A ceramic ornament is made of ceramic scraps bound with silver. Recently, it has become a fad among Beijingers.
 
At the 798 Art Zone, I found a shop called Ancient Ceramic Fashion, which features beautiful ceramic ornaments. They offer necklaces, bracelets, rings and hairpins, all made of ancient ceramic scraps unearthed from the relics of old kilns.

One particular bracelet was especially eye-catching. The middle is an oval-shaped ceramic with a beautiful pattern of lotus. It matched well with the huge silver band carved with leaves.

A brooch in the shape of a bird also looked cute. The body was weaved with silver wires. The artist used an ancient technique for making phoenix coronets.

Every step is done by hand, due to the delicacy of ceramic straps.

Prices vary from RMB 600 to RMB 2000.

What I appreciate:
Unique ceramic ornaments, beautiful design

What customers appreciate:
Ceramic ornaments reflecting  ancient culture

As a versatile artist, Mr. Wang Hongxiang is good at both sculpturing and various styles of paintings. At his studio on Liu Li Chang street, you can get both a painting of yourself or a clay figure in your likeness. In addition, Mr. Wang offers a large variety of calligraphies, oil paintings, traditional Chinese paintings, and clay sculptures.

His desks are filled with various clay portraits. They are depicted very vividly, especially the eyes. One figure depicting a middle-aged man really stood out. You can even count his eyebrow hairs.

It doesn’t take a long time for Mr. Wang to produce a clay portrait. You just need to sit here for 30 minutes, and your portrait will be complete.

The clay is specially processed. Not being fired in a high temperature, yet the clay sculptures are quite firm.  Each one costs from RMB 100 to RMB 200, depending on the size. 

Mr. Wang's painting works combines the art of oil paintings with that of traditional Chinese paintings. Each one is inscribed with beautiful Chinese calligraphy. If you want a photo painted, but can't visit the shop, you can send your photo by mail. A regular portrait painting costs RMB 500.

What I appreciate:
Fine workmanship

What customers appreciate:
Fine workmanship, reasonable price

Even within the Liulichang Culture Street, a center of traditional Chinese craftwork, artistry and antiques, Mr. Xu Bi's calligraphy shop is quite unique. For his writing brush weighs 4.5 kg, or 10 pounds.

Mr. Xu told me he had used this heavy brush for 17 years. With it, he can write a Chinese character 7 feet tall and 3 feet wide.

The heavy brush is made up of a regular brush and a piece of iron. Writing with it exercised Mr. Xu's wrist to the point where he can now write for several hours without feeling exhaustion.

In addition to the large characters, I also found some calligraphy works featuring characters which are as small as an ant. Mr. Xu said he use the tip of a brush to write these tiny characters.

Mr. Xu started to learn calligraphy at the age of six. In the past forty years, he has never stopped practicing it. His calligraphies adopt poems and essays in ancient Chinese literature.

Prices of his Calligraphy vary quite a bit. My favorite work, which featured 5000 tiny characters, cost RMB 5000.

His shop also offers a special service: designing signatures for customers.  It costs RMB 100. With the Olympics held in Beijing, this business is doing quite well.

What I appreciate:
Great art of calligraphy, calligraphy shown on the spot

What customers appreciate:
Names written in beautiful calligraphy

When you’re having guests over for dinner, it’s always nice to use some fine dinnerware. And “Between Earth and Sky”, located inside Hongqiao market in south Beijing, offers some strange ideas.

The shop carries a nice collection of dishware with very unique designs. First, the shapes are not your typical round ones. They may resemble leaves, little boats,  and other things. In fact, the shopkeeper Ms. Liu told me the shape is anything that comes to the designers’ mind.

Black, white, and Purple-red glazes are applied to each piece, giving them distinctive shines. Chinese calligraphy engraved adds a sense of culture. I have personally never seen anything like this before.

In addition to dinnerware, the shop also offers a variety of tea sets and cups.

Prices range from RMB 30 to RMB 3,000. Ms. Liu speaks fluent English for easy communication.

What I appreciate

A plate engraved with a Tang emperor poem

What customers appreciate

Nice dishware, quality service

The art of straw-weaving, which has been seen on potteries as early as 6000 years ago, is considered an essential element of Chinese culture.

Straw-weaving Workshop, nested in the southern part of downtown Beijing, offers this special form of art. Here you’ll find straws weaved into different animals, such as birds, beasts, and insects. They all looked amazingly lovely and lifelike.

Although I don’t really like snakes, I couldn’t help but admire the piece on it, which looked very detailed. A pair of cranes also caught my attention, because of how hard it was to create their slim bodies and lively postures.,

When I asked the shop manager, Ms. Chen, what are the popular items, she showed me a straw-weaving of a large dragon. This made sense, as the dragon is considered the most power animal in Chinese legends.

The workshop makes all items themselves. Their master is very renowned, and has won numerous handicraft awards.

Prices here range from RMB 20 for a cicada to RMB300 for a dragon. Ms. Chen speaks a little English. No need to worry about a communicating.

What I appreciate

Beautiful straw weavings of crane and dragon

What customers appreciate

Dragon weavings, quality service

Given Beijing’s numerous Buddhist items shops, sometimes it’s hard to find the good ones. But I think a good choice is Ci En Dian in the Drum Tower area, both for its large selection and an owner who is a devout Buddhist.

