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Marco Polo Shop: An Arts & Crafts Eye-Opener

This is certainly the case with the Beijing Arts & Crafts Marco Polo Trading Company Limited (Marco Polo), located on Sanjianfang Donglu north of the Shuangqiao Station on the Batong Line of the Beijing Subway, between Chaoyang Lu and Chaoyang Beilu in eastern Chaoyang District. Entering this dazzling paradise of traditional works of art and crafts from all over China proved some of the hype about the store to be true: it is truly an arts and crafts museum, not just a simple trading company for antiques, collectibles, art and crafts.

When he served as the director of the Liaison Office of the United States in China during the 1970s, former US President George H.W. Bush reportedly added a twist to a saying often repeated by visitors to Beijing when he said there are three things a visitor must do when visiting Beijing: “Climb the Great Wall, eat Beijing Roast Duck and shop at Sanjianfang.” The Marco Polo (Mao Long) shop on Sanjianfang Donglu, though a bit remote, receives numerous visitors from both at home and abroad, including governmental VIPs, social celebrities and business customers.

Zuo Anli, manager of the Marco Polo, which has a shop of the same name in Great Britain, said, “Most older Chinese and Englishmen know that Marco Polo is an importer and exporter of fine art and craft collections that they can rely upon.” The stores’ staffs in China and in the United Kingdom know what they can and what they cannot import and export legally and are authorized to engage in this business. The Marco Polo shop in China was founded by two Chinese, Huang Xiangyu and Jin Zhuoyun, and an Englishman, A. R. Porter, in 1946, basing the name of their store on the name of the legendary Italian traveller Marco Polo. Since its founding, the Marco Polo shop has enjoyed a reputation for outstanding service and high quality, two factors that have helped it weather economic prosperity and recession. Formerly, the shop mainly served the foreign staff of embassies to China. Now, it has survived as the only China Time Honoured Brand in the foreign trading industry of this time.

The Marco Polo shop settled in Sanjianfang after several moves during the last century from its original location in Dongjiao Minxiang. In early 2005, the renovated Marco Polo shop was officially opened to the public. The five-floor new Beijing Arts & Crafts Marco Polo Art Centre is one of a kind with more than 10,000 high-class works of art and crafts from all around China and abroad. The company’s sales focus has changed; it now serves ordinary people in addition to foreigners.

Zuo said, “Regardless whether visitors buy something or not, we welcome their visit to our arts exhibition just the same.”

Though it could easily pose as an arts museum, this trading company is an irresistible place to shop and browse. Visitors will undoubtedly surrender to its charming presentations of art and craft collections available on all five of its floors. Especially interesting is the art and craft carving exhibition hall on the fifth floor, where masters craft works of perfection. One piece, an ivory carving, featured scenes of Mount Tai, including a narrow, twisting, winding trail, fluffy clouds, fragile trees and even figures of tourists. A mysterious coral flower of a bright red colour and intriguing appearance was another masterpiece. A huge Xixiang jade work seemed to pour out its greenness. A gold palace lamp, inlaid with jewels and eight pieces of white and 26 pieces of green jade epitomized a luxurious spirit. A jade Chinese cabbage featured two mantises quietly resting on it; it seemed they might take flight at any moment.

On the third floor, the No. 6 exhibition hall is chock full of Su and Xiang embroidery and wood carvings. The most eye-catching embroidered piece may well be the 11 folding screens that portray a whole scene of the “Along the River During Qingming Festival” (Qingming shanghe tu), a work of Song Dynasty artist Zhang Zeduan. An awe-inspiring piece, viewers may be amazed by its exquisite and close stitching. The shadow of the steps and balustrades, even the eyebrows of the women on the picture are finely detailed and well-proportioned.

A large painting greets your entry into the painting and calligraphy collection exhibition hall. The 5.26-metre-long and 2.56-metre-high “Ten Fine Horses in the Willow Forest” is a precious masterpiece of two Chinese painters Zhang Daqian and his brother Zhang Shanzi, portraying a quiet scene with elegant willows, horses, green grasses and glistening waves on a river, reflecting a peaceful, spiritual world. Around the hall, plenty of paintings will be found hanging on the walls or just lazily lying on the tables, where they can be easily viewed.

With all the furniture, new and old porcelain, four treasures of the study, jewellery and jade carvings, ivory carvings, Su and Xiang embroidery, silk and wool carpets, cloisonné and carved lacquer ware, paintings of famous artists and curios…you may feel as if abandoned in a treasure house. Even noting objects you’d like to take a closer look at later seemed a waste of time; it was all worth viewing again.

The goods on sale in the Marco Polo shop are all clearly marked with their prices, unlike other antique or art and craft markets. The Marco Polo shop has based its business on the principles of providing value with honesty and integrity. Experts keep a close eye on the quality of the store’s goods, and their advice on value and pricing can be relied upon. No customer should ever feel cheated; to the contrary, customers will be enriched by merely visiting the shop.

“We do not merely sell goods; we value the arts,” a store manager said. “If you are rich, you can buy some of the art and craft works, but if you can not afford them, it doesn’t matter; you can come here to just have a look. We call our shop an art centre, mostly because it can boost our traditional culture.”