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We carry a great selection of beautifully crafted and Oriental-inspired wall decor. All of our wall decor is ideal for creating an instant Asian feel in any room while providing a great decorative effect. For an elegant statement, try any of our magnificent framed wall mirrors. We also sell a unique line of handcrafted and hand-painted Asian wall carvings that will add an exotic touch to any wall. If you are going for a more classic look, don't miss our Asian prints. Our Asian prints make great wall decor and are available with quality wood frames that look fantastic.
Asian Glass Pictures
Asian glass pictures are a brilliant way to add a colorful decorative flair to any room. Each of our Asian glass pictures features a hand-painted scene reminiscent of life in ancient China. Bold and vivid colors come to life through the glass, creating a beautiful effect. This is done by painting the reverse side of the glass. The glass is actually the canvas for the paint! All of our Asian glass pictures come in a quality rosewood frame with a brass hanger on the back for easy mounting. Each Asian glass picture measures 10.5" in height x 15" in width. Decorate your home or office and bring any room to life with our magnificent Asian glass pictures.
Outstanding attention to detail and the artist's magnificent skill in capturing the feel for the moment are the defining qualities of our Asian prints.
Wall Carvings
Wall Carvings
- large hand carved wooden wall carvings are one way to add a touch of Oriental elegance to the walls of your home or to decorate your office. Our wall carvings are painted gold on black and all have a hook on the back for effortless mounting.
Dragons are deeply rooted in the Chinese culture. The Chinese often consider themselves, 'the descendants of the dragon.'
Nobody really knows where the dragon comes from. The dragon looks like a combination of many animals. For the Chinese people, Dragons were described visually as a composite of parts from nine animals: The horns of a deer; the head of a camel; the eyes of a devil; the neck of a snake; the abdomen of a large cockle; the scales of a carp; the claws of an eagle; the paws of a tiger; and the ears of an ox. The Chinese word for Dragon is spelled out in roman characters as either lung or long. In China, the Dragon was credited with having great powers that allowed them to make rain and to control floods (by striking the river with its tail, causing it to open and thus divert the floodwaters) also Dragons are credited for transportation of humans to the celestial realms after death. Also, in China, Dragons are symbols of the natural world, adaptability, and transformation. When two dragons are placed together but turned away, they symbolize eternity via the famous Yin-Yang.
Chinese emperors think they are the real dragons and the sons of heaven. Thus the beds they sleep on are called the dragon beds, the throne called the dragon seat, and the emperor's ceremonial dresses called the dragon robes.
In the minds of the early Chinese people, the dragon was a god that embodied the will and ideals of the Chinese people. It is said that the dragon is a large-scaled reptile, which can become dark or bright, large or small, long or short, and can fly into the sky in the spring and live under the water in the fall. It seems that the dragon is capable of doing almost anything.Traditionally the dragons are considered as the governors of rainfalls in Chinese culture. They have the power to decide where and when to have rain. They believe the kings of the water dragons live in the dragon palaces under the oceans. The Chinese sign for the dragon appears during the Yin and Shang dynasties (from the 16th to the 11th century BC, the period of the earliest Chinese hieroglyphs), between inscriptions on bones and turtle shields. These inscriptions depicted a horned reptile, teeth, scales and sometimes paws as well.
In ancient China nobody had any doubts about the existence of dragons. People showed great respect for any dragon depicted in pictures, carvings and writings, and as a result the dragon became the symbol of Chinese nation. All people in china, including the emperor, prostrated themselves before the image of a dragon with reverence and awe. As a result, this unreal animal became the spiritual sustenance for a nation: firstly, as the totem of a tribe and then as the symbol of the nation. Eventually it became the sign on the national flag of the last feudal dynasty, the Qing Dynasty. The chinese people regard themselves as descendants of the dragon.
The Chinese lantern originated as an improvement over the more simple, more natural – and surely, more widespread – source of lighting: the open flame. The lamp/ lantern shade of course protects the flame inside from being extinguished in windy weather, but it also provides a better, more diffuse form of illumination than an open flame, the latter of which creates sharp contrasts between illuminated and non-illuminated parts of objects. Once created, however, it was inevitable that the lantern shade would be the object of artistic expression, most especially given the highly developed Chinese penchant for artistic embellishment, as any student of Chinese culture will know.
