Tea is good for your health, but maybe you don't like its taste. How about putting some delicious fruits or other food into it to make it more flavorful? Cheng Yuan tea house is a good place to find such tea.

The tea house has a large variety of tea, including green tea, flower tea, black tea, and oolong tea. But the one that I found most attractive was ginseng-oolong tea.

When the shop owner showed me the tea in a brick, I just couldn't believe it. The tea leaves were stuck tightly together, like beautiful green stones. Put them into a teapot, and the bricks immediately open and release the tea leaves with a pleasant aroma.

As a mixture of oolong tea leaves and precious ginseng, so it tastes a bit sweet.

According to the shop owner, drinking ginseng-oolong tea is especially good for the eyes, throat, and teeth. If you drink it after drinking alcohol, it can remove the dry and uncomfortable feeling in your throat.

Another special tea offered in this shop is litchi-black tea. It's mixed litchis and black tea. In the wintertime, drinking this tea can keep your stomach warm, and more remarkably, improve your skin!

The tea shop also has various tea sets: those made of porcelain, glass, and purple clay. The transparent glass tea set is suitable for brewing flower tea. You can enjoy the tea leaves dancing in the cup, and its beautiful color changes in just minutes.

The purple clay teapots are surely indispensable for any tea lover. A brown teapot in the shape of a cute pumpkin looked so appealing. Another teapot has a funny fish lid with beautiful water lines around, so it looks like the fish has just jumped out of your tea!

This shop has so many interesting things to discover. I am sure it won't disappoint you when you come here.

What I appreciate:

Precious and tasty tea

What customers appreciate:

A great variety of tea and tea sets

Drinking tea is good for your health. Different kinds of tea have different tastes and medicinal functions. Near Beijing’s famous Drum Tower, I found a tea shop where you can get almost every kind of tea you want. 

The tea shop is beautifully decorated with red Chinese knots, and gives a comfortable, warm feeling. To my surprise, the shop assistant speaks fluent English.

First she showed me some precious white tea called “silver needle.” I noticed the tea leaves were covered with white hair, and they were shaped like a needle. Drinking this tea is helpful for diabetics, the owner said.

Another kind of tea she showed to me also has an interesting name: phoenix oolong tea. It grows on a mountain called Phoenix Mountain. Oolong tea is especially suitable for drinking in cold weather, as it has a deep, natural flavor, and is good for your stomach.

The tea shop also features a variety of tea sets. They are good quality and look beautiful. A set of bright red tea sets looks quite striking, and is said to have been favored by the emperors in ancient China.

Just before I was ready to leave, the warmhearted shop assistant brewed me a cup of oolong tea. Watching her skillfully prepare the tea with a whole set of tea tools, like a tea funnel, tea clip, tea brush, and tea spoon, I felt overjoyed that I found this lovely tea shop.

Well, if you come to this tea shop, you will have the same opportunity I did, so come taste any tea you like!

What I appreciate:

Tasty tea, good service

What customers appreciate:

Various kinds of quality tea, English-speaking shop assistant

A brush pen, ink, paper, and ink stone are indispensable tools for creating graceful Chinese paintings and calligraphy. These “four treasures of the study” are also a great gift idea for you to show your special taste in Chinese art.

A shop close to Beijing’s CBD area boasts these four treasures from the most famous areas in China.

The various brush pens displayed look so neat. Their tips are made from sheep, goat, or wolf hair. A sheep's wool brush pen is soft and suitable for writing free hand calligraphy, while a fox hair brush can be used in many ways.

The ink stones are from She county. They are some of the most well-known ink stones in China, and feature a delicate surface, perfect for grinding ink. Even in wintertime, ink contained in this ink stone doesn't freeze.

Piled on the shelves, Xuan paper is special for its beautiful, clean white color, and smooth, soft surface. It easily absorbs water, and is suitable for any style of painting and writing.

The shop owner is a talented artist. He is especially good at painting landscapes on Chinese fans.

When you shop there, you can watch him do a painting on the spot!

What I appreciate:

Quality four treasures of the study for collection

What customers appreciate:

Beautiful gifts, reasonable prices

Sometimes Chinese artisans incorporate the beauty of nature into their work. One example is bamboo scroll paintings, where pictures are painted right on bamboo. Just simply hang them on the wall without a costly frame, and it's a beautiful decoration.

I visited a shop close to the Forbidden City and was impressed by the wide selection of bamboo artwork it offers. On the scroll paintings, images of birds, cranes, tigers, flowers, and men are intricately carved into the wood. I liked a painting featuring eight galloping horses the best. Each horse is characterized by its unique and vivid expression. Watching them, I felt like I was on a great prairie.

Besides pictures, the shop also has scripts carved on to bamboo scroll. Some of the scripts are excerpts from famous writings in ancient China, such as the Teachings of Confucius and Sun Tzu's Art of War.

Bamboo carvings are another kind of artwork highlighted in this shop. Many works are based on Chinese history and legends. You can see an ancient warrior, a Buddha, and a god vividly carved into this beautiful bamboo wood.

Also, they have a bamboo carving featuring pines and cranes is in the shape of a pot. This symbolizes longevity.

The shop also offers small bamboo products such as jars, dishes, spoons, and trays.

