But despite the fame that has lasted for 150 years, the old Beijing shoe company is facing increasing challenges from consumers that want Italian leather pumps or a pair of Nikes.

The Neiliansheng shoe store, however, which has specialized in making cloth shoes since 1853, has refused to be squeezed out by the competition and has become one of the few successful surviving local brands in Beijing.

In the last three years, sales of Neiliansheng cloth shoes have increased by 20 percent each year. Last year saw its total output reach 100,000 pairs of shoes, 10 times the average in the mid-1980s, said company president Cheng Laixiang.

Even though each pair of shoes cost at least 90 yuan (US$11), nearly five times more than other popular brands, demand still exceeds supply.

"Calls pour in all day to ask for shoes," said Cheng. "But in order to keep up the high quality of our shoes, we are very careful about the speeding up of production. Everything should be done cautiously to protect the fame of the old brand," he added.

Shoeing royal families

Founded during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) by Zhao Ting, the shop bears an auspicious name which means, "unstopped promotions in official ranks" in Chinese.

The company quickly won many customers and before long Neiliansheng gained a good reputation for making court boots for top officials. Its shoes had even served as tributes to royal families.

The court shoes were sought after for their bright black satin and the 32 layers of cloth used in the sole. Wearing the court shoes of Neiliansheng soon became a fashion statement in Beijing and a mark of high status.

In addition to their shoes' quality, the services the company offered also drew customers. In those days workers personally went to the homes of high officials to take measurements, but owner Zhao believed it was inconvenient and decided to write down all the names, addresses, measurements and special demands of local officials who had shoes made to save time.

When officials needed shoes, they just sent a messenger to tell the store and later to pick them up. This service also allowed people to give officials shoes as presents.

The old records were compiled into a history book called "Luzhong Beizai (Shoe Data Memorandum)," which is still kept at the store as a record of that time period.

But the skill of making court shoes has gone by the wayside said company president Cheng.

"It is a pity that no one in Neiliansheng can make court shoes now. Its old technique was lost as the craftsmen passed away."

While officials favoured Neiliansheng shoes, they were also popular among common people.

Zhao Ting once said that both the people sitting in the sedans and the people bearing the sedans should be served.

He designed a special kind of shoe for sedan-chair bearers called saxie. The shoes were soft and moulded to the foot and were good at absorbing sweat.

"They could be regarded as the earliest Chinese sneakers," Cheng said. "People who practice Chinese kung fu like to wear this kind of shoe."

Saxie are still popular among old Beijingers as leisure shoes.

After the founding of new China, many Chinese leaders including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping also wore the cloth shoes of Neiliansheng.

Quality the priority

Neiliansheng's fame can be attributed to its values of providing quality products. Making a multi-layer sole takes seven steps. Stitched by thin linen threads, the soles are made of 100 per cent white cotton.

The cloth should be rinsed and starched, then workers steam, overlap and stitch the cloth into soles. The last step is hammering in designs using certain moulds.

Each square of sole requires at least 81 stitches, so making a pair of soles requires about 5,000 stitches, Cheng said. The sole made under such processes is more comfortable than those made of leather and it will not deform or crack, he added.

Its adherence to traditional methods is the main reason for its demand and high price, but that has also proven an obstacle for the company's expansion.

"One fastest shoemaker can make only two pairs of shoes in a whole day under such strict production rules," Cheng said. "But quality is the life of Neiliansheng, creating lower quality shoes to pursue output means committing suicide. We never think about that."

Xu Erqi, 48, is the oldest shoemaker at Neiliansheng.

"Almost all the old generation shoemakers at Neiliansheng have passed away and the few of them who are still alive are not able to make shoes any more, so some special techniques to make antique shoes are now lost," said Xu.

Only several pairs of da yuner xie, thick cotton shoes specially made for elderly people in the winter are now available in the shop. No new pairs will be made because the only artisan who knew how to make them passed away, Xu said.

In recent years Neiliansheng has recorded detailed production steps to avoid losing more techniques, and they have trained young workers to carry on old methods.

But Xu said it is hard to find young workers who want to learn the difficult techniques.

"Maybe most young people nowadays cannot stand the life working with needles, awls and twines all day," said Xu, adding that the average monthly salary of a shoemaker is about 1,000 yuan (US$120), which is not very high compared to other shoemakers in Beijing.

Besides stitching shoes, Xu also supervises the process.

"Just reading a book cannot make one a qualified shoemaker, they need long-time teaching and practice," Xu said.

Entering a new era

Cheng said it is the company's market strategy that has kept it alive today. For example, the company created several new patterns of cloth shoes to match modern fashion tastes in the two years that he has run the company.

By successfully combining new designs with traditional techniques, Neiliansheng has maintained its popularity among Chinese people.

"Now people care more about the health and comfort of their feet than the shoes' appearance when choosing shoes," said one salesman in Neiliansheng who sells cloth shoes to taxi drivers and professionals who wear them to relax.

Life-long Neiliansheng wearers like 70-year-old Yu Shouzhong of Beijing cringe when they think of binding their feet in lace-ups or stuffing them in tight stiff leather shoes.

"Neiliansheng's shoes are nice and cool in the summer and they don't pinch my feet," said Yu. "In the winter, I wear thicker ones with fleece inside, they are even warmer than leather boots."

Cheng is now looking at expanding his shoes to a new shore.

"We're thinking about targeting the Chinatowns in the United States and Europe. There are a lot of people who stock up on the shoes when they visit China," he said.

(China Daily July 2, 2002)