Clothes make the woman. Want unique fashionable clothes highlighted with ethnic style? Come to “La Mu, the Lady Upstairs!”

This shop features colorful, handmade embroidered clothes, handbags, and other little accessories. Each one of them is unique. You can't find a duplicate item in this shop or anywhere else.

When I visited, Ms. La Mu, the shop owner, kindly received me. She showed me a violet shirt embroidered with phoenixes and flowers. According to her, this is a Song Tao embroidery made by Miao ethnic people in Yunnan Province.

One handbag covered with embroidered patterns was my favorite.  It's designed by La Mu herself. The embroidery is “Da Zi,” a typical Miao embroidery style.

Looking around, I was attracted by the beautiful paintings and lanterns. They are nice decorations for this unique shop.

Ms. La Mu has another studio in Lijiang of Yunnan Province, where all of the clothes are made. The beauty of Lijiang gives her inspiration to create this artwork.

What I appreciate:
Handmade clothes, ethnic style

What costumers appreciate:
Beautiful embroidered clothes

At a quiet corner of the 798 Art Zone, where most people don't notice, is an embroidery studio owned by Ms. Zhu Shouzhen. It would not have been a quiet corner, had people passing there known what fantastic embroidery works they could find in the shop.

The embroidery works on display were done by Ms. Zhu and her students. They come in four different types: original embroidery work, embroidery painting, portrait embroidery and embroidered cloth like curtains, sheets and tablecloth.

One piece that immediate caught my attention featured a girl with long blond hair, the  needlework of which was so delicate that I could even count the number of hairs. Another piece that featured a girl was a huge one, 10 x 5 feet in size, and took Ms. Zhu and her students many years to complete.

Portrait embroidery was what made this shop unique. Highlighting this uniqueness were a portrait of Elizabeth II, a portrait of Pabol Picasso,  and many other portraits of foreign dignitaries. In fact, Ms. Zhu was asked by these foreign dignitaries to make portraits for themselves. They include the president of Ireland and the president of Kazakhstan. The portrait of Pabol Picasso won Ms. Zhu a 3rd prize in the 26th World Art Festival in Britain.

Born in Suzhou, Ms. Zhun learned embroidery since her childhood, and combined her embroidery techniques with those of the western art in making her embroidery work. In the past 20 years, she has won numerous awards at home and abroad.

I checked out a bundle of silk thread used for embroidery before I left. One of Ms. Zhu's students told me that a piece of such beautiful silk thread could be divided into 256 threads. And in total 10,000 colors of silk thread are used in their embroidery. What an amazing art!

Ms. Zhu takes custom orders. You can send your photos to have your own embroidery portrait done. Prices for embroidery works range from several thousand to one million yuan.

What I appreciate:
Beautiful embroidery, Sophisticated skill

What customers appreciate:
Beautiful embroidery, overseas shipment

Huo Shu Tang: a snapshot of China’s finest handicrafts

As the Chinese place much emphasis on meanings behind objects, one of the best ways to discover China is to know Chinese handicrafts. Handicrafts are like kaleidoscopes, through which you can see the richness of Chinese culture.

Huo Shu Tang, though a small shop, offers more than 100 types of ethnic handicrafts from all over China, most of which are rarely seen. Items here include cloth works, batiks, bean arrangements, clay figurines, paper-cuts, shadow puppets, and embroideries. All of them are made by highly skilled craftsmen.

I found myself amused by a clay work of a thumb (RMB 300), which featured a tiny frog at the tip. It turned out to be a prize-winning work in the shop, and it means “approval and appreciation”. I also appreciated a cute bean arrangement work named “Countryside Chophouse” (RMB 280), which used beans in various sizes, shapes and colors to feature people, animals, and other objects.

Prices vary quite a bit. For example, a cloth tiger costs RMB 30, while a fine piece of jade engraving costs several thousand RMBs.

The shop owner is an interesting person who speaks a little English.

What I appreciate

A wide variety of handicrafts, the bean arrangement works

What customers appreciate

Exquisite Chinese handicrafts, quality service

Fabulous Peking Opera make-ups fascinate people from home and abroad. Long Xiu Ge, an embroidery shop in Dong Fang Gu Yuan Art Market, converts this great art into magic embroidery works.

The owner of Long Xiu Ge, Ms Long, tells me that she has designed over 100 make-ups of different styles. In order to do the best make-ups, she has immersed herself in the world of Peking Opera. For example, she has not missed a single Peking Opera show on TV in the past few years.

Embroidered paintings featuring vivid figures and animals attracted me the most. Take one embroidery depicting cicadas and sparrows. It had extremely delicate needlework. You can even see the replicated seals of Emperor Qianlong and Emperor Xuantong clearly.

Another embroidery work I liked featured fishes swimming in the pool. The lifelike fishes seemed to jump out of the embroidery cloth.

It takes months or even years for an experienced worker to accomplish just one piece of embroidery work. Ms. Long says that most of her workers are between the ages of 40 to 70, as many youngsters today don't have patience to do this time-consuming work.

The price of embroideries varies a lot, from RMB 500 to RMB 50,000.

