Beijing shopping

Downtown Beijing is full of shops and there are a few streets where they offer more traditional arts and crafts, such as Liulichang. Rongbaozhai, the most famous art shop, sells exquisite paintings with heavy Buddhist and Daoist influences. Specialising in something completely different is Tongrentang, a famous chain store that sells all sorts of Chinese medicines, still preferred by many to Western pills. This clip covers talking about what you like and want, referring to this or that painting and commenting on the price.

In a market

Open air markets are still popular places to buy fruit and vegetables because of their freshness and variety. Often, stall keepers will use finger counting to indicate the price of their produce – handy for foreigners who don’t understand Chinese. At the other end of the scale, Beijing has many exclusive boutiques. A Chinese designer tells us about her collection of garments which merge Eastern motifs and Western tastes. She takes inspiration from the beautiful colours and motifs of brocades from the imperial court, as well as Tibetan and Buddhist decoration. This clips covers saying what you want in a market, including some fruit and quantities, and asking how much it is.