Shopping in Xi′an.docVIP

Shopping in Xian Xian is a great place to do some fantastic Chinese souvenir shopping, especially for cultural items. Some excellent offerings specific to Xian include: Chinese calligraphy rubbings, Tang pottery replicas, Terracotta Warrior replicas, Folk paintings, Folk paper cuttings and Green porcelain. The area around Jiefang Road is Xians thriving business district, and most retail stores are along Dongdajie and Xidajie, running east and west through the city, south of the Drum Tower. In the Muslim area of the city, near the Bell Tower, there is a huge outdoor market that sells almost everything you could ever want! Clothing, antiques, musical instruments, Mao memorabilia as well as other souvenirs and cultural items are all for sale. If you still crave more, then there is also a small clothing market off Dongdajie. Calligraphy Rubbings Xian is a store house of anicent Chinese culture and calligraphy! There are more than 300 steles dating from the Han, Wei, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties collected in the Forest of Steles in Xian. Books of rubbings from some of the most famous Chinese calligraphers can be purchased there. If you are interested in Chinese history, language, or calligraphy, then this is an excellent oppurtunity to enrich your collection of calligraphic rubbings. Folk Paintings One fantastic and very special type of souvenir from Xian is a 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. These eye-catching and colorful paintings overflow with the atmosphere of Chinese country life and are widely enjoyed by travelers to Xian. Great folk paintings can be purchased at most tourist attractions from street vendors and in small shops nearby. Green Porcelain Green Porcelain (Qing Ciqi) is method of making porcelain which originated in the Song Dynasty. Lifelike animals and flowers ar