Chinese cloth shoes have a history of more than three thousand years. In Houma Shi, Shanxi Province, there discovered the unearthed warrior in West Zhou Dynasty wore the cloth shoes, which is the earliest handicraft cloth shoes. The cloth shoes were mainly handmade before the People's Republic of China was proclaimed, such as embroidery shoes.

Chinese people are very fond of them for their handmade, soft, and comfortable and ventilate characteristics. After 1949, the Chinese cloth shoes reached its peak period. There were many cloth shoes factories in our country which produced lots of cloth shoes.

Cloth shoes are elaborately made. The soles of the shoes are made up of scores of cloth layer and are completely handmade. During the course of making shoes, more than 20 meters of thread are used, and there are more than 1000 stitches on the layer.

What’s more, craftsman spends two or three days on making cloth shoes. People feel comfortable when they wear cloth shoes, especially when people are walking or traveling.

Among the Chinese cloth shoes, perhaps the most famous ones are Xiuhua shoes, namely embroidered shoes. Embroidered shoes are embodies of oriental aesthetics, with beautiful patterns in the shoe cover, toe and heel etc. The basic patterns of embroidered shoes are flowers, birds, animals, sceneries, and figures from the traditional Chinese dramas.

There are also some auspicious patterns such as lotus seeds(symbol of birth of a child), pomegranate (symbol of offspring multiplied), flying dragon and dancing phoenix(symbol of happy marriage).

However, nowadays, people in cities seldom wear cloth shoes. Most people wear sneakers or leather shoes. But cloth shoes is a part of Chinese culture with a long history, they are irreplaceable in Chinese culture together with Confucianism and Buddhism.

Recommended Shop:

Buyingzhai Shoes Shop

As a time-honored brand in China, Buyingzhai has been famous for their shoes since 1858. With a wide variety of styles, ranging from fabric based shoes to silk slippers or leather shoes designs, traditional hats are also on display here.

The shoes of Buyingzhai are extremely comfortable and the ones the are partiularly made of fabric are worth marveling at before trying them on. Currently, Buyingzhai has several branches in Beijing.

Buyingzhai's shoes are special not only because they are comfortable and high-quality, but also because they are skillfully crafted and have a beautiful appearance. Apart from the cloth shoes, Buyingzhai also produces leather shoes, sports shoes and children's shoes which are all insured for good quality and comfort.

Its worth shopping here for a pair that will last for a decent amount of years.

Address: No.8, Dashila Street, Xuanwu District .

Tel: 86-10-63013329.

Website: www.buyingzhai.cn/

Business hours: 9:00am-9:00pm.

Transportation: take bus No.120, 20, 2, 48, 59, 626, 66, 69, 71, 729 to the Dashila Station.