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You’ll never look at a cup the same way again. For a start, Chinese tea cups are often three-piece affairs with a saucer to prevent burned fingers and a lid to keep the leaves out of your mouth. They are sized from mug to thimble, and the colors and patterning can be exquisite, making a nicely-boxed tea set the number one gift from China.

All over Beijing are shops devoted to tea. One street specializes in nothing else with dozens of shops together offering around 500 different varieties of leaf. The packaging can often be quite beautiful too, from bright red tins to cardboard-tube containers decorated with a waving Mao.

Not just a striking souvenir but also a potential investment. Collecting Chinese art is big business and some names go for tens of thousands of dollars at international auction. However, there’s a lot of fine work exhibited in galleries all over Beijing that is far more affordable.

A Chinese invention and still widely employed today for fine-quality clothing and embroidery. Genuine silk garments are expensive but look out for cheaper household accessories such as silk cushions or bags.

It’s a skill that is as revered as painting. Master calligraphers practice their art assiduously, and their works can be very expensive. However, hanging wall scrolls are available at affordable prices and make beautiful souvenirs, especially for anyone with an appropriately Zen-like apartment back home.

A chop is a signature, carved onto wood, marble, stone or, these days, plastic, and used as a stamp on official documents or contracts. It is impossible to do business in China without a chop. You can quickly and easily get your own by having your name translated into Chinese characters and taking it along to a chop-maker.

The great icon, Mao appears on posters, badges, banners, and almost anything else with a flat surface. There are shops and stalls that trade in nothing but Mao in the Dazhalan district and at Panjiayuan Market.

China has been producing ceramics for centuries. The finest come from Jingdezhen, and can be seen at Ceramic City at 277 Wangfujing Dajie. Just remember, you have to get it home in one piece.

The beautiful red lanterns that see you see hanging all over Beijing make a fantastic and very affordable souvenir of China. An equally attractive variant are the table lamps with distinctive red, tulip-shaped shades. These should cost no more than a few yuan.

Hottest souvenirs from Beijing are top-label international brands, sold here for a fraction of the cost back home. They are all, of course, fakes – almost passable copies but poorer quality. Those whose copyrights are being infringed have begun to take legal action and the days of the fakes may be numbered.