Beijing Hotels: Nearby Cloth Shoe Shop

After visiting Baigong Handicraft Museum located on the south side of Guangming Lu, I dropped in at a small shop right by the building. The shop's name is Buhai'er, which means Cloth Baby in English. The small, lovely shoes behind the shop window dragged me in.

The main goods selling there are traditional tiger-head shoes. They are handmade by local women. They feature bright colors, layers and layers of pure cloth soles, and of course, a pair of tiger heads. Traditionally, Chinese couples love to have their babes wore this kind of shoes, hoping they are as strong and brave as tigers.

The details are nice, showing vivid features of a tiger. Even the tiger's beard is made of white thin threads. And a Chinese character ‘Wang', or ‘King', is sewn on the forehead. This is because the Chinese feel tigers are the king of the wild.

I picked up a pair. They felt pretty soft. It must be comfortable to have them on feet. I wish I could get back to my babyhood again.