Hua Fu Yi Yuan Giftshop

A gift shop hidden behind the Forbidden City, Hua Fu Yi Yuan offers amazing Chinese ethnic products. This Wusi St. shop carries a wide range of handicrafts of Yi Ethnic group in southwestern China. Selections include Suo Yi rainwear, silver bracelet, and straw hat. The prices start cheaply. For example, a beautiful vanilla-scented pouch cost RMB 10.

The owner was easy-going, and very enthusiastic in showing me his wares. He recommended one of their new items, an 8-piece instrument called Ba Yin Qin. The instrument, when played with water drops in a tea ceremony, can produce euphonic sounds similar to the ones you hear in a chime-bell performance. The Ba Yin Qin cost RMB 180.

He also showed me a Suo Yi hat, a traditional Yi ethnic rainwear for hundreds of years. It has been used for so long, in fact, that Suo Yi has become a symbol of the Yi people. For RMB 120, you get the hat and a pair of shoes.

I also loved a variety of colorful kites coming from Weifang, the kite hometown of China, and various Chairman Mao products.

What I appreciate

Affordable prices, large variety of Chinese ethnic products

What customers appreciate

Wide selection of Chinese ethnic products, reasonable prices