Location: Wuhouci, Chengdu, China (30� 39' 35? N, 104� 3' 48? E)
Date: 10 October 2008; 2.50pm
Camera: Canon 400D with Canon 70-200 f/4 L IS Lens
One of my favourite activities while travelling in China used to be shopping for handicrafts and collectibles. I enjoyed collecting unique handicrafts- those only produced in very small quantities and perhaps one-of-its-kind and not-too-perfect pieces rather than the factory mass-produced pieces. In the early days when China started opening its doors to outsiders, one can pick up many valuable collectibles at very good prices. For instance, I remembered buying a fabulous wood carvings from bed rests during my first trip in 1996 that used to have a vaunted place on my display shelf. However these days, anything closely resembles uniqueness are very expensive in China. That�s why I do not spend time looking for them anymore- only occasionally browsing just to see what�s in the market. Furthermore I do not have a big enough place to even showcase my current collection- adding more is just going to go to the storage.
