Source: CCTV.com
Shoe fashions changing all the time - just like all other fashions. But here in Beijing some old timers prefer to wear the old style black cloth shoes, that were worn decades ago. The old shoes are like a talisman, reminding people of the more leisurely lifestyle of old Beijing. And the store selling the shoes is an established time honoured brand. The shop is called Nei Lian Sheng. It's a busy place just like it was in decades past, a reminder that tradition holds an enduring attraction.

TWang Ahui worked for a magazine in Beijing since she graduated from college four years ago. Like many youngsters who have worked outside their hometown for years, Wang is not concerned about pressures, hustle and bustle and being too busy at work. Her parents are thousands of miles away. That's what occupies her thoughts.

When Wang sets out to buy shoes for her father she comes to Nei Lian Sheng. It's famous in Beijing. A hundred and fifty years ago, a shoemaker called Zhao Ting founded the store. He made shoes for officials who worked behind the walls of the Forbidden City. That's what inspired the name of the shop . "Nei Lian Sheng." It means wearing shoes that will raise you progressively through the ranks.

For their exquisite craftsmanship and individual customer service Nei Lian Sheng quickly became popular at the Imperial court. The shoes were expensive and people who bought them not only were buying fine shoes - but a status symbol.

One and a half centuries later, with figures of royalty consigned to History, Nei Lian Sheng became a symbol of old Beijing. Ask an aged Beijinger. He will tell you that owning shoes from Nei Lian Sheng was considered a luxury in decades past.

He Kaiying was the fourth generation heir to the brand. Starting as an apprentice in 1980, he has been working at the store for twenty eight years. He recalled his first three years, learning the craft. He sat next to his teacher imitating what he saw, getting the gist of the craft, working with dedication. Even today he says, the most demanding skill is the crafting of cloth-soled "Thousand Layer Shoes".

The cloth-soled "Thousand Layer Shoe" is not precisely a thousand layers, but the name describes shoes made in multiple layers under a strict technique. There are more than thirty intricate procedures among the more than one hundred steps to make a pair of shoes. Each procedure is strictly set out.

Some patrons of Nei Lian Sheng's cloth shoes are foreigners. Twenty-four year old American guy Sima Wei came to China for six months. But he's had a strong interest in Chinese culture for a long time.

Over the one hundred and fifty years of its history, Nei Lian Sheng has produced three thousand types of shoes. The range goes from male and female cloth shoes, children's shoes, slippers, and handmade leather shoes. The vintage brand is a testimony to old Beijing, and what can still endure, amid the changing lifestyles of Beijing's people.