If you're waiting to buy local souvenirs and antiques, Xi'an is a good place to pick them up, with cheaper goods than major cities like Beijing. Running down the side of the Great Mosque, Huajue Xiang is a narrow lane filled with stalls selling antiques, arts and crafts, souvenirs and bric-a-brac. As elsewhere, quality varies widely so be careful, and remember to bargain. Beiyuanmen also has a number of tourist stalls and shops, as does the renovated Shuyuanmen, a cobbled, pedestrianised street just east of the South Gate.

For a less contrived shopping experience, visit the market outside Baxian Temple (Xi'an's only Taoist temple, just outside the East Gate) every Wednesday and Sunday. Villagers from the surrounding district bring in antique goods to be sold, ranging from unusual Cultural Revolution stuff to imperial-era ceramics and metal wares. Xi'an is also a good place to pick up art. Original paintings in the classic Chinese style are widely available, but also keep a look out for the bold colors of Shaanxi art - idealized depictions of traditional peasant life that enjoyed nationwide popularity in China during the 1970s. Some good examples can be bought in a small shop behind the Small Goose Pagoda. The Friendship Store (just east of Bell Tower on Nanxin Jie) sells everything, but the price is often high.

What to buy:

Xi'an is a terrific place to do some great Chinese souvenir shopping, especially for cultural items and antiques, which are generally cheaper and more varied there than in other cities.

Folk Paintings

One very special type of souvenir from Xi'an is local folk painting. The local folk painters have borrowed the line drawing techniques of traditional Chinese brush painting and draw inspiration from cultural and historical figures, animals, flowers, and birds. The most famous are the farmers' paintings from Huxian County (20 kilometers from Xi'an) where farmers have made a career of producing them.