What I appreciate:
Handmade artwork, intricate craftsmanship

What customers appreciate:
Beautiful bamboo artwork, reasonable prices

What a great pleasure to watch horses galloping on the prairie! If you don't have the chance to watch real horses, then why not get a horse painting by Mr. Wang Zixian? His paintings vividly depict galloping horses in every detail. They are not only good gifts for your friends, but perfect for decorating your home.

I visited Mr. Wang Zixian's studio a few days ago and was impressed by the tremendous display of paintings.

One painting depicts a thousand horses galloping together on a great prairie. It symbolizes people who work hard for the same goal.

Another painting named "Jump and Fly into the Sky" is characterized by an excited horse jumping high. It is copied from the image of a horse on a very old Chinese antique.

Mr. Wang Zixian told me he started to paint when he was very young. In order to master this art, he went to Inner Mongolia and stayed there for several months. While watching horses running on the prairie, he painted over 1000 horses. With this experience, he established his own style of painting horses.

What I appreciate:
Beautiful horse paintings

What customers appreciate:
Reasonable price

Unique Chinese calligraphy art represents the beauty of painting, dance, and music. Each character is as beautiful and delicate as a flower.

At Mr. Li Feng’s studio, you can watch a calligraphy master create your own personal artwork on the spot.

Mr. Li Feng started to write calligraphy at the age of 7.  After many years of study and practice, he created his own style of calligraphy---- clerical regular script. The calligraphy artwork exhibited in his studio is mainly done in this style.

One artwork with the character “dragon” is quite striking. Mr. Li wrote it with only one stroke. Examining this character, you will find it is square on the outside and round inside.

Another piece of art describing scenery is distinguished by the hardness of the characters. The lines look like they’re carved on stone.

Clerical regular script first appeared in China 2000 years ago. Mr. Li Feng is the only calligraphist who writes in this way today.

What I appreciate:
Unique calligraphy done by a famous artist

What customers appreciate:
Chinese calligraphy created on the spot

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

Chinese curios are not only beautiful indoor decorations, but also a good investment. So I was happy to find a shop featuring various curio items from different Chinese historical periods.

Many ceramic items here show high level of craftsmanship. A pear-shaped, green glaze pot was made 1000 years ago. Its spout and handle were made at the same time. Even today, it's not easy to reproduce an item like this.

The oldest antique in this shop is a 7000-year-old ceramic water container. Its body is the shape of 3 women's breasts, while its top is a baby's face that looks like he wants to suck a breast for milk. This item depicts women's reproduction power.

Another unique item is a blue-and-white porcelain named “Ice Plum Blossom Vase.” It features beautiful white blossoms with a blue glaze background. The blossoms are blank spots intentionally left out when the blue glaze was fired to the surface.

Besides ceramic, this shop has some items made of copper or brass. What I like most is a group of 18-Arhat brass sculptures. Each Arhat shows a different emotion. Some are happy, while some are gloomy. They represent people's attitude toward life and the gods they worship.

The shop owner has been dealing in the antique business for over 20 years. He has a sharp eye for antiques.

What I appreciate:
A wide selections

What customers appreciate:
Precious curios, reliable shop owner

A silk figurine is a Chinese figurine with gorgeous silk clothes. It usually depicts ancient beauties from Chinese folktales. People like to decorate their home with these beautiful dolls.

A few days ago I found a silk figurine shop in a famous handicrafts market in Beijing. Each figurine is characterized by its unique facial expression and elegant posture. Some are reading, some are dancing, some are playing musical instruments, and some seem to be delivering an eloquent speech.

According to the shop assistant, a silk figurine is entirely handmade. The process of making a silk figurine involves many steps, including sculpting, painting, designing clothes, and arranging the hair. It usually takes a skilled worker a couple of weeks to make just one silk figurine.

One figurine featuring a woman combing her hair was my favorite. Her hair is made of silk thread.

Besides silk figurines, the shop also has other colorful items like cloisonne bracelets, plates, and handmade straw hats.

What I appreciate:

Unique craftsmanship

What customers appreciate:

A wide selection of traditional Chinese handicrafts

A Chinese stone seal engraved with beautiful patterns is usually used by painters to make imprints on their works. Today more and more people collect it as an ornament to beautify their rooms.  If you own a rare Chinese seal made of a special stone, you can make money from it, as its value is rising every year

A few days ago I visited a Chinese stone seal shop in a famous antique street. The shop offered 4 types of stone seals: Shoushan, Qingtian, Changhua, and "Chicken Blood". The names of the first three are derived from the places which produce them.

The shop keeper showed me a Tianhuang stone seal, a kind of Shoushan stone seals, which was yellow and engraved with beautiful flowers. According to her, the deposit of Tianhuang stone was almost depleted, and its value was100 times that of gold. So it would be wise to make an investment in it.

"Chicken Blood" stone seals are the most popular with costumers. Their color is tyrian pink. Their textures are very suitable for seal carving. One features an image of two old man discussing under a tree. You can see clearly every detail of it, like the men's beard. It's about 7 cm long, and 2 cm wide. Because of its increasing rarity, the value of a "Chicken Blood" stone seal is surely to increase in the future.

What I appreciate:
Precious Chinese stone seals with beautiful carving

What costumers appreciate:
Beautiful Chinese stone seals which are good for collection