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.

Want to accessorize yourself with silks and embroideries from Chinese minority? Dexian Minority House Accessories is the best choice. Located near some of Beijing's prime accomadations, the shop offers accessories shop from the Dujun Handmade Embroidery Research School of the Guizhou Province.

Most of the items are made by silk, with price ranging from RMB 15 up to over thousand yuan.

You can find a large selection of minority items here, like embroidery cushions (RMB 88), cushion covers (some of them priced at RMB 15), table cloth (RMB 158-178), and eyemasks with lavender inside (RMB 30), etc.

Beijing Hotels: Nearby Brahma Samghrma Leather Products Shop

Brahma Samghrma sounds more Indian than Chinese, doesn't it? I supposed I would see tons of Indian exotic items, but it turns out that the shop owner and business starter is a 100% Chinese artist.

This shop, not far from a host of prime Beijing hotels, specializes in handmade leather items near Back Lake area. Beyond the narrow entrance door, a leather smell guides me to a clean sales spot under floor.

When I browsing through the shop, the shop owner, Ms Tang, introduced her "baby" (the shop) enthusiastically. 

Ms. Tang is very proud of her shop, saying all the products created by Samghrma are unique. Literally, there is only one copy of each product in stock.

I noticed that the patterns used on the leather are simple: just a few lines or metal circles to decorate. Like the lotus blossom wallet. The design is hand carved and dyed. So elegant, yet very practical. Made in 100% deer skin, it's pretty soft. Mrs. He told me its design was inspired by oriental ink paintings and the beauty of the lotus flower.

I also like the notebook with theme of "lovers in a starry night". The original version was dark blue, the color of the skies at night. It was designed by one of Samghrma customers. Another customer found the design lovely, and asked the shop to make the same but in a different color, light yellow. You see, all customers can be artists at Samghrma!

When our conversation turned to the shop itself, the owner added that they see a lot of repeat business due to the quality of the leathers they select. Like the motto at Samghrma says: We offer not just products, but a way of life.

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.

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.

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.

I met Ms. Han a few days ago, after I searching online for the information about fragrant pouches, I found her telephone number and found out she just opened a shop in Chengfu Street, selling handicrafts from the rural areas of Northwestern China.

It was an afternoon while the summer sun was scorching. But when I entered her little shop, I was immediately attracted by the numerous colorful charms hung on the wall and displayed on the shelves. The embroidered cloth items are most eye-catching. They come in different forms: toys, children's pillows, shoes, and of course, the fragrant pouches I was looking for. To my surprise, these beautiful little things made by country folks are very cheap. Each one only costs several RMBs.

After buying some fragrant pouches, I chatted with Ms. Han. I asked her about the name of her shop, "Little Rabbit". She told me it was because she was born in the year of the rabbit. Ms. Han then went on to say that she was once an English teacher, who visited many countries in the past. She said she opened this shop just to show people precious Chinese folk culture, which was disappearing with modernization and city migration.

Seeing me off, Ms. Han gave me a cute green cloth snake. She said she would visit the countryside of Northwestern China very soon to bring back new handmade items, as these little charms in her shop sold really fast.

On the west side of Wangfujing Street, lies a jewelry shop named Heng Fu Sheng, which means everlasting health and wealth in English. The shop mainly sells necklace pendants and bracelets.

On the necklace pendant section, I found a large variety of jadeite pendants in showcases. The designs included Buddha (fit for women), Guanyin (the Goddess of Mercy, fit for men), and the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac, such as rat, ox, tiger and rabbit.

The most appealing pendant to me was a Pixiu, the fortunate animal in Chinese legend. With a dragon's head, a deer's ears, a goat's horns, a lion's body, a phoenix's tail, a tiger's paws, and a pair of wings, a Pixiu can ward off evil and increase wealth for its owner. This Pixiu in jasper and yellow looked very exquisite and vivid. The price tag for it was RMB 2800, but customers could have it 60 percent off.

On the east side of Wangfujing Street lies a shop named Jianhua Fur and Leather. With a history of more than 80 years, the shop mainly carries high quality fur coats and leather jackets.

Entering the shop, I found out it has a spacious shopping area. The key section features the "Snowflake" leather jackets. A middle-aged female shop assistant told me that "Snowflake" is China's Time-honored Brand, and has won Good Quality Product Award many times. Customers buying the goods could enjoy 80 percent discount.

A black leather jacket caught my eye. It was in simple design, but the workmanship looked superb, and the leather very delicate. I touched it, and it felt very soft. The price tag for it was RMB 2580.

Other items on display include leather handbags, purses and wallets, and Tang suits (traditional Chinese attire). The shop also offers made-to-order service and fur coat processing service.

Erdos is known as the most famous wool-maker in China. When I want to buy warm and high quality woolen sweater, I will go to the Aoqun branch specializing in woolen sweaters sales near Beijing West Railway Station.

You will not fail to notice the eye-catching red façade of Aoqun. Inside, I found a good selection of sweaters for both men and women. With the coming of spring, they had a 20% discount on all sweaters inside.

I examined two sweaters in particular. First was a red round-collar women's sweater made of pure wool is decorated with shining crystal-shaped buttons. It had a discount price of RMB 270. The other was plain red V-neck sweater for men (RMB 388 after discount). Both had solid stitching and felt comfortable to the touch.

Apart from sweaters, Aoqun also sells woolen underpants and scarf, priced at RMB 110 and RMB 350 respectively.