For silver jewels, The Miao are one of the most fascinating ethnic minorities in China. Recently, I found a Miao handicrafts shop on Yandai Xiejie. I was impressed by their silver ornaments and wax printing works.

The shop owner Mr. Zhang was dressed in the Miao traditional dress. He told me that Miao silver ornaments have a history of 400 years. The Miao have a variety of items that can brighten up your look from head to toe: silver headdresses, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, clothing accessories, waistbands, and anklets.

Miao girls are very partial to silver jewelry, as they see silver as a symbol of purity. And according to Miao customs, the larger, heavier, and more plentiful silver ornaments are considered the most beautiful.

Mr. Zhang showed me a pair of silver earrings. They feature long, beautiful twin birds. The silver threads are as thin as hair. Every detail is so fine.

The headdresses looked pretty heavy. I was afraid to wear any one of them, and it’s not a good idea if you have a slender neck.

The blue cloth items with white patterns are actually wax printings. The patterns show beautiful flowers and Miao girls.

The cloth is made in a unique way: they draw an image on a piece of fabric with wax, and dip the fabric into a vat that contains dark blue dye. The parts of the fabric with wax cannot be dyed, so it will show off a gorgeous white pattern when the wax is removed.

At last, here’s a tip to identify a real wax printing: Take a close look at a real wax painting work, you will find a number of fine, irregular blue crackles on the white area. They are caused when folding the wax-covered area, and the blue dye seizes the opportunity to permeate through the cracks.

Two Faces of Embroidery

Suzhou Embroidery is one of the four most renowned embroidery techniques in China, dating back over 2000 years.
 
Chi Lin Embroidery, located on Tobacco Pipe Lane near the Beijing Ning Xia Hotel, holds an abundance of Suzhou Embroidery featuring delicate needlework and intricate images.
 
I was most enamored with their double-sided embroideries. Take a particular piece called “Cats on Both Sides”. When you look at one side, the cat is in green and white.
 
But turn to the other side, and the color became yellow and white. Another piece managed to stitch the image of two leopards on one side, and an image of two tigers on the other.
 
The owner of the shop is a Suzhou local, with her very own factory there. Everything in the shop comes from her factory.
 
She says the big difference among Suzhou Embroidery and embroidery in other areas is its unique stitching.
 
Sometimes 20 different silk threads are needed to make just the shadow on the face of a portrait.
 
And a piece of silk thread is divided into as many as 48 pieces until the thread is hardly visible.
The shop takes custom orders. Their artists will tackle any image you wish to see embroidered.

Chinese New Year’s woodblock painting is a type of picture commonly posted during the Spring Festival.
 
In the past, you may find them on windows and doors of almost every home before the Spring Festival.
 
The natural and simple strokes, created by simple farmers, express their simple desires for the upcoming year.
 
Color Together, located in Drum Tower near Beijing Emperor Hotel , is a newly opened shop selling this Chinese specialty.
 
The shop owner, Mr Yi, developed a love for this art because he was born in a town famous for Spring Festival paintings. He happily shared the paintings’ stories.
 
I really liked the story of the “Door God”. According to legends, two brothers called Shen Tu and Yu Lei supervised ghosts and monsters.
 
If a monster wanted to harm a human, the brothers would tie the monster up to feed the tiger. Later people drew portraits of Shen Tu and Yu Lei on windows and doors, to ward off unwelcomed guests.
 
I found the delicate Chinese doll very attractive. It depicts a smiling Chinese doll with a scroll in her hand. The words on the scroll means harmony.
 
This design came from the beautiful city of Su Zhou, and one of the most famous wood block paintings in China. This is difficult to find Su Zhou’s painting nowadays.
 
Prices are modest. Smaller works tend to be under a hundred yuans. While more complicated works cost several  hundred yuans.

 
Yu Hai Ying Zhou is an excellent shop for fans of Chinese ethnic products. Located behind the Palace museum of the Forbidden City near the Beijing Redwall Hotel, it carries a wide selection of deep Chinese ethnic handicrafts and accessories.
 
Most accessories, like sofa cushions, tea sets, tablecloths, Chinese knots, and china vases, make for wonderful interior decoration.
 
While the handicrafts cover a wide variety of items from silk handbags to Shanxi shadow puppets.
 
I found the shop assistants, who speak a little English, easy to engage. They recommended, among other things, the shadow puppets coming from Shannxi, the home province of leather-silhouette show.
 
This ancient art uses puppets made of donkey or ox leather to create shadows on a piece of white cloth, with performers behind the scene controlling the action.
 
The puppets can be surprisingly detailed, such as a framed ‘General’ Puppet on display (RMB 120).
 
Two items I personally liked were an embroidered silk pillow(RMB 65) and a silk handbag (RMB 60).
 
The pillow felt very soft, and had a delicate fragrance. The silk handbag looked beautiful and would make a great gift.

Chinese Folkarts Shop near the Fu Hao Hotel specializes in folk handicrafts, such as paper cuts, embroidered shoes, kites, facial make-ups of the Beijing Operas, dough figurines, silk figurines, folk jewelry, Chinese calligraphy and paintings, chopsticks, etc.
 
Among their exclusive merchandise, the shop carries pottery items like Buddhas and unicorns, and shadow puppets.
 
The shop plays classical Chinese music to attract customers’ attention. Foreign visitors account for 70-80% of their customers.
 
