What to buy
If you'd like to buy something special in Ngari, then wooden bowls are the most sought after souvenir.
It is well known that Tibetans like drinking tea and wooden bowls are the most popular tea ware in Tibet. Tibetans believe that sharing a bowl with others will bring bad luck, and so they each have their own bowl which they will use throughout their lives. Mostly made of birch and weed trees, wooden bowls are used not only for tea drinking but as food and spice containers in Tibetan families. Some of them are simply carved with exquisite designs while some others are delicately inlaid with silver or gold on the lids and bottoms. Purang County , Ngari, is one of the places that produce the best wooden bowls. Many workshops where the bowls are manufactured can be found in the county and various kinds of wooden bowls are on sale in its international market. Prices range from several RMB Yuan to thousands, depending upon quality.
Where to buy
In the Purang International Market, not only are wooden bowls easily found but also other commodities such as Indian spices, perfumes and jewelry are all sold at reasonable prices. Open from July 15 to Oct 15 every year, the international market is where Nepalese and Indian businessmen bring their goods for sale or exchange sheep and wool. Another market can be found about 3 km (1.9 miles) away, where Tibetans and businessmen from other provinces of China sell local Tibetan goods.
One can also shop in the town of Shiquanhe, where the trade market is located on the south bank of the Shiquanhe River and provides a wide range of Tibetan, Xinjiang and Indian goods.
