Beijing Hotels: Nearby Muji Shop

MUJI is a Japanese retail company which sells a wide variety of household goods. Its earth-friendliness and no-logo policy make it popular among youth. A friend of mine in Xiamen even flied to Shanghai on holidays for MUJI's skin care products.

Now MUJI has opened the first shop in Beijing on March. I can't wait to pay it a vist. Located in Joy City, Xidan, the new chain sells goods ranging from pens, notebooks, and clothing for men and women to major kitchen appliances and bathing items. Food, electric appliance and furniture are not on sales yet. It is not easy to give price for each item but is certainly higher than those sold in Chinese supermarket.

All the goods have a Japanese label, and most are made in China and Japan. Inventive uses for materials that might otherwise have been discarded or ignored result in innovative product at the lowest cost are the character of MUJI, like those various size of recycling-paper envelops (10 Pieces /pack), with prices ranging from RMB 10 to RMB 20.

MUJI is not only an internationally renowned company, but for many people is a way of life.

For the first Beijing branch, many criticized its small space and lack of merchandiser. Nevertheless, its is the first in Beijing, and I hoped the second one could be better.

Beijing Hotels: Nearby Huacaizhou Handicraft Shop

Walking around the north of Forbidden City, I found a great little shop which offers traditional Chinese handicrafts. Today, I'd like you to discover it with me. It is not far from some of the best Beijing accommodations. 

I was first attracted by its hand-made Piyings hanging on the wall. Later the shop owner, Mr Xie told me the art is made of cow skin and from Shanxi province. These hand-made puppets can not only be enjoyed as beautiful artworks, but also used in shadow theater plays.

Huacaizhou also offers customized works. Like the furry monkey. The shop owner, Mr Xie is a master of the art. He told me the body of the monkey is made by the cicada slough, while the furry part is made by the seeds from yulan. Both are traditional Chinese medicine. For Mr Xie, the most difficult part is the tool-making. Monkeys carry wood items like fans, drums, and football. Because they are very small, it was hard to cut the wood into the correct shape.

"I can make a furry monkey with different themes upon a customer's request. It usually takes me 10 to 15 days to complete." Mr Xie added.

Talking about his experience, Mr Xie said he came up with the idea to open this shop because his wife and he had a crush on Chinese folk arts. They started their business together in 2005. Since then, they received more and more customers, especially foreigners.

Today, I would like to introduce to you a handicraft shop that offers ornaments made by one of the 55 ethnic minorities of China. The shop is located near the Drum Tower, where you will find some of the best accommodations of Beijing, China. The name of the shop is "Na Xi Po Po".

The word "Na xi" designates one of the minorities of Yun Nan Province in Southern China. The cultural heritage of the Na Xi minority dates back a 1,000 years ago - This cultural heritage includes Dong Ba Wen, the only language still in use today that uses the pictograph.  

A pictograph is writing represented by pictures. The local people have used this system to this day. In this shop, there are many ornaments with this beautiful tradition.  

Look at that special shop front, the name is written both in Chinese and Dong Ba Pictograph.

The shop owner once visited the beautiful city of Li Jiang in Yun Nan Province, and he was infatuated with the antiquated amorous feelings of the Na Xi Nationality. After he came back to Beijing, He was still missing the unique culture there. So he opened this shop, to take the real Na Xi history to Beijing.

All of the ornaments are made by local craftmen, including clothes, bags, tapestries, lacquer ware, and so on. The Dong Ba pictograph is the treasure of the Na Xi nationality, so they decorate their handicraft with auspicious characters to send their wishes to people. It is said that the antique pattern can also get rid of evil spirits.

And also they have some carpets and tapestries here, they are made of quality wool, and woven in an auspicious pattern. You can decorate your house with them.

These are colorful drawing lacquer works card cases and other accessories.

Beijing Hotels: Nearby Shengxifu Hat Shop

Do you know which is renowned as "the King of Hats" in China? It is a time-honored brand called Sheng Xifu.

You can easily find one of its outlets on the east side of Wangfujing Street, near which a host of Beijing hotels is located. It's hard to miss the shop when you walk in the area. A copper signboard hangs on the shop entrance, with its English name "Sheng Xifu Hat Store" engraved.
 
Sheng Xifu caps are famous for their use of high-quality materials, handmade features, and fine craftsmanship. Many leaders and foreign dignitaries have ordered hats from Sheng Xifu over the years. There are even hats worn by former Chinese leaders display in the shop.
 
