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Chinese souvenirs are available in almost every corner of the city. But for quality souvenirs at a good price, we would recommend you two places where a collection of souvenir shops or dealers can be found.

For those coming from out-of-town, buying souvenirs for friends and loved ones at home is a mission indispensable. In many cases the success of a trip depends on the quality of the souvenirs.

We will recommend you some good places to get them, one in Yuyuan Garden and another in Duolun Road, which are consisting of varieties of goods.

Yuyuan Garden

A fan market at Yuyuan Garden .

Yuyuan Garden, whose construction started in 1559, is the most obvious choice for buying souvenirs.

Recent years, Yuyuan Garden is also famous for wholesale and retail markets around it. These markets sell varieties of Chinese-style products at a relatively low price, (compared with their price in overseas that will be extremely low,) Wholesalers can get the low price more easily, and ordinary customers may need bargain with seller.

Follow Fuyou Road and go south, on the east side (or the left side, if you follow our direction) is a big market. It is divided into many small stores, selling mirrors, Chinese knots, socks, stuff toys, watches, crystal products, pearl bags and handset decorations. Most goods are displayed on the first floor, while other floors are not as popular as it.

But you should have more patience because roads between lines of stores are quite narrow with crowded people, and you are easily got lost in the busy market, so wandering in order is a smart idea.

Leaving the market and keeping heading south along Fuyou Road, you will find another market selling crystal and agate products, "Shanghai Crystal Street," also on the east side (still the left side) of the road.

In it you can find crystals or agates of different shapes, sparkling and attractive. But all the stores sell similar goods so you need some special knowledge to tell which of them are of better quality and figure out the real price of them. (You may find tips later.)

Opposite to the crystal market is the "Fuyuan Shopping Mall." On the first floor, you can find lace products, which are cute while a little rough, fake hair, pearl bags, personal ornaments, teapot, chopsticks, embroidery, and ancient-Chinese-style dolls. The second floor of the mall sells heath-care products.

At last, when you enter the Yuyuan Garden, you will see "The Show of Special Skill by Folk Craftsmen," which displays folk techniques. You can buy a paper-cutting of your side figure, or a pencil sketch of your appearance, or buy a doll made by china.

On the China Gift & Specialty Street, you can find products combined with China's old customs and current fashions, like chopsticks, walking sticks, instruments, bags, pearls, cups, bowls, chinas, scissors, combs, embroidered shoes, poker cards and chesses with special print, umbrellas and pens. These goods are for appreciation rather than for practical use.

You may have no idea of what you want to buy when wandering into this pedestrian area. But the more stores you look at, the more things you would want to buy.