Spreading culture with fashion and design

A tea set with pot and tea cups made of bamboo and eggshell porcelain.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"'Shangxia' represents Chinese philosophy - a balance or harmony between two opposites which we need," she says.

She hopes people who visit her boutique can experience sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing in a unique way.

The boutique does not look very Chinese as its postmodern white roof looks like endless clouds. The stones from Taihu Lake, close to Shanghai, remind you of a Chinese garden and break up the store into different spaces.

When the Japanese designer Kengo Kuma designed the boutique, Jiang told him that she did not want any obvious Chinese elements such as red lanterns and carved wood columns.

"Let's keep the Chinese aesthetic without using existing shapes and patterns. And let us make it 'one step, one view', which is a typical Chinese garden philosophy," she says she told the designer.

Inside the boutique you can smell tea. There is a tea house and customers can enjoy rest and meditation there.

The boutique also features music created by Chinese singer/songwriter DouWei, which is played on eggshell porcelain.

All the products at the boutique are made of natural materials - bamboo, silk, leather, carbon, porcelain and wood.

Speaking about the products, Jiang says: "China has a very rich heritage of craftsmanship. But most of the heritage is now consigned to museums, books and history. Our mission is to use this heritage and transform it into products for modern life.