With a long historical and cultural tradition, calligraphy and painting are an epitome of traditional Chinese culture. A finely wrought piece of calligraphy or painting always makes an ideal souvenir. Apart from the renowned xuan paper, there are a good variety of media for traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy. These include shell mosaics produced in Dalian of Liaoning, Qingdao of Shandong, Baihai of Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian; tree-bark pictures from Jilin; cork patchwork of Fuzhou; paintings on bamboo curtains from Sichuan; wheat straw patchwork from Chaozhou of Guangdong and Heilongjiang; and feather patchwork from Shenyang and Shandong.
　

     Ceramics is a traditional Chinese handicraft with a long history. The best pottery-making centers are Yixing in Jiangsu Province, Shiwan in Guangdong province and Luoyang in Henan Province. Luoyang’s tri-colored pottery in Tang style is known throughout the world. Yixing’s pottery is mostly made for everyday use and is especially known for its purplish brown, glazed, polychrome and refined products. Objects of art, figurines in particular, are the forte of ceramics of Shiwan. Luoyang’s tri-colored pottery, glazed red, green and white, made a name for itself as early as the Tang Dynasty. Famous Chinese porcelains include celadon ware from Longquan of Zhejiang Province; the Ru-style porcelain ware (glazed grayish blue with a jade-like
material) from Linru and highly decorated Jun-style ware of Yuxian County of Henan Province;

     Ceramics is a traditional Chinese handicraft with a long history. The best pottery-making centers are Yixing in Jiangsu Province, Shiwan in Guangdong province and Luoyang in Henan Province. Luoyang’s tri-colored pottery in Tang style is known throughout the world. Yixing’s pottery is mostly made for everyday use and is especially known for its purplish brown, glazed, polychrome and refined products. Objects of art, figurines in particular, are the forte of ceramics of Shiwan. Luoyang’s tri-colored pottery, glazed red, green and white, made a name for itself as early as the Tang Dynasty. Famous Chinese porcelains include celadon ware from Longquan of Zhejiang Province; the Ru-style

     Traditional Chinese carving and sculpture are based on very material imaginable: jade, stone, wood, bamboo, black amber, crystals, tree roots, shells, and others. Whatever the material, the products are distinguished by the ingenious integration of likeness of imagery with graphic expressiveness and spiritual resonance. There is no lack of exquisite works at your choice.

     Cloisonné, also known as filigree enamel work, is perhaps the most famous of all traditional Chinese metal craftworks, with Beijing as the producing center. The making of cloisonné involves a complex enameling technique-from soldering to a copper surface delicate metal strips bent to the outline of a design, to filling the resulting cellular spaces with vitreous enamel paste, before the object is fired, ground smooth and finely polished. Cloisonné is also called “Jingtai Blue” because it was said that it was invented and became popular during the Reign of the Jingtai emperor (1450 –1457) of the Ming Dynasty. The Chinese cloisonné comes in such forms as vases, bowls, plates, table lamps and cups used as prizes.

　

     The “Four Treasures of the Study” in Chinese traditional culture, which is popularly known in this country, are writing brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper. Through the ages the Chinese have developed unique techniques for the making of these “treasures”, resulting in countless products with superb quality and distinct local styles. Among the more famous products are xuan paper produced in Jingxian County, Anhui Province; Huizhou-style ink sticks in Shexian County, Anhui Province; writing brushes in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province; and ink slabs produced in Zhaoqing of Guangdong Province, Shexian County of Anhui Province, Wuyuan of Jiangxi Province. Famous ink slabs include those made in Shandong Province and by the Taohe River of Guansu Province, and those

     Raw lacquer is a native Chinese product which can be processed and mixed with gay color pigments for the making of traditional Chinese lacquer ware with consummate craftsmanship. Famous products in this field include Beijing’s carved lacquer ware, Fujian’s bodiless lacquer ware and lacquer ware from Sichuan and Jiangsu Province’s Yangzhou.
　

     Bamboo, rattan, palm fiber, grass, corn husk and wheat straw make inexpensive, yet excellent raw materials for basketry and matting, so popular that they can be found virtually in every nook and corner of the country. Famous products in this category include woven bamboo ware from Nanjing, sleeping mats from Anhui, woven bamboo mats from Hunan, articles of woven straw and plaited corn husk from Shandong and Henan provinces, rattan products from Guangdong province and woven straw and hemp products from Zhejiang Province.
　

     Handy, artistically decorated, superbly crafted and incessantly upgraded fans are favorites with visitors to China who regard them as brilliant flowers in the Chinese garden of arts and crafts. Chinese fans come in a rich variety, including folding fans from Hangzhou, sandalwood fans from Suzhou, feather fans from Jiangsu and Zhejing Provinces, palm-leaf fans from Guangdong Province, woven bamboo fans from Suchuan Province, and wheat-straw fans from Zhejing Province.
　

     China is one of the world’s earliest tea-producing countries and Chinese tea is as famous as Chinese culture. Processed in different fashions, tea falls into such categories as red tea, green tea, jasmine tea and wulong tea. Among the better-known brands of Chinese tea are “Longjing” of Hangxhou, “Biluochun” of the Dongting Lake, “Tieguanyin” of Fujian, “Maojian” of Xiyang, Henan Province, “Maofeng” of Huangshan, Anhui Province, Jasmine Tea of Fujian, “Liu’an Huaban” of Yunnan, and others. The Chinese take great delight in nursing a cup of tea while chatting with loved ones or friends.