Zhongguo Gongyi Meishuguan (National Arts and Crafts Museum)

Description:

• Located on the fifth floor of Parkson Department Store (Baisheng Gouwu Zhongxin), you'll find no ancient, dusty treasures here. This is a museum to prove that contemporary Chinese craftsmanship is every bit as good as it was during the Tang dynasty. Many items suggest otherwise, particularly large chunks of jade painstakingly carved into monuments to bad taste, and ceramic statues of arhats picking wax from their ears. But it's a good introduction to traditional crafts in their places of origin. Striking exhibits include clay figurines from Jiangsu, cloisonné from Beijing, lacquerware from Fujian, and ceramics from Jingde Zhen, which steal the show.

• © Frommer's 2013