Beijing handicrafts
1. Peking Opera Mask （京剧脸谱）
Peking Opera Masks or Beijing Opera Faces or Lian Pu mean the types of facial make-up or face-painting. In Beijing Opera, different types of facial paintings express different signilicances- Red facial painting for loyalty, black facial make-up for uprightness, yellow face for homicidal and tyrannical, blue and green face-painting for a forthright and testy temper and white “face’= for the treacherous and evil men. The cratt of making traditional opera masks is unique to Beijing China. It can be traced back to the 12th century when the lirst mask appeared in a Song dynasty opera. A few strokes of the brush and every color turns a piece of plaster into a Peking opera mask.
2. Clay figurines and animals （泥塑）
Clay ligurine is a type of traditional Chinese folk art. It blends sculpting and painting to make a clay ligurine. This method is traced back to the Shang Dynasty more than 3,500 years ago, when crattmen used simple and cheap materials to make small and delicate clay ligurines. Nowadays, the handicratt has developed into a kind of folk art appreciated by people from around the world.Clay Figure Zhang is most well known of all Clay ligurine making circle. It is made of ripe clay which is pure puddlewith little sand through the process of weathering, slurring, and liltrating, evaporating. The side materials include.
3. Papercutting（剪纸）
Papercutting is one of the most popular handicratts in Beijing. It in an ad of paper, scissors and hands. They depicted ancient Chinese generals and beautiful women, Peking opera characters and facial masks, Chinese zodiac animals, and so on. There is a wider variety of papercutting patterns available than you can imagine. Chinese paper cutting is a unique ad form and has existed for a long history. Because of its unique style, paper-cutting is popular among Chinese people and foreigners as well. The ad of paper-cutting was listed in the first group of national non-material cultural heritage approved by the Chinese State Council in 2006, and it was listed as a world non-material cultural heritage by UNESCO in the same year.
4. Kites（风筝）
Kites can be used as ornaments and toys. One of China’s favorite past times is flying kites, especially in Beijingwhere there is usually plenty of wind around to send them soaring into the sky. Available in many ad and cratt stores, kites are among the best Chinese presents to friends back home Kite making is a traditional Chinese folk handicratt. The best kites are said to be made in Tianjin, Beijing and Weifang. Beijing kites are made of paper or silk and completely hand-painted. They have a strong market reputation both at home and abroad. The most experienced kite crattsman in Beijing, Fei Baolin, has developedseveral hundred kinds of kites in different shapes and sizes. The smallest can fit in the palm of one’s hand.
5. Zongren (鬃人)
The making of Figurines of drama characters (bristle dolls) made of the hair of a pig or a horse, cloth and silk,has been listed as a city-level intangible cultural heritage in Beijing. Zongren Bai is the nickname of Mr. Dacheng Bai, a local folk crattsman, famous for making’Zongren Bai'(bristle dolls), and his products- “Zongren Bai’, a kind the figurines of drama characters made of the hair of a pig or a horse, cloth and silk, listed as a city-level intangible cultural heritage in Beijing. Putting the figurines on a copper gong, then beating the gong with a wood stick, you know what has happned? All the figurines are dancing That’s how performance of bristle dolls earns its name, “show on a plate’.
6. Beijing Dough Figure （面塑）
Dough modeling is another traditional folk art handed down from ancient times. Kneaded in half-cooked glutinous rice flour, dough figures, flowers and birds are popular small toys and exhibits in Beijing.The dough toy is made of flour and sweet rice flour, and has high artistic value. With a small bamboo knife, the artist can make dough shaped as people and animals in a short time. Among these figures are beautiful princesses, adorable children and various historical people.
7. Red Lanterns （红灯笼）
Lanterns, the traditional folk handicratts, are still popular all over Beijing and other parts of the country. And the art of lanterns, as the precious traditional culture of Chinese, is also inherited and continues among folks. Lanterns play an important role in Chinese long history and symbolize the brilliant culture of China.
8. Shadow Puppet（皮影）
Shadow puppet play is a traditional form of storytelling and entertainment by using opaque, otten articulated figures in front of an illuminated backdrop to make the illusion of moving images. It is popular in various cultures At present, more than 20 countries are known to have shadow show troupes. It belongs to puppet play as well as a kind of handicratts. Its material include skin of donkey, horse and muleAlter choosing material, carving, coloring, sewing, painting etc, then a puppet is finished.
9. Pinwheels （风车）
Pinwheel is a simple children’s toy. Pinwheels are made to spin when blown upon by a person or by the wind. In China they’re also pad of the intangible cultural heritage of the nation. Prouced and used for over a thousand years, pinwheels have long been a must at the annual Spring Festival in Beijing China and sold at temple fairs.
10. Silhouette Paper Cut (剪影)
Making silhouette is a kind of clip ad. Making an outline of someone that is suitable for framing or making into a special picture. Silhouette artists beijing, do instant podraits, using just paper and scissors, simply by looking at the subject. Her beautiful, mounted silhouettes make great souvenirs for you.
