Hutong shops are the Beijing alternative to shopping malls. The most well-known among these neighborhood alleys is Nan Luoguxiang, which is rarely missing from the itinerary of tourists.
West of the Lama Temple is Wudaoying Hutong, which some people dub “the next Nan Luoguxiang.” Wudaoying’s collection of shops is growing, but it still provides the brand of peace and tranquility people seek out in hutong.
Second-hand fashion with a heart
The owner, Xiangzi, opened Brand Nü, a small second-hand store last month after coming back from Canada and feeling a need to pay things forward. “I felso lucky to have a good job, a happy family and the opportunity to have lived abroad for two years as a TV director. As a Buddhist, I thought maybe it was time that I do something for others,” he said.Half of the store products are given by Xiangzi’s friends, most of who are women who shop regularly and own many things they do not use. There are piles of clothes in a variety of styles; shoppers will feel like they’re rummaging thugh an old wardrobe. Shirts cost from 10 to 80 yuan, while jeans, no matter which brand, go for 50 yuan.
Brand Nü welcomes donations, which make up a part of its inventory. “I set aside the relatively new and valuablstuff – by which I don’t mean expensive but attractive. The rest are given to people in poor areas,” Xiangzi sayThe shop also teams up with NGOs such as One Foundation, Beijing Cultural Development Center for Rural Women and Xingeng Workshop to sell handicrafts made by women from impoverished rural communities. At Brand Nü, customers can find traditional baby shoes, handmade cushions, wallets and other original-design household ites. The profit from these items is given to the NGOs to finance their future projects.The shop has yet to recover its capital, but Xiangzi has his family’s support to continue the venture. “It’s like a platform where I bring together NGOs, designers and customers to generate money for poor women in rural areas,” he says.The former TV fashion director’s next project is to alter some of the second-hand clothes working with the students at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology – to make them more trendy and attractive. The stop also plans to deal in second-hand books.
Brand Nü
Where: 61 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng District
Despite its name, Zig Zag is not a cigarette shop but a massage and nail salon specializing in hand and foot massage.The name was chosen because it sounds similar to the Chinese words zhege nage, or “this and that” in English. “Those are also two of the first few Chinese words t foreigners learn,” Wu Jiang, the shop owner, said.Tired of the rapid, impersonal salon service in the crowded downtown area, she tailor-made Zig Zag from her ideal salon experience: a cozy environment, professional technique, unique decoration and pleasant background music. The shop’s decor has Southeast Asian influences, and includes furniture and adornments Wu picked up during her travels overseas. The music is always soothing, ad through the windows, customers can watch hutong life go by. Zig Zag uses O.P.I. nail products. A standard manicure, which takes about 40 minutes, costs 68 yuan. A standard pedicure costs 88 yuan, while a foot massage is 68 yuan per hour. Flower drawings on nails and color tips are available at extra cost. The shop also offers beverages like iced coffee (20 yuan), latte (20 yuan) and honey water (10 yuan). All the coffee drinks are made from Italian coffee. While enjoying their drink, customers can settle down for a waxing treatment (50 to 238 yuan depending on the body part). Zig Zag Where: 55B Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng District Open: 11 am – 11 pmTel: 8404 0020 Website: zigzagbeijing.weebly.com Sattva boutique and art gallery draws the attention of passersby with a colorful Tibetan Buddhist tapestry hanging by the window. The tapestry, called a Thangka, is painted on a flat surface. Thus, it can be rolled up when not on display. Such artwork was originally carried by monks traveling from monastery to monastery; they served as important teaching aid depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities. They were also used as meditation tools and centerpieces during rituals or ceremonies. Besides the Thangka, there are also Mandalas, which are painted to show the relationship between human beings and the cosmos. The word Mandala means “magic circle,” but the btapesies are made up of geometric patterns of squares and concentric circles. Making a Mandala requires a higher level of skill, which makes it rarer and more valuable than a Thangka. The shop’s owner Liu Chang discovered the Thangka on a trip to Tibet and afterwards decided to open a shop that offered the art. Similar paintings can be found in the shop around the Lama Temple, but most of these pieces are mass produced; the traditional process of making Thangka takes a lot of time and effort. The Thangka in Sattva are created by artists in Qinghai Province following the traditional method. So it’s not a surprise that each piece costs around 6,000 yuan. Besides this, the shop also sells Tibetan furniture, yak wool rugs and Tibetan herbal incense. Sattva Where: 60 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng District Open: 11 am – 9 pmTel: 6406 5363
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