With typical traditional Chinese style facade, Huacaizhou is a shop which offers traditional Chinese handicrafts near the Beijing Ningxia Hotel.
 
The shop is a colorful, soothing world, with numerous Chinese folk art items on display.
 
Near the window display, I noticed a host of exquisite Peking Opera character puppets, paper-cuts, and decorative items in Chinese ethnic style.
 
Others attract my attention were hand-made Piying (皮影) artworks. These hand-made puppets can not only be enjoyed as beautiful artworks, but also used in shadow theater plays.
 
They are made of leather, and one of Beijing’s essential handcrafts. The prices range from RMB 150 to RMB 500 a pop.
 
Huacaizhou also offers customized works, like the furry monkey.
 
The shop owner, Mr Xie is a master of the art. He told me the body of the monkey is made out of cicada slough, while the furry part is made by the seeds from yulan.
 
Both are traditional Chinese medicine. For Mr Xie, the most difficult part is the tool-making. His monkeys carry wood items like fans, drums, and football.
 
Because they are very small, it was hard to cut the wood into the correct shape.


“I can make a furry monkey with different themes upon a customer’s request. It usually takes me 10 to 15 days to complete.” Mr Xie added.
 
Talking about his experience, Mr Xie said he came up with the idea to open this shop because his wife and he had a crush on Chinese folk arts.
 
They started their business together in 2005. Since then, they’ve received more and more customers, especially foreigners.
 
Overall, prices in the shop range from RMB 15 to RMB 1000. You can bargain with the shop owner in English.

China has 56 minority groups, and each of them has their own artwork and customs.

If you have a chance to visit Yandai Xiejie, an old lane famous for small antique and handicraft shops, you may find a shop named “Naxi Po Po”, only a few steps away from the  Beijing Phoenix Palace.

“Naxi” is the name of an ethnic minority mainly lives in Lijiang, Yunnan province. “Po Po” means grandma in Chinese. So, the name sounds quite genial.

On my visit there, the characteristic façade of the shop caught my eye. Its name was written both in Chinese and in Dong Ba pictograph, a picture language created by Naxi people over a thousand years ago.

It is the only pictograph language still used in use today. With curiosity, I stepped in.

The shop owner, Mr. Yang, greeted me and told me about this shop. He once visited the ancient town of Lijiang, and was fascinated by the unique local handicrafts.

He couldn’t remove the deep impression from his head. And so he decided to open this shop, and bring the mysterious Naxi culture to Beijing.

Looking around, I found various handmade items on display, such as clothing, bags, tapestries, and lacquerware.

Most of them are decorated with Dong Ba pictograph. These blessings are considered to bring good luck to you and chase away evil spirits.

The colorful bags, called “Tong Pa”, are popular with young people. The picture shows a pledge of love between a girl and a lad.

For presents and souvenirs, the beautiful Naxi dolls wearing bright ethnic costume and accessories look very lovely.

Click Here to see video of this shop.

Chinese New Year’s woodblock painting is a type of picture commonly posted during the Spring Festival.

In the past, you may find them on windows and doors of almost every home before the Spring Festival.

The natural and simple strokes, created by simple farmers, express their simple desires for the upcoming year.

Color Together, located in Drum Tower near The Emperor Hotel , is a newly opened shop selling this Chinese specialty.

The shop owner, Mr Yi, developed a love for this art because he was born in a town famous for Spring Festival paintings. He happily shared the paintings’ stories.

I really liked the story of the “Door God”. According to legends, two brothers called Shen Tu and Yu Lei supervised ghosts and monsters.

If a monster wanted to harm a human, the brothers would tie the monster up to feed the tiger. Later people drew portraits of Shen Tu and Yu Lei on windows and doors, to ward off unwelcomed guests.

I found the delicate Chinese doll very attractive. It depicts a smiling Chinese doll with a scroll in her hand. The words on the scroll means harmony.

This design came from the beautiful city of Su Zhou, and one of the most famous wood block paintings in China. This is difficult to find Su Zhou’s painting nowadays.

Prices are modest. Smaller works tend to be under a hundred yuans. While more complicated works cost several  hundred yuans.

A small porcelain shop recently opened on the north side of Di’anmen Dongdajie near the Beijing Ning Xia Hotel. 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.