Ili Shopping
Ili shopping is given priority to Xinjiang ethnic arts, crafts and local products that have a long history and wide variety, with unique minority styles. Those products are deeply loved by Chinese and foreign tourists. Hada (a piece of silk used as a greeting gift), souvenir badge, Mongolian, Uygur as well as Kazak clothing and accessories, wood carvings, (wood bowel, wooden spoon, wooden vase, etc.), jade carving products, gold and silver jewelry, Xibe perfume satchel (tobacco pipe), Kazak carpets, tapestries, etc are all souvenirs worth buying . Here is some further information about things to buy and places to shop that you could refer to.
What to Buy
Nilka Honey of Black Bee
It it produced in deep Tianshan Mountain areas where offers over 1 million acres of flowers for bees. From early spring about middle March to late August, a variety of flowers blossom.
Lavender Products
Agricultural construction in Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Division Four is named the home of lavender. Owing to the similar climate to Mediterranean, the area plants lavender for more than 40 years, with over 95% of the total yield in China. Therefore, lavender-based products are the special shopping choices for visitors.
Huocheng Dried Apricot
The apricots there do not drop when they are ripe so they got the name of dried apricots on the trees. Huocheng is known as “the home for dried apricots on the trees”, and with about 20℃ of day and night temperature differences, the apricots there have high quality.
Watermelon
Qapqal watermelons are different from those in other places. The watermelons there have white seeds and the skins are not like other categories. The thick-skin watermelons there have the features of green pulp, strong nice smell, sweet and juicy taste.
Apple
Ili is one of the world's areas of origin for apple. Nowadays, there are more than 140,000 wild apple forests. There are currently more than 100 categories of apple.
Kazak Embroidery
The embroidery could be seen on the clothing or hats or other accessories of Kazak people. It is a kind of craft with ethnic culture.
Where to Buy
Hanren Street
It is on Xinhua East Road. Originally, it is a 2-mile alley where many shops standing on both sides, with twists and turns. Now, it has been transformed into Xinhua East Road, and it still is one of the most flourishing places in Yining.
Khorgos Port Duty Free Zone
It is located in Qingshuihe Town of Khorgos city. It is in the Khorgos Port where you could not only shop in the traditional isolated duty-free shops but also in the traditional isolation duty-free shops of international border cooperation center.
Tianshan Street Farm Produce Market
It is on Tianshan Street of Airport Road and is the biggest farm produce market in Yining so that you could buy all sorts of local products there.
Tianbai International Shopping Center
It is located on No.18 Stalin Road. The shopping center is a comprehensive shopping center that you could buy various products there.
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