What I appreciate:
Unique design, excellent craft

What customers appreciate:
Handmade embroideries representing Chinese culture

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, 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.

What I appreciate:
Detailed needlework, superb craftsmanship

What Customer appreciate:
Superb craftsmanship, intricate images

Sunny Embroidery, a fashionable embroidery shop, is located in 798 Art Zone. Like many other shops in this modern art area, Sunny Embroidery is distinguished with its unique embroidery of posh style.

The owner, Ms. Li, opened this shop with her Australian business partner. Her embroidery works mix modern western style with traditional Chinese art. She told me that for this reason, many of her customers are from overseas.

I first found an eye-catching embroidery based on the artwork of Van Gogh. It looks just the same as the original one, except embroidered. Many items here are based on western themes.

Then I noticed a photo of a British man holding his embroidery with the word "nothing". I asked Ms. Li why she made that. She told me that a British man came and asked for an embroidery of the word "nothing." As Sunny Embroidery accepts custom orders, she agreed. She learned that in Britain, the word "nothing" sometimes has the special meaning. When it's read in the mirror, you can see the converse word of "nothing". So it is in fact, something.

There are also some other embroideries. Some are based on the murals of Naxi Nationality. Some are done on lotus feet shoes. They make good souvenirs.

As the shop takes custom orders. Some customers send their pictures or postcards to the shop to have their embroidery work done.

What I appreciate:
The traditional Chinese art demonstrated in a stylish way

What customers appreciate:
Fine craft, easy to communicate with the shop owner in English

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

Beijing Embroidery, also known as Palace Embroidery, was usually stitched for the royal court in ancient China. It is considered one of ‘the eight consummate handicrafts of Beijing’. To make an embroidery work, an artist would select an elaborate painting, and then stitch the pattern using needles and colorful threads of silk. The result is a vivid and beautiful pattern on fabric.

During my visit to the Baigong Handicraft Museum, I found a Beijing embroidery shop on the first floor. An elderly man welcomed me immediately upon entering the shop. As we chatted, I realized that he had been making embroideries for 50 years! I can certainly feel his experience in his works.

All embroideries on display were made by him or his apprentices. Each piece usually takes 15 days or so to make, a long, dedicated process indeed.

I found two pieces of empress’ wear (RMB 490) in the style of the Qing Dynasty standing on a showcase. The bright, fine patterns of peonies and phoenixes looked very beautiful. There was also a matching emperor’s dragon robe in stock.

Other items include a variety of hanging embroideries with such patterns as the Great Wall, pandas, flowers, and cranes. Each costs RMB 200. The hand-made children’s tiger-head shoes, each with an embroidered lovely tiger’s head, cost RMB 50 each.

What I appreciated

Exquisite embroidery, emperor’s robe

What customers appreciate

Chinese traditional works of art, fine embroideries

When I entered Chinese Embroidery Artistic in the Xuanwu district, I met an American tourist named Sara. Sara was about to wrap up her China visit, and wished to bring some souvenirs for her family and friends. She was very glad that a local friend pointed out this exquisite embroidery shop.

Chinese Embroidery Artistic sells a large variety of Chinese embroidery from Suzhou, embroidery capital of China. The people there have weaved embroideries for over 2000 years. Their works aim to create a deep sense of transparency, depth, or motion. Each piece may take weeks, months, or even years to complete.

Although Sara did not know the history behind Suzhou embroidery, she could still appreciate the product. ’I am totally overwhelmed by the fine work’, Sara said. She happily bought several pieces, all while listening to the owner explain a bit about the works in English.

The shop offers cross-stitch and double-sided embroidery on various subjects: animals, flowers, landscapes, and portraits. Prices start from as little as RMB 150.

What I appreciate

Exquisite work, good service

What customers appreciate

Amazing designs, reasonable prices

Guwuxiuhuang is a very famous brand of Art Embroidery in China. It has many outlets in Beijing, and I visited the one on Zhongguancun Walking Street. From the outside, you can see the beautiful embroidery products on display.

The Guwuxiuhuang art embroidery creates works of art by silk sewing. These works all are hand-made in Suzhou, which is the hometown of the embroidery. According to the shop assistant, the embroidery products can be divided into 5 grades according to the quality: dragon, Shenshi, Guwuxiuhuang, nvhongfang, and Suzhou. Higher quality grades use better silk.

The artworks on display feature many different designs: people, animals, plants, and landscapes. The shop assistant recommends an artwork made of Shenshi featuring a mountain cat. It looks incredibly vivid with a size of 20cmx50cm. While, it is not cheap, and will cost you RMB 20,000.

Customers can ask for custom designed art embroidery. They can provide photos or pictures, and then select the grade of silk. Then, the shop assistants can create embroidery products look the same as the photos or pictures. Prices range from RMB 2 to RMB 40 per square centimeter, depending on the grade of silk. A made-to-order art embroidery takes an upward of 4 months to make. Don't worry, they can ship the product to your home.

What I appreciated:

Exquisite hand-sewn designs

What customers appreciate:

Unique, high quality, great for collection