Finding Inexpensive Chinese Art in China

You will read in many guide and travel books that so much antique art in China is fake. This is true, but they make great fakes, believe me! However if you are patient and look in the right places you will find wonderful overlooked art and antiques. Pictured above are just some examples that I have found. The two carved art hangings I found in LiJiang. In LiJiang there was an earthquake and many of the buildings were destroyed in 1996 or '97. These pieces are part of doors and windows hand carved and over 100 years old. The red piece was all black from coal burning soot. My wife took over a month to hand clean it when she found this beautiful red color underneath the soot. We then framed it and it hangs in our dining room. The other piece was a window frame and we carefully cleaned it, framed it and it hangs on our stairway showing the white wall through it giving it depth. The wooden carved Monk came from a 700 year old Temple near Guilin that had been torn down and the wooden parts were going to be used as fire wood. I purchased all of these for less than a cost of a McDonald's Happy Meal! (several years ago) Small villages and the countryside are good places to find hidden treasures. My favorite places to check out in Beijing however is the Baoguosi old Temple on Saturdays or Sundays when the local people bring out their small treasures to sell. If you want good fakes, the Panjiayuan Saturday/Sunday Market in Beijing on the south side of Beijing is another good place to check out...but Buyer Beware too. My next writing to follow will be on some very special Tea Pots that I have been collecting and I consider pieces of art since they are hand chisseled from a special stone. Check back with me later. If you are interesting in going to China, I am a China Tour Operator and China Tour Agency for the past 25 years. You can check my web site at www.interlakechinatours.com