This is Wang Ahui. She's 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.
