If you stroll around the Forbidden City, you will notice the presence of many handicraft shops in the neighboring streets. This is one of the pleasures of this area: there is an abundance of small joints carrying folkloric items from the Chinese provinces. Oftentimes, these will make great gift ideas.

That’s of course an easier task for those of us who live in Beijing, since we see many such little shops and can identify more quickly if what they carry is worth a look, or simply junk not worth using for gifts.

I found one of such cool shops in Nan Chi Zi Street, with a large selection of handicrafts from all over China.

The owners chose not to specialize in any particular style, but to offer an assortment of the minority crafts found in the Chinese provinces such as Hebei or Yunnan.

Such is the case of their happiness dolls, small wood sculptures originating from the region of Hebei, north of Beijing; or of the Yunnan figurines, handcrafted by the local minorities. Hanging from the ceiling, you cannot miss the Shandong lanterns and lucky pendants.

You can’t miss the small wooden figurines called ‘happiness dolls’ either: if some friends of yours are about to tie the knot, buy a couple of ‘Huan Xi Wa Wa’ - their name in Chinese. These dolls symbolize the longevity of the life-long bond which is to unite newlyweds. They are small enough to be carried back home without any problem, and they will make absolutely unique wedding gifts.

Chinese families often give each other such small but meaningful gifts, to wish wealth, prosperity, good health, and good fortunes to their families and friends.

Among the other decorative objects offered by the shop, you can’t but notice the braided pendants. Shaped as fish and Chinese zodiac animals, or Chinese characters such as ‘Luck’ and ‘Love’, these red pendants are great handmade gifts.

Standing on a shelf a series of clay figurines depict old Beijing neighborhood scenes. Modeled in clay using ancient techniques, these figurines are a few inches high. They represent nicely detailed characters standing at the gates of the old Beijing ‘courtyards’, family homes built in a square around a patio.

The clay figurines reproduce with great accuracy the time-worn doorsteps of these courtyards. The artist even added a super realistic touch: the weeds which adorn the walls and tiles of many a courtyard home.

I love these original figurines. Their naive character make them one-of-a-kind, unique gifts.