What to bring back from China. How to decide if a souvenir is cool or not.

Buying souvenirs in China could be both the easiest thing and the hardest thing ever, especially if you have been in China several times. The first time I’ve been in Hangzhou, which is very famous for the Longjin, a kind of green tea, so I bought green tea for everyone. Then in Xian they had some small “ghosts” to hang out of the door, which were very cheap and very cute. In Xiamen they don’t have anything. I mean, the Fujianese tea to me sucks. It’s called Lapsaong, and it’s a kind of smoked tea, with a very strong smell. So, what to buy? For girls, there is a lot of stuff with pandas, so it’s easy. But if you have to buy serious souvenirs it’s way harder. Tea, again? No, I cannot. So I chose to buy two Chinese mugs for my uncles, very very nice (25 RMB each). I also bought some tiger balm, and I think that it’s a nice present. In China there are also some place where they sell fans, and some of them are very nice, made of silk. Chinese knots are also quite common, and probably one of the most “traditional Chinese” souvenirs to bring back home, but be careful, some of them are very ugly. I bought some chopsticks for relatives and neighboors on Taobao (as I need 72 pairs). To a friend of mine this year I decided to give some beauty stuff as present, so whatever I bought for me, I bought for two. It’s a nice idea to go in a shop and buy some “common” things that you don’t have in your home country. Anyway, the only advice that I have is to look at the quality of thing, it’s always China, the country of cheap (and breakable) stuff.