hard to find things for the men and boys at home. This is what we found: mah-jong sets, stone soldier sets, string puppet dragons, peking opera masks...Michael's Place had all of these and they've become priceless now that we are home.

If your child is from the Yunnan province, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend shopping your heart out in Yunnan. Our daughter was from Kunming. This area is heavily populated with many of the Chinese minority groups. The amazing keepsakes that are available are wonderful and you WON'T find them in Guangzhou. We found this out too late...everyone told us to wait until Guangzhou to shop...we regret that we did deeply!!!

Hope this helps some

[Kaijinsbigsis]

If your child is from Shanxi, they're well-known for their paper cuts.

[Couchkat]

Another thing I'm so glad I got was the charcoal drawing of my girls. I have it in the living room and it's gorgeous. I think we paid about $70 at Sherry's Place. It's an awesome keepsake.

[carolyn_bee]

My recommendation is to buy a lot.

We shopped and actually had to purchase an extra suitcase to bring our purchases home with us, but now, a few years on when all those cute little dresses and squeaky shoes are outgrown and my Louis Vuitton knockoffs are worn out, I wish I had brought more home.

I bought a few nice sets of pearls but I bought one set a really nice one, for more $, with the plan that I will put it away and give it to Faith, a treasure from her Pearl River Delta origins, when she gets married some day.

Things that seem that they may be too expensive while you are in China, once you get back home and see the prices here you think 'why didn't I buy that'