Looking For Pearls And Antiques In Beijing

The largest pearl store near the Temple of Heaven

The Pearl Market close to the Beijing Avic Hotel is a hot shopping center. Every day it attracts a great number of people from all over the world. If you want to buy natural pearl jewelery for yourself or loved ones, I recommend you come here and to a shop named Fanghua Pearl and Jewel.

This big shop is really a supermarket of pearls. Hundreds of pearl necklaces were displayed in showcases. They had many colors: golden yellow, pink, milk white, and black.

Ms. Carrie is a kind shop keeper. She told me Fanghua is the No.1 retailer of high-quality pearls in China. There are mainly three grouping of pearls in the shop: fresh water pearls, sea water pearls, and South Sea pearls.

Ms. Carrie explained to me how to distinguish real pearls from fake ones. There’s a rule for judjing fine pearls: the rounder and shinier, the better.

Photos on the wall showed foreign dignitaries visiting the shop. I saw Margaret Thatcher, Putin’s wife, the Queen of Spain, and the Queen of Belgium. The photos are proof of the charm of the Oriental pearls.

Next shop: antiques, jade jewelry and works of art

Last week I visited Chengtian Antique City, which is very close to the Guangxi Hotel Beijing. I found a shop that carried Chinese antiques, jade jewelry, and other kinds of art. They were great decorations.

The shop owner Mr. Tang collected many antique porcelain wares, including vases, bowls, and plates. Some of them were antiques made in the Qing dynasty.

The shop owner Mr. Tang greeted me and showed me a porcelain statue of Empress Dowager Cixi, an infamous female ruler of the Qing dynasty. She was sitting on a stone bench with a big spotted dog. She was wearing a big black hat and a button-down robe with yellow, red, and blue. On the robe were embroidered peonies and butterflies. In China, peonies represent wealth and status.

Their jade items are also very popular, including the pendants and bracelets. They were white and looked glossy. Such items symbolize virtue in Chinese.

I also found Chinese paintings, calligraphy work, and wood carvings. They are all traditional Chinese art forms. This is a must-see shop right near your hotel in Beijing.