The Chinese have a tradition for giving gifts wrapped in red packets. A red packet or red envelope is simply a red envelope with money in it, often decorated with lucky symbols, which symbolize luck and wealth. It is called Hong Bao in Chinese.
Traditionally red packets are handed out to younger generation by their parents, grand parents, relatives, and even close neighbors and friends during Chinese New Year. They are also popular gifts for weddings and birthdays. Nowadays giving red packets as a bonus at the year-end by employers has become popular.
Chinese calligraphy art works are also great gifts. Chinese calligraphy as gift ideas has a long history. It is unique and can be easily customized. You can select you own wording, size and script appropriate to the receiver of the gift. Chinese calligraphy is the first choice of people who are giving out gifts.
Since the Chinese consider drinking tea almost a ceremony, tea sets make lovely gifts. The most popular are Yixing teapots made from purple clay. They are famous throughout Asia for their tea brewing capabilities. The clay absorbs the flavor of the tea; legend has it that you can brew a passable cup of tea from a seasoned Yixing teapot by simply adding water. The set comes with 1 teapot and 4 cups and is packaged in a satin-lined gift box.
What makes the Yixing pots special is the unglazed clay that they are made of. Zisha clay, found in the hilly areas around Yixing consists of quartz, kaolin, mica and iron oxide. The iron oxide gives the reddish color to the porous clay.
Yixing pots make the best Chinese gifts. They can be simple and elegant, or exotic and elaborate. And everyone loves them because collecting teapots is a popular hobby in China these days. Every true tea connoisseur has a fabulous teaware collection that is incomplete without a Yixing teapot.