Hangzhou Silk Market

Hangzhou has traded silk for a thousand years, and the city's silk market is where the trade still happens: floor after floor of scarves, robes, quilts, and raw bolts, with staff happy to guide novices through thread counts and grades.

Test the 'burn test' (real silk smells of burnt hair) before you buy, and bargain to about half the first price. Every major shop wraps for international luggage.