"Hams," "candies" and "cakes" - the three "musts" of recent history - are seldom seen now on New Year gift shopping lists. More individualized and more fashionable presents are the "in" stuff.

The Chinese New Year or Spring Festival falls on Saturday this year, celebrating the Year of the Sheep.

Local economists attribute such marked changes in gift-giving mainly to the fast economic growth, continuous improvement of living standards and new technology development in the city in recent years.

Today, some of the top items on the gift shopping list relate to health, leisure, fashion, new technology and innovative products.

"Ham, candies and cakes used to be regarded as 'graceful' gifts when everything was in short supply and satisfying the appetite was the top priority of Lunar New Year," said Wang Cuihua, a 50-something housewife. "But I would never send those items to my relatives and friends now, because food is in sufficient supply. You can buy what you want in supermarkets whenever you want."

According to Zhao Hongjun, a local economist, the money people spend on New Year gifts constitutes about 50-60 percent of their total expenditure for the Spring Festival and about 40 percent of their annual expenditure on gifts.

"Chinese people have a long tradition of giving gifts, especially expensive gifts, during important occasions, such as Spring Festival," said Yu Hai, an associate professor at Fudan University's Department of Sociology.

"They hope the presents they choose will impress the receivers as being of great value. Gift-giving in China is deemed more as an investment and social relationship fostering tool than simply a souvenir or token of courtesy as seen in many Western countries.

"Spring Festival is a perfect time for Chinese people to exchange gifts."

Yu said that while the variation of gifts every year reflects a modern city's consumption levels and patterns, the messages embodied in the gifts are just the same as ever before.

"Anything that lasts long must have a reason behind it," he said.

"Gift-giving has already become an integral part of social customs in China."

Stores were elbow-to-elbow with shoppers Sunday.

"Various kinds of tonics and health products are very popular as gifts, especially for old people," said a saleswoman surnamed Li at Shanghai No.1 Provisions Store. While tonics and health products may still be considered as belonging to the traditional category of gifts, people in Shanghai have developed increasingly greater interest in products of leisure and entertainment.

The counter selling massage products at Shanghai No.1 Department Store is more crowded these days than usual as Spring Festival approaches.

"I plan to buy one message stick for a good friend of mine who has a sedentary job," said a middle aged man surnamed Sun. "I think he is badly in need of it."

Other than that, innovative products and new gadgets are also hot sales. They range from color screen, dulcet sound cell phones, the latest models of palmtops, digital cameras, MP3 players to fashionable and powerful laptops.

For young people, a gym membership card, a package travel ticket to Southeast Asia and an expensive imported cosmetic set have also become favorable choices for holiday presents now.

(Eastday.com January 27, 2003)