There is a saying in ancient China: Even he who has a big sum of money cannot buy porcelain covered with gold leaves. Last week, however, I found a Jingdezhen porcelain shop where porcelain covered with gold leaves was on sale.

The shopkeeper Mr. Yu greeted me warmly. He told me he comes from Jingdezhen, the ‘Capital of Porcelain.’ The company he works at is the only manufacturer of porcelain with gold leaf patterns. To master the unique process, a number of skillful potters have been experimenting for over 14 years.

Then he showed me the most amazing item in the shop – a red porcelain tea set covered with gold leaves. The golden pattern on the big teapot features a dragon and a phoenix. The whole set looked very gorgeous and luxurious.

And what is more, when you put a teacup under the spout, tea will start pouring automatically! As the water level nearly reaches the rim, the pouring stops. And if the tea is clear enough, you can see a beautiful girl’s portrait appearing at the bottom of the cup.

Due to their exclusive techniques, each of their high-end porcelain items is different from any others. I must say they are very fit for any collection.

Apart from charming artistic porcelain, this shop also has a variety of bone china tableware on display, such as bowls, plates, and ashtrays. They are high quality but inexpensive. If you pick up two pieces and knock them together gently, a resonant and melodious sound will drift in the air.

What I appreciated

Unique Jingdezhen porcelain, top quality

What customers appreciate

Jingdezhen porcelain, superior workmanship

I found a shop specializing in bone china made in central China’s Tangshan, a city famous for porcelain. Their goods can be used not only as tableware for everyday use, but also as fine decorations.

When I went into the shop, I saw that there were many porcelain wares neatly presented throughout the store. This included bowls, plates, vases, and tea sets.

The shop owner, Mr. Zhang, welcomed me and said this is an outlet of a famous bone china manufacturer in Tangshan. He was born there, and he decided to bring Tangshan’s quality local products to Beijing.

He said yak bone is a key material in their products, because it guarantees that their bone china looks very delicate.

I found a seven-piece tea set very intriguing. It has one tea pot and six tea cups. The surface of each item features a snow-white backdrop and blue flower patterns. I found the set so tasteful that I couldn’t help but pick up the pot. It felt extremely exquisite, and much lighter than I imagined. The handle is made of cane, which transfers very little heat.

Some of their plates were also very beautiful. The patterns include beautiful women from Chinese history and wonderful nature scenes. They are very nice indeed.

What I appreciated

Quality, nice bone china

What customers appreciate

Appealing and practical table ware, good ornaments

Last week I visited Chengtian Antique City in the southeast of Beijing. On the 3^rd floor, I found a shop that carried antiques, jade jewelry and other kinds of Chinese artworks. They were perfect for decoration.

In the shop, the first thing I saw was a collection of antique porcelain wares, including vases, bowls and plates. Some of them were made in the Qing Dynasty.

The shop owner Mr. Tang greeted me, and showed me a porcelain statue, Empress Dowager Cixi (1835 - 1908), a female ruler of the Qing Dynasty. She sat on a stone bench with a big spot dog. Her lips and nails were painted in red. She was wearing a big black hat and a button-down robe in yellow, red and blue. On the robe were embroidered peonies and butterflies. On the hat were two butterflies surrounding a big peony. In China, peony represents wealth and status.

Mr. Tang also showed me their popular jade jewelry items, including pendants and bracelets. They were white, and looked glossy. Jade symbolizes virtue, and brings good health.

I also found Chinese paintings, calligraphy works, and wood carvings. They are all traditional Chinese artworks.

What I appreciated

Chinese antiques and works of art

What customers appreciate

Chinese antiques and works of art

An delicate porcelain always gives you great pleasure. An porcelain with several hundred years of history is all the more valuable for collection.

A fews days ago, I visited Jing Ying Ge, an antique shop featuring porcelain wares of ancient China. The shop owner was a lover of antiques. He had been collecting antique porcelains for 15 years. Many items were as old as 1000 years.