Not only was the Chinese lantern the object of artistic embellishment, it also underwent extensive design experimentation – again, as the result of the encouragement of Chinese society lamp-shade artisans competed among themselves to produce lamp shades of exquisite beauty, both in terms of functionality, design and artistic embellishment. No one encouraged these artisans more heartily than the emperor himself, who of course commandeered the best lamp-shade artisans in the empire to work for him.
While the earliest Chinese lanterns were created for use in the home and for use as entrance-way lighting, it was quickly discovered that the lantern made an excellent "flashlight", or portable lighting medium. Historical experts believe that the first such "flashlight" was in fact the Chinese lantern.
These same historical experts also believe that the very concept of street lighting that eventually emerged in Europe stems from European contact with Imperial China, where "street lighting", in the form of the Chinese lantern hanging on doors and gateways, had long since existed, not, perhaps, as a governmental measure but as a natural part of Chinese society (some of mankind's greatest inventions stem from ancient China, including the first widespread use of paper as we know it today (ancient Egyptian papyrus is grossly inferior to the paper developed in China, which, in contrast, resembles modern forms of paper) as well as the use of paper money as a convenient substitute for carrying gold, silver, etc.).
Typical also for ancient Chinese society was its penchant for grand celebrations, where the artistic expression of the individual was harnessed for the common good. One such celebration is the Lantern Festival, aka Little New Year, in recognition of the fact that it is the culmination of the Chinese New Year festival. Just as in the Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro, where contestants compete each year for the award for having created the most impressive costume, contestants in the ancient Lantern Festival competed each year for the award for having produced the most impressive lantern, the difference being that the best lantern designs in China – except for those reserved for the Imperial Palace – became public property: they were copied by every other lamp-shade artisan throughout the country.
The comparison to Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro does not do justice to similar ancient Chinese celebrations, since ancient Chinese celebrations always contained an element of literary allusion and/or reference to other artistic genres such as the fine art of calligraphy. For example, a famous contemporary Chinese poet might compose a poem for the celebration in question in which the poet recognized the artistic achievement of the competing artists/ artisans (lamp-shade artisans, etc.), and occasionally the fame of such a poem would eventually completely overshadow the fame of the artists/ artisans who were the subject of the poem.
Though there is no longer a practical rationale for the Chinese lantern (modern lighting is far superior to the old-fashioned oil lamp), the Chinese lantern is still made – and used and enjoyed! – by Chinese people, including by the Chinese diaspora, but it is also made, used and enjoyed by peoples everywhere, as the Chinese lantern continues to be a vehicle for personal artistic expression, both in terms of functionality, design and embellishment.
Everyone brings home souvenirs from their travels: postcards, toys, pictures, clothing, folk art such as papercuts, etc. A chop from China makes a special souvenir since it bears the owner's name. Travelers to China will likely find no one else in the neighborhood has a chop.
And chops are so Chinese. Documents and artwork are not considered official in China until they've been "signed" with a person's seal. This engraved seal, or "chop," is unique to each person.
Chops date back to ancient times in China. They’re used on every document imaginable. Artists use them on paintings instead of handwritten signatures. While important documents are signed by hand today in China, they’re not considered official until the red seals have been affixed.
Think of the chop as a rubber stamp. Only instead of rubber put to a cloth stamp pad, think of a stone engraving being dipped into a pot of gooey red glue. Then both are “stamped” on a piece of paper. Same result, just a different way to achieve it. Because the chop is a person’s “signature” for life, the Chinese give much thought as to what characters they will have engraved on their chop.
Visitors to China don’t have to worry about that. They can just have their first or last names translated into characters put on their chops. Chop makers almost always have books of first names translated into Chinese characters available for shoppers to look through. Travelers can also pick out their Chinese names online before they leave home. Mandarin Tools allows users to enter their first and last names, and indicate what characteristic they’d like their name to represent. A few seconds later, up pops the name translated into Chinese. This page should be printed out to show to the chop maker in China.
Chops are usually made of soapstone, and always hand-engraved. It only takes an experienced chop maker a few minutes to do the engraving. Watching them put a complex character on a small surface is fun.
