Rong Bao Zhai

Rong Bao Zhai has outfitted Chinese painters for three and a half centuries, and its Liulichang gallery is part museum, part supply house, part living atelier. Ground-floor counters sell handmade brushes, ink sticks, and paper; the upper floors show and sell works by the country's finest living painters.

Artists of every level pass through - watch a calligrapher working at the demonstration desk, commission a name chop carved on the spot, or simply buy a brush as the most elegant souvenir in Beijing. Staff wrap purchases like jewelry and can advise first-timers on what to choose.