He showed me his favorite - a white porcelain pot characterized by crackles on the surface. Behind this elegant porcelain, there is a story. Once there were two brothers, who were both famous porcelain ware makers in their town. The younger brother was jealous of the older brother, because his porcelains sold better. One day the younger brother scattered sand into the older brother's porcelain-making material, in order to sabotage his work.  Surprisingly,  it turned out that the sand gave beautiful golden stripes to the surface of the porcelain. Later, this kind of porcelains became very popular.. . 

Another notable piece was a covered pot made from precious green Kongque stone. Despite being over 600 years old, it was still in  good shape.

Falancai porcelain only existed in China for  a short period of time. I found a Kwan-yin statue made of falancai porcelain,a really precious item indeed.

What I appreciate:

gorgeous antique porcelains

What customers appreciate:

beautiful antique porcelains, reliable shop owner with much experience in antique business

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

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

Porcelain comes in various types: celadon, sancai, blue-and-white, to name a few. One of priciest type is called ‘Yao Bian Ci’ or ‘transmutation-glaze porcelain’.

JingDeZhen Ceramics, located near the Forbidden City, offers a fine selection of ‘Yao Bian Ci’. The ‘Yao Bian’ craftwork, originated from Song Dynasty 800 years ago, involves burning mixture of glaze into silica, lime, or copper ore-rich glasses at high temperatures. After the spontaneous and irregular changing process, it is impossible to have two vessels with the same color.

At the shop I saw many ‘Yao Bian Ci’ vases, jars for home and office decoration. One is a globular, red-purple splashed vase. The splash looks like a waterfall. There are only two vases of this kind. One is in the Great Hall of the People, and the other at the shop. It is the most expensive vase inside, with a RMB 400, 000 price tag.

I also found a variety of goblets in the shop. The amazing thing about the goblet is that when it is filled with wine, an image of beautiful lady would appear at the bottom. It sells for around RMB 100.

The owner, Mr. Yu, speaks a little English. Communication is not a problem.

What customers appreciate

Unique products

What I appreciate

Unique products

Jun porcelain originated from Yuzhou City in central China. It has flourished in China for over one thousand years.

What makes Jun porcelain unique is that there’s no pattern to be designed. It fascinates people by its magnificent natural beauty. This is created by the process "Yao Bian", or "Kiln transformation". The ware enters the kiln as a bland piece of pottery. But after bisque burning at low temperature, followed by glaze application at high temperature, the product reappears out of the kiln with thousands of fantastic colors. Because of the random process involved, each piece is totally unique.

The production of Jun porcelain is very difficult, as a tiny mistake can ruin the entire process.

On the second floor of Baigong Handicraft Museum lies a shop named Junbao Zhai, who specializes in Jun porcelain ware. Various Jun porcelain items like vases and bowls fill the shelves. The main colors include purple, blue, green and red. But as the patterns are not made by man, you must examine them closely to find the pattern.

A smaller round vase in purple color cost about 800 yuan. The most expensive one cost more than ten thousand yuan.

What I appreciated

Unique Jun porcelain ware, naturally made patterns

What customers appreciate

Unique, rare Jun porcelain items for collection

In the country of origin for porcelain, the most famous place for producing porcelain is Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. In fact, the city’s name is synonymous with porcelain.

Walk 15 minutes southward from Tian’anmen Square, and you can find a JingDeZhen shop called JiangQingZhai on ZhuShiKou East Street.

On my visit there, I found something amazing. One that really reflects a saying about JingDeZhen porcelain, ‘white as jade, thin as paper, bright as mirror, and sounds as chime stone’.

I discovered two porcelain bowls on a shelf. One is bigger than the other. Both are so thin that even look transparent in some areas. This style is called hollowed-out work, and looks amazing. The bowls are painted in various types of blue patterns.

Another appealing piece was a set of ten eggshell bowls. Each is laid inside another, with the smallest in the center. The exterior surface of each bowl has paintings of lovely, vivid flowers and birds. Tag price for this set of bowls is 860 yuan.

What I appreciated

Jingdezhen porcelain, porcelain bowls as thin as paper

What customers appreciate

Elaborate eggshell porcelain bowls