My husband's aunt, who lives in Hong Kong, hosted a family dinner in Beijing earlier this month and gave each family a reusable bag.

"This is my gift to you this year," she said.

Of course we were grateful, although my family has collected a dozen reusable grocery bags since June 1 last year, when China officially banned plastic bags thinner than 0.125mm and ordered markets to charge a fee for the use of standard plastic shopping bags.