This vast, multi-story emporium is known for its good selection of jade (with certificates of authenticity), jadeite,cloisonnéé vases, carpets, as well as other Chinese arts and crafts. Jewelry (gold, silver, jade, and pearl) is on the ground floor, with glass, paintings, calligraphy and fans on the second floor. You can find woodcarvings, cloisonnéé,lacquer wareand silk on the third floor and jade carvings on the fourth floor.
It is adjacent to the Snack Street, which is a unique experience with its food stalls and souvenir booths, with the sign outside saying Artistic Mansion. There is floor after floor of higher quality souvenirs and Jade. Because bargaining is not as aggressive as other markets, you are able to negotiate some lower prices here. They are open 9:30-20:00 during the week.
TheAPMshopping mall, just down the street, has numerous restaurants in which you can have your lunch, and there is an ATM outside. All of this is a ten-minute walk from the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, so it's definitely worth some time exploring while in this part of Beijing.
Also in the store, you can find dough figurines, a simple folk handicraft demonstrating high artistic quality. It has a history of over 1,340 years. The vivid figurine is made by skilled craftsmen from sticky rice dough mixed with pigments, honey and olefin. After cutting, slashing, pinching and twisting the dough, a lifelike child, beautiful girl or other creations will come out in the twinkling of an eye. You can witness the artisans making dough figurines along the exhibition streets in Beijing and you will be astonished by their excellent skills.
It is a kind of small sculpture that uses flour and glutinous rice flour as the main raw material, and such components as color, paraffin, and honey, which then undergoes control and mildew-proof processing. It is a type of folk artwork easy to make, but has very high artistic value. The traditional folk craft boasts a history of two or three hundred years so far.
Generally, dough figures are made on streets and sold on the spot. The artisan depends on this craft to make a living. There is no specific institution teaching the skills for making dough figurines, but it is handed down by oral teaching and practice. In general, the craft is passed down from the ancestors of a family. There are many schools of dough figure making. They differ from one another in the formula and techniques of dough kneading. Even within the same school, the formula and techniques of dough kneading can also be different with the change of seasons and works.
The pocket sized and varied dough figures are full of profound Chinese characteristics. They are fully concentrated with the historical and cultural essence of the five-thousand-year history of the Chinese nation.
Address: 200WangfujingAvenue, Dongcheng District
Phone: 86-010-6514-0170
Subway Route: Take Subway Line One to Wangfujing Station
Bus Route: Take Bus No. 99 to get off at Wangfujing Stop, and then walk to the Beijing Arts & Crafts Central Store (GongmeiMansion工美大厦)