Chops usually come with a small pot of very thick red ink. It has the consistency of paste, and is sometimes made from cinnabar. Be careful using this ink, as it stains absorbent materials and can be difficult to remove. Wipe the chop with a tissue after using it to get the remaining red ink out of the engraved areas. A tissue moistened with nail polish remover works well on stubborn stains.
As the souvenirs, the papercutting from China is special too. It's the ancitient traditional Chinese folk arts. The Chinese invented paper around the first century A.D., so it was only natural for them to come up with ways to creatively use this invention. Chinese historians generally agree that the art of papercutting didn’t surface until about the sixth century. Since paper was still very expensive, only the rich could afford paper for decorations, writes Nigel Cameron in The History of the Chinese Papercut for China Now magazine.
Papercuts are made by cutting very thin paper with a scissors or knife. Papercuts are very fragile and tear easily. Red paper is traditionally used to make papercuts, though more modern subjects will be done in the colors of the rainbow. Sharp-pointed scissors and knives are used to cut the paper, usually several sheets at a time. Beginners usually work from a pattern, but more experienced cutters work in freehand, according to the Beijing newspaper People's Daily.
Traditional subjects are Peking Opera masks, animals in the Chinese Zodiac, flowers and maidens wearing traditional garb. More modern subjects are pandas and those catering to Western influences such as Santa Claus, rodeos and Disney characters.
Papercuts come in all sizes, from the usual 3” x 5” to several feet high. Papercuts are usually used as window decorations, especially around holidays, much like Westerners put up Christmas lights. They’re also used on Chinese lanterns and doorways. Many Chinese frame the larger papercuts. Sometimes papercuts are used as patterns for embroidery or lacquer work.
Travelers can find many uses for the papercuts when they return home. They make excellent gifts for anyone who has asked the traveler to bring them something from China. Many travelers frame a series of small papercuts and then make a wall arrangement with them. Creative types who make their own greeting cards will find them very handy. For example, Christmas-themed papercuts can be used on holiday cards; use double-sided tape to stick them to the card stock. Papercuts can also be used in decoupage projects.
From Bandage to Body Con & Flapper to One-Shoulder Dressing
Whether it's a show-stopping flapper-fringed little black dress, a figure-hugging bandage dress, a one-shoulder number or simple classic '60s shift; dresses this season are hot hot hot.
Bring on kimono sleeves, slinky fringes and large shoulder ruffles. Grecian gowns are just as glamorous but you’ll find them in shorter, sharper styles too.
When it comes to prints, find dresses in geometric shapes, kaleidoscopic colors and a touch of tribal. There's also a distinclty oriental flavor with Basso & Brooke's Japanese-inspired prints. Colors are bold, bright and fruity. Color blocking is the look du jour, especially with this season’s vibrant oranges and pinks.
Asymmetric Dress
Asymmetric necklines — irregular necklines or single-shoulder dresses are one of the biggest looks, so if you want to instantly update your wardrobe invest in an asymmetrical dress.
A-Line ‘60s Shift Dress
The classic A-line shift dress is flattering for any age group. Find them heavily embellished with jewels on necklines or hems. A chic A-line silhouette is very forgiving when it comes to figure flaws, skimming over the stomach and hips, as in Marc by Marc Jacobs Eyelet shift dress (Saks).
The bandage dress is the latest obsession in Hollywood, with celebrities loving the look because of its miracle properties when it comes to figure shaping. Far from creating unsightly tight bulges, because of the way it is made, the bandage dress actually holds in the areas that need to be tamed, and push up the those which need to be highlighted.
Hervé Léger is credited with being the original creator of the bandage dress inthe '80s, but since then many designers have jumped on the bandwagon. These include Christopher Kane, Proenza Schouler, Preen and Thakoon. Kate Winslet looked stunning in a black Hervé Léger bandage dress, at the New York premier of her film The Reader, on December 3rd 2008.
Body Con Dress
The classic ‘50s style body con dress is a key piece for spring 2009, in strong self-colors rather than prints. The feminine hour-glass shape has been given a boost with some origami twists and curves by Roland Mouret, and full-length zips, a trademark of Victoria Beckham’s figure-hugging dresses to show off car-crash curves. Bandage dresses also come under this category.
