White Peacock: Where Folk Arts Come Alive

Hidden away in a neighborhood along the north city moat near Deshengmen is the White Peacock, a three-story folk arts and crafts department store selling everything Chinese you can think of. Sure you can get the same thing in your hotel gift shop, but can you watch the art being created?

Liulichang: The Real McCoy

Warning of the perils of curio hunting in Peking, a 1920s visitor wrote: "Most expect to pick up a piece of considerable value for next to nothing, but in fact pick up something worth nothing for quite a considerable sum." Nowhere should these words of warning -- that worthless fakes abound -- be more shrewdly heeded than in Liulichang, Beijing -- so-called antiques street, where things, and people, have habit of not being what they appear. But I soon found out that there were exceptions to the rule.

Sun Erlin has been making paper-cuts since she was eight. Her mother would labor all day, making paper flowers -- called jian chuang hua ("cut window flowers") because they are often displayed on the window sills of Inner Mongolia -- and embroidery all night. Life in the countryside was hard, but Sun loved being with her mother.

A Legacy of Flight--the Family of "Kite Ha"

The room belongs to Ha Yiqi, 44, the fourth descendant of the family of Kite Ha (Feng Zheng Ha). "I used to learn Western art forms such as oil paintings and sketches as well. I think it's quite ... ...

Uncommon Clay

Yu Qingcheng shares his earthy vision.

Ask Yu Qingcheng which of his sculptures is his favorite and he points to a clay figure of an old man he has named "Wang Lao Wu."

Lido Loot

Haggle for top bargains at the shiny new Lido Market.

If you're looking for good bargains on Chinese arts and crafts -- and for honest vendors who think of bargaining as a sport but not a blood-sport -- head for the Lido Market.

Folk Arts for City Slickers

Lily Lee conceived her profound love for Chinese folk arts when she was a student at Renmin University in the late 1980s. Since graduation, she has journeyed all over China collecting traditional Chinese arts and crafts and visiting folk artists in her spare time. ...