I'm stuck on what to buy for my family for Xmas, seems like there are no good things to buy here in China, not good enough to ship back home. I'm so put off because most things are fake/ poor quality or the brands are no good.

Any ideas? Any good places to buy quality items for a fair price?

There is a wealth of local craft items. I know a lot of it is made in factories and mass produced for sale in tourist areas, but some of the quality is good enough.

This sort of item is cheap (so no customs issues at either end), light (low postage), unusual (certainly so back home).

Lets face it, for people who have everything (iPod, iPad, tablet, Smart phone, designer clobber), unusual can be a nice change.

If you want to know where to find this sort of stuff, post again.

Alternatively, pashminas are cheap, come in many colours and never go out of fashion.
Big decorated fans are traditional but not so easy to ship.
The big scroll Chinese art/calligraphy that hangs on the wall can be got reasonably priced and is not so hard to ship.

I would say be careful with posting fake DVD/Software. This is becoming a problem, or so I have been led to believe.

1) things which light but precious such as stones,crystals would be good choice.Because the shipping fee is really expensive,it won't worth to ship cheap stuff.Also you could ship some DIY stuff.I think warm stuff is perfect for Xmas:)

for example,last year,I sent things like flute(minority flute),scarf(hand knitting),candis(speicial candy made in china) to USA,my friends are really enjoyed it.Also crystal in 石头记(SHI TOU JI) is pretty.but when you buy stuff like that,please keep the receipt and keep it inside the box when you ship it.

you may also look up on the internet,which stuff could not ship.Something may not get through the Customs.so this is really imimportant before you buy gifts.

2) Find some good suppliers on the internet who could help ship the goods.There are a lot of stuffs you could choose.And it would cost less.because suppliers they have their own people to ship the goods,which is much safer and cheaper.

sourse: I shipped gifts abroad before by myself and I am doing international business now:) If you need any help,feel free to contact me.
guogedove@126.com