Compared with the large cities, Zhangjiajie's local shopping is not well developed. However, as a city with a beautiful natural environment, many special local products are produced here. If you don't buy some local souvenirs for your family or your friends when you come to Zhangjiajie, you'll regret it later.

 What to Buy
Because there are three ethnic minority groups in Zhangjiajie (the Tujia, the Bai and the Miao), many beautiful handicrafts are produced here. The best one undoubtedly is the Tujia Stickup Picture. The artists use the root, branch, and bark from a tree, plus stone and grass to create landscape or character pictures. Tujia Brocade is another kind of handicraft. It was said to be the royal tribute during the Qin (221 BC - 206 BC) and Han (206BC - 220) dynasties. It is a combination of weaving and embroidery with a flavor of primitive simplicity and deep folk tradition. Guiwen (tortoise veins) Stone Carving is a local handicraft in the Tianzi Mountain Natural Resource Reserve. Guiwen (tortoise veins) Stone is the fossil of an ancient life-form, and the craftsmen use it to create stone carvings in different shapes such as tortoises, cattle, horses, or dragons.

When coming to Zhangjiajie, be sure to taste - the Chinese gooseberry fruit because it is the best fruit in Zhangjiajie. Sangzhi County is the hometown of the Chinese gooseberry. There are many other fruits here also such as the Sweet Orange, the Jinxiang grapefruit, the Chinese chestnut, and the Hazelnut. You can buy them in the supermarket.

As a tea-producing area, Zhangjiajie boasts many famous brand teas such as Qingyan (green rock), Mingcui (tea green) Tea, and Longxia (lobster) Tea. Around Zhangjiajie, there are also Yunwu (cloud and mist) Tea and Maofeng Tea from Tianzi Mountain, and Maojian Tea from the Suoxiyu Natural Resource Reserve.

Tips: 
When you go shopping in Zhangjiajie, pay attention to what you buy. Make sure any local products you buy can be easily carried and are permitted on a plane or train.

 Where to Shop

Zhangjiajie Nightlife

Although people of the Han Nationality are the principal part in Zhangjiajie, the populations of ethnic minority groups like the Tujia and Miao are sizeable. The night life is not as modern as that in the big cities, but it definitely has its own flavor.

Tourism is a major industry in Zhangjiajie and people visit the city particularly to see the folk singing and dancing performances at night in Wulingyuan Scenic Area or at the Charming Xiangxi (refers to Zhangjiajie)Theatre. In Zhangjiajie there are two lists of plays of the folk singing and dancing performance: one is ‘Charming Xiangxi' and the other ‘Dream Zhangjiajie'. At the show of ‘Charming Xiangxi', the actors all come from the local Tujia and Miao families, and their fair-sounding singing and multicolored folk finery are the highlights of the party. Performances of Xiangxi Magic and Xiangxi Ganshi (chucking corpse) add to the mysterious and thrilling luster of the show. The performance lasts for three hours, and it provides a window into the soul of the culture of Zhangjiajie.

At night, the streets of Zhangjiajie are full of vendors selling barbecue and local snacks. One such snack, Glutinous Rice Balls in Rice Wine Soup, is made of small glutinous rice balls, Chinese dates and sweet rice wine. This snack is not only very nutritious, but tasty as well. The cost is typically CNY1. Bean curd, grilled dried Tofu, Grilled Beef Skewers, and Grilled Mutton Skewers are very special local snacks found in the night market and are very inexpensive. Tujia Spicy Radish and pickled vegetables must be included in your tasting menu.

Drinks
The Tujia minority group has a long history of wine making. Their methods are fairly dainty and they use many different ingredients to make a wide variety of wines including: Rice Wine, Corn Wine, Kaoliang Spirits, Gegen Wine, and Snake Wine. Once you've tasted their wines, you will never forget the unique taste.

Bars

Shui Mo Fang Tea Bar

Teahouse

Hong Taiyang (Red Sun) Teahouse