Beijing Deep Mountains Bamboo Art Studio Near The Forbidden City

‘Da Shan Qing’ — Mountain Gifts, is a famous brand selling bamboo art near the Forbidden City and Beijing Emperor Hotel in Beijing.

Coming from XianNing, a mountainous city where bamboos are abundant, Mountain Gifts offers a large selection of bamboo books and sculptures.

The crafters of the shop use the ancient way to make bamboo books – by hand-carving on the narrow bamboo strips.

Their themes include Dream of Red Mansion, legend of Eight Immortals, Chairman Mao’s snow poem, and Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Each piece sells around RMB 300.

In the bamboo sculpture section, I was enthralled by the sculpture of “Zhu Lin Qi Xian” – the seven famous scholars of the 3 Kingdoms era.

The carving works were excellent, as I could see clearly the smallest details. Ms. Zhang, the owner, said a good bamboo sculpture doesn’t come easy.

Qualified bamboo is hard to find and the shape will largely affect the sculpture process. That particular artwork is priced at about RMB 2,000.

The shop also offers little bamboo products, such as jars, dishes, food baskets, spoons, and trays.