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April 2000 Issue 77 |
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April 2000 Issue 77 |
| CONTENTS
Oz Art--Foreigners show and tell
Trade center--Future options at Guomao
Johnny Jazz--This month's foreign diplomat
Grand gateway--Beijing's oldest imperial temple Downtown--In Pingyao ancient city Make it Malaysia--The grandest getaway of all
Space Girl--She has NASA experimenting
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Where It’s At: China World ShoppingThe growth of China World Trade Center has made it one of Beijing’s most prestigious business areas. Shopping, dining and entertainment combine well, meeting the needs of both Chinese and Western customers. For expats, the most popular places include Le Cool ice rink and the nearby Chinese stores. Le Cool Ice Rink Open: 10am-10pm Ticket: Mon.-Fri.6pm: RMB30/90 minutes before 6pm, RMB40/90 minutes after 6pm; Fri.6pm-Sun.: RMB50/90 minutes Since its opening in late 1999, Friday nights and weekends are busiest at one of the city’s very few ice rinks. Daniel Li, 6, skates two hours every day and is learning ice hockey. Only two months ago, he knew nothing about it. His mother Angela Li escorts him and skates beautifully. They are just one example of many typical skaters. Le Cool is Beijing’s only real ice rink besides the melting Capital Gymnasium. Zhang’s Textiles Add: NB (north basement) 140, China World Shopping Mall Tel: 6505-6201 Noth The oldest silk embroidered dress was about 300 years old. Typical embroidery patterns and pieces are mounted and framed. Some are sewn to modern Chinese dress. Zhang’s fabrics come decorated with jewelry and ornaments. He also sells women’s shoes, embroidered purses, children’s hats and paper cuts. TOTS “The Original Toy Store Add: NB141A Tel: 6505-4548 This toy store is purely for adults.
Patience, observation and practice are the basics that a successful visitor needs. It
could be a source of inspiration, or a real confidence killer. In Chinese, its name ( tou da) explains more. The toys are believed to matouke players more brainy, their heads get bigger. Taiwan-based, all Tots toys are imported. Chinese checkers come from Thailand and cost 209 yuan (the wood quality). The difficulty level of German puzzles is measured in “grandfathers". A “great grandfather”(1,290 yuan) looks more complicated and fiddly than the “grandfather”(899 yuan). Recommended buys: Solitaire, Thailand, 209 yuan; Babylon, Germany, 199 yuan; Ogtiles, Germany, 339 yuan; Scala, Switzerland, 2,490 yuan. Emperor (Huangjin) Add: WB119 Tel: 6505-6146 Two traditional Chinese imperial lamps light the entrance, capturing in their glint the golden napkin rings and tableware displayed in beautiful silky boxes. A wine bottle is wrapped in a red silk bag. Different-sized mobile phone bags hang on a shelf. Soft yellow, red, black, blue and green scatter cushions seduce shoppers into a world of excessive comfort. The cushion, tableware, napkins are all
Western ideas, but they were made with Chinese silk and decorated with Chinese
embroideries and knots. The whole idea was said to originate from Taiwan. Shop owner Zhang
Xuemei studied fabric-dying at college, and ended up owning a factory to produce and sell
her designs Recommended buys: Mobile phone bag, 70-100 yuan; Napkin box cover, 45 yuan; Cushion, 180-240 yuan; Full set of tableware, 320 yuan upwards. Joys of Spring Inspired by the light and colors of Nordic spring, scarf and tie designer Marja Kurki presented her 2000 spring collection at the “Go North” fashion show at the Palace Hotel. The collection’s three themes “Tenderly Classical, the Rhythm of Life and the Joy of Life “were portrayed by dancers perform-ing ballet against changing backdrops of Finnish landscape. Jewelry Debuts Cartier brought 30 pieces of jewelry worth 20 million yuan to Beijing
for the first time in its 150-year-plus history, and presented them to new Chinese
customers at the Palace Hotel. The carefully-selected jewerlries included marrakeh and fleurette (diamond necklaces), tetes croisee (ring), panthere (five-line diamond necklace) and lakarda (bracelet watch). |
What's
Hot
ing here looks really old, but definitely there are real antiques.
Manager Zhang Zhiyong learned the skill of recognizing authentic embroideries and silks
from his mother Zhao Caixia, who began collecting antiques in the countryside in the
1980s. This little but busy store opened in 1998 and received US President Bill Clinton
during his visit.
. According to Zhang, all the products are
designed by her and produced in her factory.