Flirty fringing adorns mini and maxi dresses in true flapper fashion style. Jil Saunder was queen of the Milan runways with her 1920’s inspired fringed designs, her fringed dresses were long and silky in stark black, navy and white, creating a lean silhouette. Sexy flapper dresses also hail from Alexander McQueen, Alberta Ferretti and Elie Saab's Spring 2009 collections.
Grecian Gowns
Grecian goddess gowns get a modern makeover with figure-hugging draping in both long and short styles from Elie Saab, Valentino and Kenzo. A natural progression from the one-shoulder trend, Grecian-inspired dresses come into their own this season.
Already a firm favorite by the poolside, this season they are worthy as an evening cover-up. This season kimono sleeve dresses morph into kaftan tunics which cover a multitude of sins and embrace the up-and-coming origami look.
One-shoulder Dress
Subtle but sexy, the one-shoulder dress is a key look for spring summer, from grecian-style cocktail dress to simple day dress, short or long. Go for figure flattering draping if you want to hide lumps and bumps and make sure you wear a well-fitting strapless bra.
Prom Dress
Prom dresses get a fairytale look with strapless full ethereal fairy prom skirts for red carpet moments. Romantic gowns with huge ruffles, rosettes, puffed sleeves and sweeping trains came from Nina Ricci, Dolce and Gabbana, Robert Cavalli and Chanel.Short versions have a very classic '50s-style, but skirts are ultra-full often ruffled.
Whether its a fairytale prom dress or a bandage dress, choose your style careful so as to make the most of your figure. Not every one can get away with a body con dress, but a flapper dress or A-line shift can be very figure-friendly. Learn which dress styles flatter certain body shapes.
The Halloween season is almost upon us again. It’s interesting as you study cultures around the world how different things are celebrated. In traditional Chinese cultures, costumes are used in many rituals, plays and dances. It’s not uncommon to see the two-man dragon dance during the open ceremony of a business or around the New Years time. Likewise, you’ll find a rich history of costumes used in various opera productions, such as the Monkey King and his Pig Lord sidekick.
Chinese costumes, can also be worn during days that signify happiness and festivity, like the Halloween. Be a Chinese princess or a Chinese girl-warrior by wearing the Chinese dresses. Boys can be Bruce Lee, the Monkey King or be an animal in the Zodiac.
The Basics
The Chinese national costume is pretty and festive used on its own. However, for those who want to celebrate in their favorite Chinese story personalities, handy things around the house can be added to the basic Chinese costume.
1. Chinese Dress - Qi Pao
Qi Pao - This Chinese Dress is elegant and festive in its own right. Qi Pao means banner dress when translated. It usually has a high neck and slits on the sides. Designs can vary to flatter the woman's good features and hide the less than perfect features. Qi Pao for young girls can also be gotten in different colors and materials. For active young girls a Qi Pao dress-pants is a good idea.
Decide what impact you want to have when you walk into the room before you look at any Halloween costumes. Do you want heads to turn or do you want to look sexy, devilish, funny or impish? Once you have chosen your outfit, think of what shoes, hairstyles, accessories and makeups you'd like to go with.
Fushion east-west of UGG boots or sneakers, docile traditional slippers or mary jane, or daring high heels or leather boots?
Bun hairdo with our hair pins or chopstick? pony-tail or bob-cut for the cutsie chinagirl visage? or dyed streaks, and sadako style?
Do not forget the lipstick! Deep red, or a lite pink is recommended to compliment our dresses for the Halloween
Don’t forget the Bling. Get some costume jewelry for your Halloween dressing up secession. Rings, necklaces, bracelets, ankle bracelets, clip on earrings and maybe even an umbrella are all good suggestions for dressing up as a China girl for Halloween.
2. Chinese pants set for boys
For boys, the traditional costume pants set is a must-have set. The top has a mandarin collar with long sleeves. Pants are loose and flowing. Some costume sets include hats with pigtails or hoods.
Dressing up
It is a good idea to gather the following from around the house before starting to mix and match.
Getting sequined Chinese slippers or kung fu shoes from a nearby department store can be a good idea. It can be worn several times if you like wearing costumes for every event (or regularly, since they are comfortable). These can also be ordered online.