The most noticeable items inside are their large Thangkas. The owner, Mr. Gao, told me that the master who made these thangkas is a descendant of Buddha’s family. The works are incredibly detailed, and painstakingly painted with brush that only has a single hair at its tip. The colors were made with gold, jade, and turquoise. Very impressive! Prices are very high though, around RMB 150,000 each.

There are over 20 types of incense – a staple of any Buddhist prayer – inside, each for a different function. Prices range from RMB 50 to RMB 150.

CDs of Buddhist music, which calm and soothe the soul, cost RMB 15.

Mr. Gao keeps in his shop a precious Sarira, a sacred Buddha relic. It is only for display purposes though. He can also speak a little English to communicate with customers.

What I appreciate

Thangkas

What customers appreciate

Sarira, welcoming atmosphere, knowledgeable owner

A small porcelain shop recently opened on the north side of Di’anmen Dongdajie. It’s easily recognizable, with its white signboard which shows the shop name “Chunny Ceramics”. Their catchphrase, written in Chinese characters, was “We produce practical works of art”. I went inside to check it out.

The wooden shelves show various uniquely shaped ceramics, including sculptures, vessels, home decorations, tea sets, wall decorations, and necklaces. The shopkeeper, Mr. Li, told me that all of their products are designed by professional artisans in Jingdezhen, the famous ceramics capital of China.

He also said that each item is uniquely handmade. If you buy one cup, you can be sure that there’s no other cup in the world like it. To check, I looked at their ceramics one by one carefully, and found that each one really did look different from others.

The cups I picked up had irregular small pits on the surface, but my fingers fit around the pits comfortably. That’s when I realized that this cup was designed this way.

One cup usually costs RMB 10 - 20. Note that nearly each cup bears their registered brand name “Chun Ni”, which means “Spring Soil” in English.

They also accept customer requests. If you have a particular idea in mind, they can design and make a custom ceramic work in about 20 days. Two assistants who can speak some English ensure smooth communication.

What I appreciated

Original design, one piece one style

What customers appreciate

Distinct ceramics, good for gift and souvenir

As a way to pray for protection, Tibetans engrave scriptures or auspicious signs on slabs known as Marnyi stone. It is rare to see outside Tibet.

But one shop in Beijing offers this item. Residing in the Drum Tower area, the shop is called Wisdom Seeds. They offer all kinds of Marnyi stones. They vary in size, shape, as well as the engravings they bear. There are stones for protection, auspiciousness, good luck, fortune, to name a few.

I pick up a stone; the text on it is in Sanskrit and is tainted with various colors. Prices for range from RMB 30 to RMB 180.

The owner is a Tibetan Buddhism follower. During a pilgrimage to Tibet many years ago, he met a master engraver of Marnyi stone. He learned from the master for many days, and returned to Beijing to open a shop selling Marnyi stones. Now he is a well-known Marnyi stone engraver in Beijing.

He speaks a little English too, so communication shouldn’t be a problem.

What I appreciate

Nice Marnyi stones

What customers appreciate

Nice Marnyi stones, welcoming atmosphere

Walking only 5 minutes from the exit of Communication University Metro Line, you can find a 3-storied building named Dong Fang Gu Yuan Art Market. Inside is a huge selection of beautiful Chinese art, such as hand-made carvings at Teng Yun Ge.

The owner of the shop tells me that all the carving products are from his hometown in Fujian Province. Carving products from Fujian are renowned in China. The shop features woodcarving, bamboo carving, stone carving, jade carving, and colored glaze carving.

The wood carving products are made of various woods, some of which are really rare, like Zitan wood. All products are made with superb carving skills. My favorite figures are people from the stories of ancient Chinese history.

A telephone carved with a dragon and phoenix also caught my eyes. It was a really nice piece of work, with a lamp standing on the pedestal. The owner says it's a real telephone. Once plugged in, you can make phone calls with it.

Further inside is for the display of stone carvings. The prices of stone carvings are much higher than those of woodcarvings, ranging from RMB 1000 to RMB30,000, depending on the sizes and designs.

I took note of a particular type of stone carving, called Shoushan Stone carving. It has a history of over 1500 years and famous throughout the country.

What I appreciate:
Excellent carving skills, lovely carved figures

What customers appreciate:
Splendid display of hand-made carvings, a wide choice of items as far as prices and sizes are concerned.

Quality tea needs quality tea sets to compliment it. As a large tea shop at Maliandao tea street, Xiang Yuan Shao Pin offers one-stop shopping for both.

Teas offered at Xiang Yuan Shao Pin come in all types, including green tea, black tea, white tea, and floral tea. They’re all produced at China's famous tea plantations.

Pu'er tea is one of the more popular teas on the market today. It’s easily recognizable, with its unique packaging. I especially noticed one kind of Pu'er tea contained in plastic bottles. They look like candies. The shop owner told me Pu'er teas are compressed to make it easier to transport through the mountains where the tea grows.

Price of the pressed Pu'er tea is RMB 72 per 100 grams.

As for tea sets, the highlights of the shop are their ”huo hua” – which means ‘to activate’ – porcelain. The teapot can ‘activate’ the water poured within over 20 different microelements beneficial to one’s health.

Price of this tea set, which contains one teapot and six tea cups, is RMB 1200.

What I appreciate:
Quality tea and tea sets

What customers appreciate:
Various tea, beautiful tea sets with superb craft