The shop is comprised of two floors. As I looked around the first floor, I saw mainly regular hats. Men's hats, made of cotton, wool, or hemp, cost RMB 128. While women's hats have more designs and colors.
 
The second floor featured medium to high grade hats. For example, a hat made of rabbit fur cost RMB 680, while a hat made of otter skin cost RMB 2100.

As summer is coming, it is time for me to buy a hat to block sunlight!

Beijing Hotels: Nearby Ruifuxiang Fabrics Shop

Walking on the Wangfujing Street, where a host of Beijing hotels are located, I came across this silk shop. At first glance, I know it is a time-honored brand, because I can't even recognize the shop name. You know all old brands like to use rarely used characters to show their long history!

As a time-honored brand, you can trust its quality, as all Ruifuxiang's inventory is from Hangzhou or Suzhou.

I looked, felt and checked the tags: all merchandise is 100% silk. Prices here are much higher than in the other silk shops.

100 cmx70 cm silk material costs RMB 59. While 100cmx140cm priced at RMB 128. The washable heavy silk sold in 140 cm width is even more expensive, at RMB 138 per meter.

The shop offers tailoring services. Price varies from RMB 350 for a Qipao (traditional Chinese lady dress), to RMB 100 for a shirt, and RMB 500-800 for a suit.

By the way, the cost of the tailor's work does not include the material. According to the tailor, depending on the fabric type and the wearer's size, a Qipao may require 3 meters to 4 meters of cloth.

There are also many other items, like silk handkerchief, silk scarves and silk ties in the shop.

Beijing Hotels: Nearby Feel Shanghai Clothing Shop

Feel Shanghai, not far from some of Beijing's best hotels, is a self-made studio focusing on designing and making traditional Chinese attires like Qipao (traditional one-piece dress) and Mian'ao (Chinese-style padded jacket). All clothes are made in Shanghai, the origin of Qipao. For foreign travelers who are in China shopping for unique and high-classic Chinese costumes, Feel Shanghai is a place they should visit.

Ms. Li, the owner of the shop, showed me around the shop. She proudly showed me one particular piece of Qipao. "We used Dazi embroidery skill to embroider the peony flower, which gives it a three-dimensional feel. This stitching skill is rarely seen in China now." The Qipao's price, RMB 6900, certainly reflected its rarity.

The entire process may take one to three weeks. You first get measured by a tailor, and pay a deposit. Then either use an existing pattern in the shop, or add your own touch to it. After you have agreed on the design, the apparel will be made in Shanghai. A simple Qipao takes seven days to complete, while a Qipao with complex embroidery may take more than 20 days.

Prices are flexible, so feel free to bargain.

Walking on the Gongti Beilu, I can't help noticing a clothes shop with its exquisite decoration and strong Chinese character.Artist He Yan opened the boutique and designs all the ancient Chinese-style, modern fashionable clothing  and handmade fabrics. Nearby you can find great Beijing accommodations.

Walking in the shop, i feel like taking a time warp to  hundred years ago when wooden weaving loom was used to make cloth. Yes, the wooden loom, wooden flower-pattern table and wardrobe distinguish the shop from ordinary ones by accent its own style.

Xiao Liu, the staff showed me a notebook which fills with customers' love for Heyan'er in many languages, like Japanese, French and German. A six-year-old girl, also a fan of Heyan'er, drew a picture for the shop's anniversary and now the picture was printed as the shop's bookmark gift.

Staff in the shop can speak a little English and price ranges from 80 RMB to over thousands. Bargain is not available, but for those spend over 1,000 RMB, the shop will hand out vip card which means a 10 percent discount. 

Beijing Hotels: Nearby Tiandi Jade Shop

Jade, taking a high polish of green or whitish light, is considered as the blessing item that could bring good luck to its owner in China.

From small jade mobile hanging, to jade necklace, to jade bracelet, and large jade-made  home  adornments,  Jade Exclusive in Tian Di attracts my attention by its large selection of jade merchandise. A host of Beijing hotels are located nearby.

For those collectors, jade snuff bottle and jade fingerstall (ring for thumb finger) are what they are looking for. While fashionable youths may be more interested in jade necklace and bracelet. And for  the Buddhist or those who pray for fortune and peace, adornments like Guanyin, the goddess of mercy, and Pi Xiu, animal of the gods which  swallows or collects wealth in ancient Chinese legends,  will be their best choice.

