DIY your own gift & souvenir in Chinese style even if you don’t speak the language

Thinking of what to get for your friends or family for their birthdays or holiday gifts?

Thinking of giving them something special?

Something DIY, something artistic, creative, and even usable in everyday life?

What about a hand fan？

Hand fans (or handheld fan, or paper fan) were widely used in Asia back in the days, and it was multi-purposed - 1. A cooling device; 2. A fashion item (for both men and women) 3. Weapon (everybody is Kung Fu Fighting~) 4. Art. In the modern days, it was commonly seen that hand fan was used as a decoration or display when calligraphy was written on the paper. People would write a blessing or a poet on it and give it to their friends as present.

Even though you may not be familiar with Chinese language or calligraphy, it might be worth exploring. This shop in Sheung Wan is like a department store of traditional stationery and art supplies because you can find all kinds of Chinese stationery from this place, mostly quality ones. Their low-end hand fans is around a few hundred dollars and high-end ones could cost thousands, depending on the wood and design of it. You could buy the hand fans you like, Chinese brush and ink and start thinking of what to write.

There are some books about Chinese paintings and calligraphy for your references.

If you want your hand fan to be more completed, you can make your own stamp/ chop with your name on it. Please check out another of our guide about the chop alley. If hand fan is too difficult for you, they have a wide range of beautiful papers for calligraphy too.

We hope you will enjoy your visit there!