What is a good gift to send to a Chinese person? Whether it’s Chinese New Year or another special occasion, it’s important to understand not only what’s worth buying, but also how to get these gifts to your friend or family in China. So how do you send gifts to China?
To make things as simple as possible, we’re going to cover:
While there’s no way to produce a comprehensive list of gifts to give a Chinese person, this should at least get your imagination going.
Let’s dig in!
Note: Some links in this article are affiliate links, which means that at no extra cost to you, I may be compensated if you choose to use one of the services listed. I only recommend what I’ve personally used, and I appreciate your support!
The ultimate rule to follow when choosing who to send a gift and how much to spend is the level of your relationship with the person and their family (referred to as “guanxi” in Chinese).
If you are really close friends or the person you want to send the gift to is a business partner or boss, you should splurge a bit on the price.
Gifts to general friends do not need to be too elaborate and can be even as simple as treating them to a fancy meal like hot pot.
Just remember that when treating Chinese to meals, be up front that the meal is your treat and be prepared for your friends to jump up at the opportunity to pay the bill when the check comes. Continue to insist that the meal is your treat and say they can treat you next time.
If you prefer to send a physical gift, there are a few gift ideas that have been tried and true for gifting to Chinese people during special occasions. Below is a list of gift ideas that are likely to be well received by your Chinese friends and families:
During major holidays or when visiting a local home, it is customary to bring with you some fruit, drinks, and snacks to be polite.
If you’re living in China, it’s easy enough to go to the local market and pick out a bunch of fresh apples and other fruits.
Other items you can include:
We’ll dive into where to get all these kinds of gifts in a moment, but I’ll go ahead and point you to Gift Basket Overseas as a great option for China.
Chinese New Year is a time for toasting to your friends’ health and making best wishes.
For this reason, consider sending a couple bottles of Chinese baijiu or rice wine. You do not necessarily need to pick up bottles of Maotai (the most well-known Chinese baijiu brand), but do your best to buy a quality brand.
If your friends are not drinkers or if you are hoping to not get roped into any toasts with baijiu, tea is a great substitute for alcohol.
Like with baijiu, you will want to purchase a quality brand and not your run of the mill options found in the local market.
Translated simply as “red envelopes”, Chinese tradition is to give children hongbaos filled with money.
The amount depends on the guanxi you have with the parents, but count on at least budgeting 200 RMB to as much as 600 RMB per red envelope.
Be sure all the bills are crisp and brand new from the bank.
The bottom line for any gift is to give something that your friend cannot easily get on their own.
Western imported goods – be it alcohol, cigarettes, chocolate, or even nutritional supplements and vitamins – will be well received.
You don’t need to let oceans and other vast distances prevent you from sending a gift to your closest Chinese friends on Chinese New Year.
There are a number of different options that are available to you,
I’ve started using a service called GiftBasketsOverseas, a company that provides people an opportunity to send appropriate gifts to China without the hassle of finding, shipping and worrying about customs themselves.
After placing an order through GiftbasketsOverseas, your gift basket is assembled locally in China and promptly sent to the addressee. Under this model, you and the person you are sending the gift to benefit in many ways including:
Additionally, as GiftbasketsOverseas employ gift experts in every region they operate, you can count on your gift being well received by your Chinese friend in China.
On their Gift Baskets to China page, within the numerous gift basket themes, select Lunar New Year, which will direct you to a series of quality gift options. My only hope is they will remove the white flowers on their page to show they are more culturally aware of proper gift giving in China.
With Amazon, you can purchase western products and ship them to your friend’s home address in China (but this only works with a limited number of items).
The domestic version of Amazon (Amazon.cn) was shut down in 2019, but you can still have Amazon orders shipped to China in many cases.
Note that if you are an Amazon Prime member, don’t expect your benefits to do you much good (although I still enjoy some benefits of Amazon in China!). You’re still going to need to pay a nice extra fee for shipping and customs clearance.
If you prefer and package a gift on your own, then you can send the present internationally through USPS, FedEx, and UPS.
However, sending a package through these couriers can be pricey.
Log onto each organization’s website to get an accurate quote. Timeline is another factor to keep in mind as shipping through a mail courier can take up to over a month to deliver. The last thing you would want is your Chinese New Year’s gift to arrive well after the celebrations end.
Finally, make sure you understand the rules regarding customs when sending your own package. Simple things like beef jerky, powdered sugar, and a new iPad have kept my packages waiting at China customs for months.
Avoiding these issues is one of the benefits of using GiftBasketOverseas.
There are a number of important cultural things to consider before buying a gift for your friend in China. These include:
Apart from being aware of all the taboo gifts you can give, you also want to be well versed-in Chinese etiquette for gifting.
Sending a gift to your Chinese friends on Chinese New Year is the perfect way to wish them fortune and happiness in the new year.
A good rule to live by when buying a gift for your Chinese friend is to either focus on food or alcohol in tune with the season. Otherwise, consider buying your friend a gift that they cannot normally buy in China such as a Western import suitable to your friend’s taste.
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