Rongbaozhai Stationery & Scholar's Gifts (荣宝斋文房四宝)

Why it is worth considering

Rongbaozhai (荣宝斋), founded in 1672 as Songzhu Studio on Liulichang — Beijing's historic street of scholars — is where China's literati have bought their brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for three and a half centuries. The 'four treasures of the study' (文房四宝) remain its soul.

For a visitor, this is the connoisseur's souvenir: a good brush or a stack of letterpress-printed stationery is beautiful, useful, and flat-packing. The flagship store on Liulichang is worth the trip even just to browse; the antique market nearby is better for affordable starter sets.

Before you buy, check

• For writing use, check the brush tip: good wolf-hair or goat-hair brushes come to a sharp point when wet and spring back straight.
• For ink sticks (墨), look for even color and fine grain; cheap sticks are gritty and produce gray, flat ink.
• Paper and notebooks make the safest gifts — beautiful and useful even for people who don't practice calligraphy.
• Buy from the Rongbaozhai shop itself or reputable stationery stalls; street vendors' 'antique' brushes and inkstones are reproductions.

Good to know

• We have not verified current prices — a student brush set and a collector's ink stick differ enormously; confirm in store.
• Ink sticks and inkstones are heavy for their size; paper products and brush sets travel best.