The Best Local Crafts and Souvenirs in Beijing

Located off the busy streets in the middle of a quiet hutong alley, this store has gone from modest to modern chic, and has moved into beautiful furniture. They used to have beautiful laser-cut wood accessories made by Chinese designers and have now diversified into bags, and men’s and women’s clothing. Definitely worth a visit, it’s also a lovely, quiet walk in the alleyway. You’ll also stumble by Arrow Factory, a great gallery, along the way.

This is the best place in Beijing to buy contemporary Chinese ceramics. Spin works with artists in Jingdezhen, China’s porcelain capital, and the pieces here are original, limited-edition works of art at competitive prices. Attractive vases, some in pearly white and others splashed with blue, are lovely but generally heavy. Lighter options include hand-cast celadon green teacups, dainty chopstick rests that resemble chili peppers and tiny bones, and charming paperweights shaped like dim sum. Spin ships worldwide and at a reasonable cost, so you needn’t carry your purchases with you on the rest of your travels.

If you’re looking for something more original than the ubiquitous “I climbed the Great Wall” T-shirt, then look no further. Plastered is an original design T-shirt shop that specializes in tongue-in-cheek treatments of Chinese and Beijing culture. You will find such things as shirts with a stained glass portrait of Mao or Lei Feng, Communist Revolution propaganda-style T-shirts designed by Beijing tattoo artists, and many other one-of-a-kind T-shirts and hoodies. The shirts cost ¥145 and hoodies cost ¥250. Plastered T-Shirts is in the heart of Nanlouguxiang and is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.