(Imperial Tours is grateful to Amir for permission to publish this excerpt from his Phd research. ) China -today the nation with the largest fleet of bicycles in the world- is surprisingly underrepresented in cycle history: we know nearly nothing about Chinese cycle history, cycle production, cycling habits or other aspects of the bicycle in China. This contribution presents first results from historical Chinese sources, which were collected for my doctoral thesis,  » Read more »

Though Western music is popular among China's younger generation, traditional Chinese music can often be heard in parks and back street tea-houses. There, to the delight of an enthusiastic audience, aficionados gather to sing their favorite operatic arias. Of China's various operatic schools, the most famous is that which developed in her capital city, referred to simply as Beijing opera. This grew from the comedic and balladic traditions of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127),  » Read more »

Why take home a taxi-load of anonymous self-assembly flat-pack furniture, when for much the same price you can fill your apartment with elegant traditional Chinese pieces? (This article is for information purposes only. Imperial Tours is not in involved in any capacity with the antique or reproduction furniture business. Our links page introduces various Chinese and western furniture websites. We have no business relationship with these websites,  » Read more »

cloisonné snuff bottles lacquerware jade seal carvings silk carpets kites After reviewing the craft subjects below, enjoy photos of crafts products in our Shopping Showroom . Cloisonné Since 1904 when a Chinese cloisonné vessel won first prize at the Chicago World Fair,  » Read more »

The history of Chinese ceramics began some eight thousand years ago with the crafting of hand-molded earthenware vessels. Soon after, in the late neolithic period, the potter's wheel was invented facilitating the production of more uniform vessels. The sophistication of these early Chinese potters is best exemplified by the legion of terracotta warriors found in the tomb of Emperor Qin (r. 221-206 BC). Over the following centuries innumerable new ceramic technologies and styles were developed.  » Read more »