March 2010 Archives

Our new Beijing flagship store has just opened at Europlaza, in the Shunyi district. We are on the ground floor, between Coldstone ice cream and Comptoire de France cafe (two of my favorite treats in Beijing that had absolutely NOTHING to do with my choosing this spot, probably)

Celebrations, yes, but from a personal standpoint it's more about heaving a big sigh of relief. This last year has been even crazier than normal in Beijing (and it does get very crazy here for retailers).

As some will remember we had a nice store in Danshui town in Shunhuang road, a beautiful courtyard development that unfortunately stood in the way of "progress" in the area just south of the river. It was demolished a few months back, along with the entire south side of the street (though some buildings are still standing and things seem to have ground to a halt for the time being). In typical Beijing fashion the stores along that side of the road got 40 days notice from the local government to clear out. We managed to keep the business running, with the help of Ms Wang of the Dynasty furniture store directly opposite where Danshui used to be, who rented some space in her store to us at short notice. Credit also to my staff and to our decorations company who renovated a space in Dynasty and fitted carpet rails, lighting etc in the space of a week. Looking back I am still not sure how we did it.

The Dynasty store remains open, and we have our collection of antique rugs (especially Khotan and Kirgiz rugs) and also Afghan rugs and kilims there. I am not sure what the fate of the north side of Shunhuang road will be: there are rumors that it will be redeveloped this year too but the timing is uncertain. Now that we have the Europlaza store open I am less "zhao ji" about it.

I have never been a "mall kind of guy", but I've seen the writing on the wall as regards some of the more "characterful" projects hereabouts that I would otherwise be attracted to. Beijing is expanding, and what used to be countryside is fast becoming "downtown". There are some lovely courtyard developments and individual projects around north Beijing, but many will eventually fall prey to compulsory purchase and redevelopment just as we did. Landlords get some compensation as long as they have a structure built on the land they have leased (which explains some of the mysterious dash to construct apparently empty buildings on many sites in north Beijing), but businesses that rent these spaces get nothing.

Hence the choice of a mall this time. Europlaza is big and solid looking, has several floors so I am hoping it won't be demolished any time soon :-)

I am pleased with how the new store has turned out (once again, credit due to staff and contractors for a job well done).  Europlaza is well-maintained space in a good central location (at least for Shunyi area residents, a bit of a trek for those coming from downtown I admit), with good parking and space to let the kids roam safely. There are still some units that are not let on the upper floors, but the supermarket is open in the basement and proving popular.

We continue to focus on costs, which is why I'd love a large downtown store but it is unlikely to happen any time soon. Beautiful handmade carpets are not cheap, but we don't want them to cost more than they need to, and don't want to pay downtown rents that would make them unaffordable. So we will stick with locations some way from town, and hope that downtown residents will make the trip to see our store and buy a carpet at a reasonable price ... and also take advantage of designs and customization service that you can't find anywhere else.

There are contact details, maps and so on for our Beijing stores on our website.

Our air purifier store (Torana Clean Air Center), selling Blueair air filters, is also in the same location.

  Borobodur occupies a similar place in the imagination to Angkor Wat: forgotten for centuries, partially buried in volcanic ash and reclaimed from the jungle in the late 19^th century. It is also one of the most compact and perfect Buddhist monuments in Asia. It's a popular destination for local Indonesian tourists, but it is getting fewer western visitors these days, the result of tough economic times and a general lack of enthusiasm for Muslim destinations.

Before Indonesia was converted to Islam, a gradual process that happened over several hundred years, the country was a patchwork of Hindu and Buddhist belief. Borobodur was constructed by the Sailendra dynasty, who were Buddhists. Construction is thought to have taken place between 750 and 850AD.

Borobodur lays claim to being one of the most elegant and symmetrical mandala-monuments in Asia. In one sense, describing a Buddhist temple as a "mandala" is a true-ism since all Buddhist architecture is based on the concept of a mandala, as the oldest Indian texts on temple designs specify. A mandala, in Buddhist terms, is a palace for the gods and so too are most Buddhist temples. Real-world temples must serve other needs as well, accommodating lay believers, monks and providing space for rituals, so the mandala form is more often than not difficult to discern, though it can still be seen clearly in some Buddhist monuments such as Samye in Tibet.

In Borobodur there is no compromise in the perfect mandala form, square at the outside and circular at the center. There is no interior space, just galleries for pilgrims to walk around and view the sculptures and friezes. The outermost, lower galleries have friezes depicting past lives of the Buddhas (Jataka tales), while the mid-levels feature mainly meditating figures. The degree of abstraction increases gradually from the outside, as worldly clamor is replaced by contemplation and finally by pure circular form at the center.