Apart from the number of designs to choose amongst, you can also have the fun of DIY by picking your necklace pendants or selecting jade beads  for bracelet. The price goes from 2 RMB of each bead to over 3,000 RMB of  pendant. Of course, you can bargain hard with the shop owner.

Beijing Hotels: Nearby Daxin Fabric Shop

If you think it is too expensive to buy tailor-made Qipao (traditional one-piece dress) over RMB 1000, but still you want tailor-made high quality Qipao, you should go to the Gongzhufen, where the Daxin Fabric sells cloth at various price and six tailor shops also located in the market. A host of prime Beijing hotels are located nearby.

Daxin Fabric is a one-floor market mainly selling all kinds of cloth, like silk, woolens, flax,cotton fabric, and caddice. As there are many retailers in the market, you must choose carefully and bargain hard with suppliers.

Most of the silk is produced at Suzhou, where is renown as the hometown of silk and embroidery. And price floats from RMB 60 to RMB 250. A woman of 1.6 meter hight usually needs to buy 3-meter silk to make a long-sleeve Qipao. While tailor will charge RMB 120 for a piece of dress and it usually takes seven days to finish. Oversee shipment is available.

Vendors here can't speak English but they always take calculator in handy.

Today was "art discovery day"!

I went to Liu Li Chang St. which is a very well known area in Beijing for art galleries and calligraphy shops, there are a lot of Beijing hotels around here.

Good luck to me, I found one very interesting gallery which carries a peculiar form of art called "farmers' painting". 

What's a farmer's painting? Farmers' paintings originated in the 50s, when the government encouraged rural communities to engage in art.  

Beijing Hotels: Nearby Beiping Huadian Shop

So this style of paintings was created by common people expressing their emotional world. It survived the Cultural Revolution in the 70s, and has flourished ever since China opened its doors to the west in the 80s. 

There aren't many galleries and shops that sell this form of art in Beijing. BeiPing HuaYuan is one of them, and it is situated in the west side of Liu Li Chang St. The owner is Ms. Zhang, she is from the western province of XinJiang. 

I took a few photos which I'll comment here:

This painting is about happiness brought about by a good harvest. Farmers often paint what they wish for, or what they are thankful for: warm home, healthy children, dreams of a happy life.  

This painting is about a good harvest as you can see from the corn cobs. You may wonder why the corn is red rather than yellow. The reason is because red is a symbol of happiness and celebration in China. The painter used the red color to express his thankfulness for the good harvest.

This painting is called ‘Cutting Wheat'. It's about an educated urban youth working on a farm. It depicts one of millions of Chinese urban teenagers who were required to learn farming during the Cultural Revolution. Ms. Zhang the owner told me several of her customers had confided that this painting reminded them of their youth days during these chaotic times.

I also noticed a few unusual paintings in the shop. One is called ‘Eight Strange Things about Northeast China' depicts how women like to smoke pipe tobacco there. In the picture, the grandmother is smoking with an extra long tobacco pipe. A common scene in Northeastern China.

The BeiPing HuaYuan shop displays about 50 framed farmers' paintings. There are well over 200 in the back of the place though.

Ms. Zhang also offers something different to her customers - a form of art called "Iron Painting". Iron painting is an ancient form of art dating back over 400 years. The artist used metal in place of paint, and a hammer in place of a brush. The works displayed in the gallery are all from WuHu, the capital of iron painting in China.

This painting is about several reclusive men enjoying their retreating life and internal peace

Most of the works are inspired by the two main themes of Confucianism and Taoism: harmony and virtue.

I liked this particular painting which shows two reclusive men in the wild. You can see the mountains, trees, rivers, and meditating scholars. They are all typical subjects of Taoist art, and depict harmony between man and nature.

Diandian offers creative lovers' T-shirts

Look at the cartoon T-shirts, how lovely they are. Want to share them with your beloved ones?

With hearts, flowers, teddy bears, candy, roses, and Cupid, Diandian shop has gifts for couples and lovers, not the items themselves but Valentine-design T-shirt.

Two shirts with matching designs for couples are what Diandian sells. The Shop owner said her main customers are young lovers who find the cartoon-design matching T-shirts more to their taste at a low price of RMB 80, or RMB 45 for one piece.

