Chinese cloth shoes have a history of more than three thousand years. In Houma Shi, Shanxi Province, there discovered the unearthed warrior in West Zhou Dynasty wore the cloth shoes, which is the earliest handicraft cloth shoes. The cloth shoes were mainly handmade before the People's Republic of China was proclaimed, such as embroidery shoes.

Chinese people are very fond of them for their handmade, soft, and comfortable and ventilate characteristics. After 1949, the Chinese cloth shoes reached its peak period. There were many cloth shoes factories in our country which produced lots of cloth shoes.

Cloth shoes are elaborately made. The soles of the shoes are made up of scores of cloth layer and are completely handmade. During the course of making shoes, more than 20 meters of thread are used, and there are more than 1000 stitches on the layer.

What’s more, craftsman spends two or three days on making cloth shoes. People feel comfortable when they wear cloth shoes, especially when people are walking or traveling.

Among the Chinese cloth shoes, perhaps the most famous ones are Xiuhua shoes, namely embroidered shoes. Embroidered shoes are embodies of oriental aesthetics, with beautiful patterns in the shoe cover, toe and heel etc. The basic patterns of embroidered shoes are flowers, birds, animals, sceneries, and figures from the traditional Chinese dramas.

There are also some auspicious patterns such as lotus seeds(symbol of birth of a child), pomegranate (symbol of offspring multiplied), flying dragon and dancing phoenix(symbol of happy marriage).

However, nowadays, people in cities seldom wear cloth shoes. Most people wear sneakers or leather shoes. But cloth shoes is a part of Chinese culture with a long history, they are irreplaceable in Chinese culture together with Confucianism and Buddhism.

Recommended Shop:

Neiliansheng

Established in 1853, Neiliansheng shoes is located in Dashilar, Beijing, is a popular commercial spot in the city. Neiliansheng, is well known for its high-quality shoes and various other products.

Made with all-natural products, Neiliansheng shoes enjoy the characteristics of comfort, lightness and high-quality. Long ago, officials would appear in droves to specially request court boots here. For each order of court boots, Neiliansheng asked clients to have their feet measured to custom fit each pair of boots. On the first floor of the store are handmade shoes made of special materials, children's shoes, slippers, and leather shoes as well. The second floor sells fashionable shoes with special designs and the third floor sells brand named leather shoes as well as top hats. With the history of this place in the city, it is worth stopping in for a look and trying a few items on.

Location: No.34, Dashila Street, Xuanwu district

Tel: 86-10-63014863

Web: www.nlsxy.com

Business Hours: 9:00am-9:00pm.