Shuyuanmen Street

Xian’s art district is called Shuyuanmen, 书院门, and there are some local artists here that sell paper cut art. Paper cutting began as a major art form in Xi’an around the seventh century, which was the city’s heyday. People in China place cut paper on their windows and doors to celebrate various auspicious events. For a wedding, red paper cuttings are traditional and are required as decorations for the service. A big red paper character, 喜喜, (double happiness) is crazy-popular for newlyweds. The little stands on the street in Shuyuanmen are probably selling mass-produced paper cut art, so be sure to haggle. Don’t pay a lot unless you see the master at work.

Walking down this street is a must for every visitor to Xi’an. Every shop sells either art or art supplies, such as these calligraphy brushes. One visit is almost not enough: you’ll want to peek into every door, nook, and cranny. The neighborhood is a series of ancient buildings packed together, kind of like Beijing‘s hutongs, but fancier. Several shops sell high-quality and expensive art, so if you’re looking for some investment or heirloom pieces, this is the place to go.

These are one of the coolest souvenirs I’ve seen in China. At first I thought this man was just doing some carvings. He was: hand-carving these wooden egg-shaped things. There was also music playing, and I realized it was the eggs. They were speakers, playing traditional Chinese music.

Xi’an seemed like a city of books, with people selling books on countless corners. This lady was selling these beautiful Chinese art books on Shuyuanmen Pedestrian Street.

In Xi’an’s art district there was a woman selling this beautiful beaded and carved jewelry. I don’t think any of it was made of valuable materials such as jade, which is great—I’m much more interested in handmade jewelry than expensive jewelry. There were a few old men around her selling antiques and other odds and ends. I love finding areas like this in an old city.