Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
To find the tea market, look for the statue of Lu Yu, the 8th-century sage who wrote the
first book on growing, preparing and drinking tea, which stands outside it.
RÓNGBǍOZHĀI
|CHINESE ARTWORK
( 6303 6090; 19 Liulichang Xijie, 9am-5.30pm; Hepingmen)
Spread over two floors and
sprawling down quite a length of the road, the scroll paintings, woodblock prints, paper,
ink and brushes here are presented in a rather flat, uninspired way by bored staff - a con-
sequence of it being state run. But it has plenty of goods on offer. Prices are generally
fixed, although you can usually get 10% off.
CATHAY BOOKSHOP
( Zhōngguó Shūdiàn; 6303 2104; 34 Liulichang Xijie, 34 9am-6.30pm; Hepingmen)
There are two
branches of the Cathay Bookshop on Liulichang. This branch (Gǔjí Shūdiàn), on the south
side of Liulichang Xijie opposite Róngbǎozhāi, is worth checking out for its wide variety
of colour art books on Chinese painting, ceramics and furniture, and its books on religion
(most books are in Chinese). Upstairs has more art books, stone rubbings and antiquarian
books. The store takes MasterCard and Visa. There's another, smaller branch close by on
which feature photographs of the old Qing imperial household, including snapshots of Re-
ginald Johnson (last emperor Puyi's Scottish tutor), Puyi practising shadow boxing, eu-
nuchs and Cixi dressed as Avalokiteshvara (Guanyin).
|BOOKS, CHINESE ARTWORK
TÓNGRÉNTÁNG
( 6303 1155; 24 Dazhalan Jie, 8am-7.30pm; Qianmen)
This famous, now international, herbal
medicine shop has been peddling pills and potions since 1669. It was a royal dispensary in
the Qing dynasty and its medicines are based on secret prescriptions used by royalty. You
can be cured of anything from fright to encephalitis, or so the shop claims. Traditional
doctors are available on the spot for consultations. Look for the pair of
qílín
(hybrid anim-
als that appear on earth in times of harmony) standing guard outside.
|CHINESE MEDICINE
NÈILIÁNSHĒNG SHOE SHOP
|SHOES
( Nèiliánshēng Xiédiàn; 6301 4863; 34 Dazhalan Jie, 9am-9pm; Qianmen)
They say this is the
oldest existing cloth shoe shop in China (it opened in 1853) and it has a factory that still
employs more than 100 workers. Mao Zedong and other luminaries had their footgear
made here and you too can pick up ornately embroidered shoes, or the simply styled cloth