Borobodur is sometimes described as a mystery, and there are certainly many puzzles. These are made more difficult by the fact that the monument has few inscriptions, and no texts survive in Java from the period when the monument was made. One puzzle concerns the meditating Buddhas on the upper levels: there are six kinds versus the more usual group of five Dhyani Buddhas.The overall form of Borobodur is not hard to understand though: there are several monuments of the same type that are still functioning today, the best example of which is probably the Great Stupa (Kumbum) at Gyantse in Tibet. Something of the atmosphere that once surrounded Borobodur can also be experienced at the Shwedagon in Burma. Like the Shwedagon today Borobodur was once whitewashed, probably gilded and garlanded with flowers too, and filled with pilgrims rather than tourists.

Both Borobodur and the Great Stupa at Gyantse are points that were meant to serve as a destination for - and the culmination of - a pilgrimage. The pilgrim goes on a physical journey that is also a spiritual journey. After traveling for many days or months to reach the spot, the traveler walks around the monument in a clockwise direction, gradually ascending through a pantheon of Buddhist teachings that reflect increasing levels of spiritual attainment. The sculptures of the monument reflect the pilgrim's journey, from mundane concerns through meditation towards the hope (at least) of enlightenment.


I traveled to Borobodur in February during the rainy season, stayed at the Hotel Manohara near the monument. Seeing the sun rise is a must-do, and cooler too at 6am than later in the day. There are fewer visitors in the rainy season, but it rains most days from about 3-4pm onwards. Weekends are best avoided because of the crowds of local day-trippers.

To get to Borobodur, fly to Jakarta and then go via road, or fly on to Yogjakarta. It is just a couple of hours drive from Yogja and can be done as a day trip from there, but I recommend staying overnight for at least one night at the monument. Sunrise and sunset have the most interesting light.

It's spring again and I've been asked several questions on carpet cleaning so it seems like a good time to post some general advice.

Carpet cleaners in Beijing and Shanghai

There are several companies and individuals cleaning carpets here. Most are doing it the old-fashioned way (with a hosepipe on a concrete slipway) and most do a decent job. If you want a more professional job I suggest to try Chemdry (tel Beijing 010-6436 2846, Shanghai 021-580 4629) since they are an international chain and I think the cleaning solutions they use are better than some. They will also come look at your carpet and advise if they anticipate problems.

Key thing to bear in mind is that no carpet cleaning is foolproof. The main hazards are 1) color running and 2) loss of shape or texture.

Pre-test your carpet for color fastness

The commonest problem with carpet washing is color running, and the culprit is usually red, sometimes black. Good quality dyes don't run, but they are rare: many antique rugs are major offenders since synthetic reds have been around since the 1870s and some of the earliest synthetic reds were the least color-fast. Many carpet manufacturers in China are still skimping on dye quality and reds-that-run still abound. To test whether a color will run damp a small area of rug with a little water and detergent (eg dishwash liquid), then blot it with a white tissue or a white cotton cloth. If it comes away pink then there is some risk of color running. A small amount of color running is not necessarily a disaster, especially if the rug has mostly darker shades. Turkomen and Afghan types often come out of the washing process looking "different but ok" despite (or because of) some color running but if your rug has white or pastel areas next to intense colors these may end up pink.

Wool carpets

Wool is tough and generally washes well, though very cheap wool can sometimes felt and turn hard, and non-woven (tufted) rugs may lose wool tufts if they are getting old and the backing is starting to break down. The most common issue however is color running as mentioned.
In the case of Tibetan rugs sold by Torana we will ship them back to our workshop for washing if customers wish: this gives a good result (it's the way we wash all our new carpets after they are woven) but it is slow because of the shipping back and forth that is involved. The colors in our own-make rugs don't run because we use good dyes (that are also non-toxic). They also stand up to washing well because they are made with long-fiber wool that is properly secured in the knots.

Silk carpets

Silk is much more difficult to wash successfully than wool. Partly this is because dyes don't "take" so well on silk (particularly on the cheaper variety of silk rugs sold in China) and partly because silk is a more fragile fiber than wool. If you have a silk carpet your best bet is to keep it away from shoes/pets/toddlers and try to avoid washing it at all. If there is no other option then go ahead, but don't shoot the carpet cleaner when it comes back! Test colors for fastness according to the method I mentioned earlier.

First aid

For any carpet, wool or silk, mop up spills asap with lots of paper towels, then apply a slightly damp terry towel. Try water (only) on the terry towel first of all, then try adding a little detergent (dishwash liquid) if need be. Do it gently and clean a bigger area than the stain, so that hopefully you don't end up with a small white patch where the stain was. Don't use bleaches or strong stain removers.

My dog chewed my rug

We hear this a lot in Beijing. Not being a dog-owner I have never been able to understand it (I adore carpets but don't consider flavor to be one of their strong features). Try putting a floral scent on the carpet, eg with floral air freshener, since most dogs and cats are not big fans of floral notes, and then get the dog some exercise or a proper hobby. Regarding the chewed carpet, take it back to the original seller, since they are most likely to have materials of the right color. Sometimes repair-able, sometimes not.

There are more general rug and carpet related FAQs on my website.