On a picturesque note, a white cat with yellow eyes was wandering in the shop at the time of my visit.
 
The shop owner told me the cat was a stray, until a shop assistant took her in and the cat refused to leave ever since.
 
Many foreign visitors like to hold the cat in arms and have pictures taken.

While most pottery shops tend to sell ornamental vases, the ECI Art Gallery offers beautiful pottery which is practical and makes your home more beautiful.

The shop is not far from the Forbidden City near the Beijing International Hotel. It offers a selection of pottery pencil & flower vases and ashtrays.

The strangely wonderful designs of their products really drew me in.
There I saw a Great Wall shaped pencil vase, with the famous Chairman Mao saying: He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man.

The design is great yet practical. And it only costs RMB 80.
I personally like the stone-shape vase, carved by an old Chinese slangs, which roughly translates to ‘Be sure to remain ignorant when the situation calls for it’.

So I bought the vase for RMB 90 with a 10% off.
Also there are a selection of yak-bone rings, turquoise-studded bracelets, and colorful clothing from Tibet and Nepal.

Prices vary, from RMB 30 for a string of rosary to several hundred RMBs for a Nepalese Saari.
The manager is Mr. Kang, who speaks a little English.

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

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

In the of clay products section, I picked up a small, stripped-color kitty with its tail pointing up. This lovely animal, as the owner told me, is popular with ladies as a place to put their 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 and home decoration. Each sells around RMB 150.

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

Beijng Wangfujing Walk Street near the Beijing Redwall Hotel and Beijing International Hotel is one of the most famous venues for shopping in Beijing.

Strolling up and down this crowded street, passers-by have scores of choices to indulge in their favorite sin.
In this multitude of shops, I spotted one in particular which offers various kinds of exquisite ornaments.

This shop is located on the 2nd floor of the Artworks Mansion.
They have an abundance of jade, golden and silver jewelries, Tibetan ornaments, and figures of Buddha carved of rare timbers.

The shop not only offers various kinds of ornaments, but it is also a study center for Buddhists.
As I visited this huge place, a smiling assistant served me all the time. On each wall, numerous figures of Buddha carved of rare timbers.

In the glass display tables at the center, ornaments are categorized showed based on their materials: crystal, colored glaze, wood, and jade.

Each Buddha figurine is accompanied by a tag showing the type of timber, the name of the Buddha, the country of production.

I was interested in a deep brown color figurine (RMB 26,000) made of a Vietnamese wood called Nanmu (楠木). Its expression and the decorations around had been carved carefully by the craftsman.

Then the shop assistant showed me a set of crystal bracelets.
She explained that each Chinese zodiac animal matched a kind of crystal. For example, the goat matched a deep purple crystal, supposedly capable of absorbing body toxins. A box contained 12 crystal bracelets of 12 different colors, priced each at RMB 268.

Prices for Buddha figurines ranged from RMB 500 to RMB 50,000, and for other ornaments from RMB 200 to RMB 20,000. Bargaining is not customary in this shop.

The Artworks Mansion hosts other shops on the 2nd floor.
In general, their prices ranged from RMB 10 to much more. Again, no bargaining is really possible with the shop assistants.

Fortunately, prices are clearly marked and the shop assistants can speak a little English.

One of China’s most time-honored traditions is the fine art of paper cutting, which has been around since ancient times.

Zi Yi Xuan, a Paper-cutting shop right near a lot of Beijing Hotels, offers a large selection of paper-cutting works in the center of Beijing.
They make paper cuttings of all sorts of themes, including shadow puppets, peacocks, playing children, opera figures, and court ladies.

Mr. Li, the owner, said one of the most popular items is the set of 12 Chinese Zodiac animals, believed to bring happiness and success to their owner. The works look lively, and the animals seem to pop out from the paper. The set sells around RMB 900.

I also picked up a colorful fish paper-cutting commonly seen during the Chinese spring festivals. People use them to adorn their doors and windows during Spring Festival. The fish express their wishes for more wealth. It sells only for RMB 25.

Other popular themes include historical tales, auspicious animals, and daily life scenes. I even found some Fuwa mascots for the Olympics.

Mr. Li speaks a little English. Communication should not be a problem.

 
Beijing Lacquer Thread Sculpture is an ancient art. In ancient times, the lacquer threads created patterns on deity figures.

Today, it is more popular for decorating bowls, vases, and various table settings.

The FuSan Lacquer Thread Sculpture shop, located right near the Redwall and Fuhao, offers a large selection of products from the best place for Lacquer Thread Sculptures, city of Xiamen.

The dominant theme here is the imperial dragon, though you will also find other designs like flowers and birds.

I saw a red porcelain vase decorated with two gold-plated dragons. The vase featured a silhouette of a plump lady, and the dragons were made with lacquer threads.

In ancient times, vases like this one would only be seen in the palace in old days. But today, you can get it for RMB 3000.

There’s also a celadon jar modeled finely decorated with a dragon and a phoenix, symbols of the emperor and the empress. A slight crack by the handle gives the jar an antique feel. The jar cost RMB 4500.

I also found other interesting wares. There’s a celadon dish decorated with Peking opera masks, white porcelain jar with auspicious animal sculptures, and a replica of the famous Nine-Dragon Wall in the Forbidden City.
You can watch videos of this shop here!