Mom's silk skirts in shiny fabrics, dad's silk robes may also be looted. If your family has wigs lying around the house, keep those. It may turn out useful for completing your desired look. Beautiful fabrics, scarves, bead necklaces, even table runners can be added to your collection of materials. Craft flowers, satin ribbons can also be added to the hair.
Chinese Princess
Do this with: girl's empire cut long dress/ other long dresses in plain design, in shiny fabric and plain design can also be used as a base garment when dressing up as a Chinese princess. An empire cut spaghetti strap will also do nicely. This can be topped over by a long robe/ blouse with butterfly sleeves(These tunic blouses were in fashion 3? 4? Years ago so mom may still have one in her closet.)
Hair can be fixed in a double bun, one on each side of the head, or let some of the hair flow. Beads can also be strung through the hair. Sashes can be tied around the waist, or can be used as hang down designs for the belt.
2. Lady White Snake
Similar to the Chinese Princess, although wear a white costume. May also bring a toy snake and put a pillow by the tummy to look pregnant.
3. Chinese Girl-Warrior
Like Mulan or Yu Shu Lien/ Jen Yu in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Do this with :
-Cheongsam dress-pants set
-Toy Sword or toy bows and arrows
-Kungfu shoes/ other shoes
Wear the pants set and shoes, sling over the toy weapons and youre done. Mom may also fix Warrior's hair into a neat hair style fit for battle.
4. Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee is one of my favorites to see. Strong, mysterious, and handsome, what girl wouldn’t swoon for this guy. A costume to look like him is also quite easy to recreate. The easiest version of him is to go topless with a pair of black Kung Fu pants and Kung Fu shoes (or if those are hard to get, black wrestling shoes and black sweat pants).
But some of us aren’t fortunate enough to live in a warm environment, so another option is Bruce Lee in a yellow and black sweat suit as he wore in Game of Death. Or you could go for the Kato look from his appearance in the TV show, Green Hornet
5. Monkey King
Do this with :
-Boys Traditional Black Kung Fu pants set
-Monkey mask or face crayons
-Stick
GoodOrient has evolved back from 1998 as a hobbyist Asian theme webstore to what is now one of the leading fully-fledged Asian Specialty E-stores in the world. Proud to say, we are undeniably the earliest pioneers who first brought about the greatest range of delightful Eastern wares onto the Internet. With fanciful selections of traditional and modern Asian-inspired apparel, exotic home decor as well as unique gifts and souvenirs, we have gradually become the one-stop shop for those who aspire to bring home something a little different. Having served thousands of online customers from every corner of the globe,we can truly say that our vast experience in selling Asian specialty goods as well as meeting our customer expectations is second to none.Our website offers an exciting range of Oriental apparel, accessories and home accents from countries around Asia, especially China. Our specialty lies in distinctive Eastern-style apparel with a strong historical influence such as the "Cheongsam", "Qipaos" or "Long Dress" worn by women of royal status back in the Manchu era and has gained popularity even up till today. However, times have changed and so will styles of cheongsam and the way it is worn. Nowadays, many of our qipaos are infused with a twist of western modernity whilst maintaining its ethnic charm, thus giving birth to the term "Asian-Inspired". Since 1998, GoodOrient has been centre of the movement to bring stylish qipao garments with a modern twist onto the Internet. Our clothing designs are constantly innovated according to latest.
GoodOrient has evolved back from 1998 as a hobbyist Asian theme webstore to what is now one of the leading fully-fledged Asian Specialty E-stores in the world. Proud to say, we are undeniably the earliest pioneers who first brought about the greatest range of delightful Eastern wares onto the Internet. With fanciful selections of traditional and modern Asian-inspired apparel, exotic home decor as well as unique gifts and souvenirs, we have gradually become the one-stop shop for those who aspire to bring home something a little different. Having served thousands of online customers from every corner of the globe,we can truly say that our vast experience in selling Asian specialty goods as well as meeting our customer expectations is second to none.Our website offers an exciting range of Oriental apparel, accessories and home accents from countries around Asia, especially China. Our specialty lies in distinctive Eastern-style apparel with a strong historical influence such as the "Cheongsam", "Qipaos" or "Long Dress" worn by women of royal status back in the Manchu era and has gained popularity even up till today. However, times have changed and so will styles of cheongsam and the way it is worn. Nowadays, many of our qipaos are infused with a twist of western modernity whilst maintaining its ethnic charm, thus giving birth to the term "Asian-Inspired". Since 1998, GoodOrient has been centre of the movement to bring stylish qipao garments with a modern twist onto the Internet. Our clothing designs are constantly innovated according to latest.
