Old-fashioned shoe designer still has place

For 56-year-old He Kaiying, a cloth shoe maker, the latest shoe designers and fashions are just a one-season wonder. Only time-honored brands have longevity, especially Neiliansheng, the one he works for. Neiliansheng is a shoe making shop that was established in 1853 and became notorious for making shoes for imperial families. Despite many younger people going crazy for the likes of Jimmy Choo and Gucci, Neiliansheng is still in business and has kept He employed for over 30 years, since 1980 to be precise. And big names even wear the shoes from the shop to this day. He himself has made numbers for Deng Xiaoping's wife, director Zhang Yimou and actor Jackie Chan.

Stepping into the workshop on the third floor of Neiliansheng's main shop in Dashilan in the Qianmen area, we meet He. He is wearing glasses and examining closely a shoe that he is holding in one hand. In front of him is a desk whose surface is covered by cotton, thread, nails, hammers and needles.

Born in Tianjin city, He first learned how to make multi-layered cloth shoes when he was 20 years old. "My father worked for Neiliansheng for decades and I replaced him after he retired. Friends around me all wished they could come to Beijing to get a job like me at that time," he tells us. He joined with four other people. All of them have since turned their hand to business, except of course He. "I feel that I can't let go of this occupation and I love it," He explains.

It takes hundreds of steps to make a pair of cloth shoes. The below are just a few of these steps, namely the main ones. To make a pair, one needs to first cover the cloth with paste to make it hard and sticky. Then the shape of the sole needs to be cut out of the cloth. For men there should be 35 layers of cloth and for women 31 layers. Next the layers of cloth need to be fixed together, the fringe of the cloth sealed and finally the vamp (upper part of the shoe) sewn onto the sole.

It takes five to six days for He to make a pair of shoes. In each one the thread and cloth He uses is countless. "Take the sole for example. I need to sew 2,100 times and make sure that each square cun (one cun equals 3.33 centimeters) on it is sewn 81 times." The shoes are priced between 300 yuan ($48) to 900 yuan. Only experienced shoe makers, who have worked for at least three years, can make these high-quality cloth shoes, He is keen to add.

So why a cloth shoe over a leather one? The Chinese believe that the foot is an important part of the human body because many acupressure points are on it. If people want to live a long and healthy life, they need to pay attention to the foot as a result. Apparently cloth shoes have advantages over leather, as testified by their endurance in the market. "Compared to leather shoes, cloth shoes are lighter and softer. What's more, they can help relieve the pressure on feet and are better for air circulation," He said.

Now He manages three young male apprentices, who have learned from him for nearly three years. "They will soon graduate and I am satisfied with the skills they have mastered. They need to accumulate more experience in the future though," He smiled, now less worried that the shoe making skill will disappear in the future.