Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors

Zhang Xiaoquan is one of China's oldest operating brands - scissors so well made that the imperial household ordered from them, and so well made that a pair from the 1800s still cuts today. The Hefang Street store sells the full range: kitchen shears, embroidery scissors, and collector's pieces inlaid with brass.

Watching the craftsman sharpen a blade on the old wheel is worth the trip alone. Prices run from a few dozen yuan for everyday scissors to four figures for the engraved collectibles - a genuinely useful souvenir that will still be opening packages when the trip photos are old.