Better quality lover shirts cost RMB 150 and RMB 180 for long sleeve ones.

I saw many T-shits with different themes. First, the traditional Chinese designs, like paper-cut pictures, various animals mascots, Beijing Opera facemark, and ancient Chinese calligraphy. Then, there are western patterns, such as teddy bears, Cupid, and Disneyland stars. Impressionistic pictures, Japanese's Doraemon and Astro Boy are also in the list.

The Shop owner friendly showed the wall full of photos to me, saying they are the customers wearing Diandian's lover T-shirt. She added she loved their smiles and it is also a good way of promotion.

Ancient Temple Gallery offers beautiful Chinese flower paintings

Hello, I'm David. I live in Beijing.

With the Olympics near, I wish to do something to help you understand our culture and history, and to welcome you to Beijing.

Today, I'd like to introduce you a traditional Chinese painting shop in Liulichang area, a historic district in the middle of Beijing. 

Mr. Xie, the owner, is an accomplished artist of traditional Chinese painting. At the time when I visited his gallery, he was working on a painting of peony flowers ordered by a foreign tourist.

Mr. Xie has been painting since he was 15 years old. And that was 39 years ago. As he lived near an art academy growing up, he always wanted to be a painter. Later he was accepted into the academy. That's when he learned to paint.

Beijing Hotels: Nearby Jade Shop

Jade Family mainly sells the famous Hoton jade antiques, and many other baubles from the beginning of the 20th century. From jade necklace, to jade bracelet, and large jade-made  home  adornments,  Jade Family carries a large selection of jade merchandises.

The shop owner, Ms Cao, told me their story of jade collection in Xinjiang. She said  the south of Hotan are Jade mountains and the river beside the Hotan city is called Jade river even now people can still see the man picking the Jade in the river. Only in the Jade river one can find the best quality Jade,but mountain Jade is different with low quality and there are some jade still in the mountain for cheap Jade product.

She showed me a top-quality jade horse. Even though I know little about jade, I still appreciate its whiteness and brightness. The item is sold at RMB 30,000. Another piece I like is the Jade Mountain. It is in shape of mountain, with three old men standing by pine trees. All these represent longevity in China. It cost RMB 2500.

I also found some decoration items from the later qing dynasty, like the thumb ring. In old time, it is only the rich men could afford to wear jade thumb ring. Besides, you can purchase daily items, like ceramic ware, tobacco bottles, and ceramics figures in the shop.

The shoo owner, Mr Zhang, being in the business for 20 years, is familiar with almost all the national painter and their style in China. He firstly introduced the abstract style painter Wang Senran, and his work to me. I guess few people will know the objects on the paper are cabbages at first glance. Because Bai Cai (cabbage) is homonymic with the word that means being rich in Chinese, the painting expresses good wishes for wealth. Mr Zhang highlighted the essence of the picture lies at the intervals of light and dark ink usage and the vertical and horizontal layout of the five cabbages, showing good balance.

I personally in favor of the comedic style painting, featuring one character in Outlaws of the Marsh monk Lu Zhishen, nicknamed the "Flowery Monk". In the painting, He has a round face and big ears, a straight nose and squarish mouth, with a face overshadowed by his beard. By just simple lines, his character is fully reflected in the painting.

As most paintings of San Jiu are real work by famous painter, the prices are comparatively higher, ranging from RMB 10,000 to RMB 30,000.

There are large numbers of handicraft shops in Beijing. But it is not that easy to find a great one with nice prices. So I was very happy coming across Good Old Days near the Forbidden City.

Carrying over 100 categories of finely selected traditional Chinese handicrafts, Good Old Days has been in the business for almost a decade. From clay baubles to cloth cats, wood paintings to zodiac pendants, everything brings some old-time touch.

In the of clay products section, I picked up a small, stripped-color kitty with its tail cocking up. This lovely animal, as the owner told me, has been popular with ladies to place rings. It only sells for RMB 20.

There are two dozens of Chinese shadow puppets in the puppet section. Made of donkey or ox leather, those little figures are used for shadow play or home decoration. Each sells around RMB 150.

On the walls are some wood painting worked by a friend of the shop owner. The paintings portrait elegant ladies of old times, reflecting their loneliness and solitude after polygamy marriage. Each is priced at RMB 400.

The owner is a native Beijinger, who speaks fluent English and would like to share their insights on Chinese culture with foreign friends.