Chinese paintings and scrolls in a Beijing art shop

Traditional Chinese paintings and scrolls in a Beijing art shop There are many art shops in Beijing. They typically sell prints of famous Chinese paintings and traditional art materials such as calligraphy brushes, Chinese ink blocks and ink stones, and Chinese seals and seal wax. Most products are tourist orientated, the major line being Chinese paintings mounted on traditional Chinese scrolls.

In the 1980s these scrolls were usually produced by a team within a local commune. For example, for a scroll containing a painting of birds on bamboo, one person might paint the background of the picture, another the bamboo fronds, and a third the birds - each painter specializing in what he or she did best.

Other members of the commune team would make and varnish the wooden cylinders on which the scrolls were rolled, create the scroll itself from paper and silk cloth, add the ribbons by which the scroll could be tied when rolled up, mount the picture, and create the ornate cardboard box in which the scroll would be packaged.