The Chinese folk art dough figurine, or Mian Ren in Chinese, are tiny figures made of wheat flour, glutinous rice flour, bee honey, and glycerin. Unfortunately, there are very few dough figurine artists today, so it was very exciting to find so many cute and exquisite dough figurines on the second floor of Baigong Handicrafts Museum.

There is a large selection of dough figurines in the shop. Each figure, setting foot on a small wooden pedestal, is kept in a glass box.

I was enthralled by the figurine featuring two kids in traditional clothing watching cricket fight (RMB 260). Another one I like was the God of Longevity, with his bright smile, long and white beard, and a yellow robe. He holds a peach in one hand, and a long crutch in the other. This figurine cost 180 yuan.

The elderly female shop assistant told me that most of these handicrafts are made by Mr. You, a dough figurine master. His works have a prominent feature in that every figure has a vivid facial expression. She also noted that a dough figurine should be kept from sunshine. In this way, the colors of the dough figurines will not fade for at least 20 years.

What I appreciated

Elaborate dough figurines, traditional Chinese folk art

What customers appreciate

Traditional Chinese folk art, distinguished workmanship