GoodOrient has evolved back from 1998 as a hobbyist Asian theme webstore to what is now one of the leading fully-fledged Asian Specialty E-stores in the world. Proud to say, we are undeniably the earliest pioneers who first brought about the greatest range of delightful Eastern wares onto the Internet. With fanciful selections of traditional and modern Asian-inspired apparel, exotic home decor as well as unique gifts and souvenirs, we have gradually become the one-stop shop for those who aspire to bring home something a little different. Having served thousands of online customers from every corner of the globe,we can truly say that our vast experience in selling Asian specialty goods as well as meeting our customer expectations is second to none.Our website offers an exciting range of Oriental apparel, accessories and home accents from countries around Asia, especially China. Our specialty lies in distinctive Eastern-style apparel with a strong historical influence such as the "Cheongsam", "Qipaos" or "Long Dress" worn by women of royal status back in the Manchu era and has gained popularity even up till today. However, times have changed and so will styles of cheongsam and the way it is worn. Nowadays, many of our qipaos are infused with a twist of western modernity whilst maintaining its ethnic charm, thus giving birth to the term "Asian-Inspired". Since 1998, GoodOrient has been centre of the movement to bring stylish qipao garments with a modern twist onto the Internet. Our clothing designs are constantly innovated according to latest.
GoodOrient has evolved back from 1998 as a hobbyist Asian theme webstore to what is now one of the leading fully-fledged Asian Specialty E-stores in the world. Proud to say, we are undeniably the earliest pioneers who first brought about the greatest range of delightful Eastern wares onto the Internet. With fanciful selections of traditional and modern Asian-inspired apparel, exotic home decor as well as unique gifts and souvenirs, we have gradually become the one-stop shop for those who aspire to bring home something a little different. Having served thousands of online customers from every corner of the globe,we can truly say that our vast experience in selling Asian specialty goods as well as meeting our customer expectations is second to none.Our website offers an exciting range of Oriental apparel, accessories and home accents from countries around Asia, especially China. Our specialty lies in distinctive Eastern-style apparel with a strong historical influence such as the "Cheongsam", "Qipaos" or "Long Dress" worn by women of royal status back in the Manchu era and has gained popularity even up till today. However, times have changed and so will styles of cheongsam and the way it is worn. Nowadays, many of our qipaos are infused with a twist of western modernity whilst maintaining its ethnic charm, thus giving birth to the term "Asian-Inspired". Since 1998, GoodOrient has been centre of the movement to bring stylish qipao garments with a modern twist onto the Internet. Our clothing designs are constantly innovated according to latest.
GoodOrient has evolved back from 1998 as a hobbyist Asian theme webstore to what is now one of the leading fully-fledged Asian Specialty E-stores in the world. Proud to say, we are undeniably the earliest pioneers who first brought about the greatest range of delightful Eastern wares onto the Internet. With fanciful selections of traditional and modern Asian-inspired apparel, exotic home decor as well as unique gifts and souvenirs, we have gradually become the one-stop shop for those who aspire to bring home something a little different. Having served thousands of online customers from every corner of the globe,we can truly say that our vast experience in selling Asian specialty goods as well as meeting our customer expectations is second to none.Our website offers an exciting range of Oriental apparel, accessories and home accents from countries around Asia, especially China. Our specialty lies in distinctive Eastern-style apparel with a strong historical influence such as the "Cheongsam", "Qipaos" or "Long Dress" worn by women of royal status back in the Manchu era and has gained popularity even up till today. However, times have changed and so will styles of cheongsam and the way it is worn. Nowadays, many of our qipaos are infused with a twist of western modernity whilst maintaining its ethnic charm, thus giving birth to the term "Asian-Inspired". Since 1998, GoodOrient has been centre of the movement to bring stylish qipao garments with a modern twist onto the Internet. Our clothing designs are constantly innovated according to latest.
