Jade is believed to bring happiness and luck for the people, keeps away evil, and good for one's health. With its clear jadeite qualities, Hotan Jade has enjoyed a good reputation since ancient times. Its history can be traced back to 1200 years ago.

Jade Family is a Hotan jade shop, which sells finished jade accessories as well as incomplete jade materials that you can design yourself. From jade necklace and bracelet, to large jade home  adornments, Jade Family carries a large selection of jade merchandises.

The shop owner, Ms Cao, told me their story of jade collection in Xinjiang. She said that the mountains south of Hotan City are called Jade Mountains, and the river beside the Hotan city is called the Jade River. Even today, you can find people picking jade from the river. Only in the Jade river one can find the best quality Jade, but the mountains are still mined for cheap jade product.

She showed me a top-quality jade horse. Even though I know little about jade, I still appreciated its whiteness and brightness. The item is sold at RMB 30,000. Another piece I liked was the “Jade Mountain.” It had a shape of a mountain, with three old men standing by pine trees. All these represent longevity in China. It costs RMB 2500.

Jade Family also sells some daily items, like ceramic ware, tobacco bottles, and fingerstalls popular back in the early 20th century.

What I Appreciate:
Quality jade

What Customer Appreciate:
Hotan jade and other antique porcelain

Located in Shijingshan Antique City, DaZeTang is a shop selling old-time porcelain ware. The shop owner, Mr Xie, is a ceramic connoisseur.

I was impressed by Mr Xie's knowledge about porcelain, which he happily shared. He showed me a pair of hat-hangers made around 1912. During that period, workers used Fen Cai, a kind of porcelain coloring skill, to portray the beautiful patterns on the wares. But it was later found that Fen Cai items contained lead. So they adopted the European appliqué technique later on. So it’s rare to see a Feng Cai work today. The hat-hangers are sold for RMB 3500.

Mr Xie is also a good storyteller. Almost every ceramic ware in his shop has a story, such as a 700 year old porridge vase. It was made in early Ming Dynasty, and tells the story of Mi Fu, a famous Song dynasty calligrapher. Mi Fu often examined stones and bamboos to find the spirit of calligraphy. And he perfected the stability and tenacity of Chinese characters by studying the growth of nature. The story’s philosophy was: calligraphy training is something beyond calligraphy itself. I interpret as “it is important to cultivate the mood in order to produce good works.” The price for the porridge vase was pegged at RMB 3000.

There are a lot of other porcelain wares in the shop Mr Xie would like to share. So if you want to learn more, feel free to pay a visit.

What I appreciate:
porcelain knowledge

What customer appreciate:
porcelain knowledge,  old-time ceramic ware

If you're looking for old antiques, Ba Shu Tang at the Bo Gu Yi Yuan antique market won't disappoint you. The owner of Ba Shu Tang has been collecting antiques for 30 years, with thousands of collectible items from all over China.

Most of his collections are porcelains and potteries. They come in various forms such as food containers, vases, basins, tea sets, brush vases, and ink stones.  The columnar porcelains with beautiful traditional Chinese paintings attracted me so much. I thought they were containers. But the owner said they were used to hang hats in ancient China.

The various brush pots are also fascinating. Some look like teapots with several little holes. The holes were for placing brushes. Ink or water contained inside of the pots would keep brushes from becoming dry. They are all several hundred years old.

Ever wondered how people in ancient China ironed their clothes? I found an iron which looked like a ladle for scooping water. While the clothes are being ironed, charcoal burns inside to make the bottom hot enough. And one would put a wooden stick into the hole to protect the hand from the heat.

Price of antique varies a lot, from RMB 300 to RMB 10,000.

What I appreciate:
Various antiques, reliable shop owner with rich experience in appraising antiques

What customers appreciate:
Precious curios

Huaxia Arts and Crafts Shop is built in an antique style. Two white stone lions are keeping guard at the door. The shop specializes in old jewelry, silk embroidery, old porcelain, classical Chinese furniture, old pocket watches, etc.

Getting into the shop, a customer feels a serene and agreeable artistic atmosphere. This is all the more surprising as the street outside is very busy. The shop décor is beautiful with gray-black stone tiles, and glass enclosures in which the jewelry and other antiques are displayed. Every article here is appealing and worthy of appreciation.

The shop carries 19^th century jewelry -- such as jadeite eardrops and necklace pendants – dating back from the Qing Dynasty. Delicate and lifelike embroidery works hang on the wall. Some of these embroideries were worn by imperial officials, some such as little hats were worn by children. The latter aren’t expensive at between RMB 100 to RMB 200.

One of the showcases contains vials and flasks dating back one hundred to two hundreds ago. These were used to pack snuff powder which the rich people would periodically inhale for better health. One of such vials bore a mountain design etched in black ink in the ceramics: a very rare object which required extraordinary skills from the artist. This one was priced at over RMB 6,000.

I also noticed ceramic tableware: one of the objects was a saucer set composed of eight trays surrounding a centerpiece. All the trays, used to contain sugar, salt, and spices, where delicately decorated. The set also dated from the Qing Dynasty, and was in remarkable condition. Most old porcelain items on display were created during the Qing Dynasty, that is, one hundred to three hundred years ago.

The shop also offers an impressive selection of antique clockworks, in metal and porcelain.

A lot of the objects can be exported to foreign countries.

What I appreciated

Antiques of the Qing Dynasty

What customers appreciate

Old and exquisite works of art, traditional Chinese handicrafts, a place for collectors

Huaxia Arts and Crafts Shop is built in an antique style. Two white stone lions are keeping guard at the door. The shop specializes in old jewelry, embroidery, old porcelain, classical Chinese furniture, old pocket watches, etc.

Getting into the shop, a customer feels a serene and agreeable artistic atmosphere. Every article on display is appealing and worthy of appreciation. Old jewelry such as jadeite eardrops and necklace pendants is displayed in showcases. Delicate and lifelike embroidery works hang on the wall. They cost RMB 380 to RMB 10000. Among them, a yellow pattern named “Dragon Gown” priced at RMB 8500 looked very attractive. A cloisonné work named “Elephant Carrying Vase on Back” cost RMB 190. Most old porcelain items on display were made in the Qing dynasty. Prices for old pocket watches range from RMB 1800 to RMB 8800.

What customers appreciate

Old and exquisite works of art, traditional Chinese handicrafts, a good place for collectors.