Carving out a new name for Chinese furniture

Yu Heqin has years of experience in traditional arts and has a love of high-quality, antiqued furniture. Jiang Dong / China Daily

Furniture talks. For Yu Heqin, general manager of Beijing Heyixing Classical Furniture Co Ltd, the new products his company makes tell a long story of a "marriage" between East and West.

"In my newly made furniture pieces, Chinese customers can easily sense the increasing Western touch while Western consumers can recognize the Chinese elements at first sight," Yu said.

As a manufacturer specialized in Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) style furniture and modern classical furniture, Heyixing now has an annual output value of 30 million yuan ($4.88 million). Its years of exploration in high-end antiqued Chinese furniture and experimentation in integrating Chinese features with Western styles have finally paid off: Its customers include domestic buyers from all over the country and furniture dealers from North America, Europe and Southeast Asia.

In Beijing's southern suburban district of Daxing, the headquarters of the company cover an area of more than 13,000 square meters. Its plant, staffed with more than 100 employees, covers an area of almost 9,000 sq m.

The company's 2,000 sq m exhibition hall is within the headquarters and showcases Ming and Qing style furniture and a series of lacquer, classical and vogue furniture all made from quality wood including gold simmering nanmu, huanghuali, old elm, walnut and cypress.

By referring to models, patterns and workmanship of classical Chinese furniture, Heyixing's Ming and Qing style furniture represents quintessential elements of traditional Chinese furniture. The company has developed a new series made from black walnut by drawing on elements from both Chinese and Western furniture.

In the past 13 years, Heyixing has become well-known among Chinese furniture manufacturers for its high-end products and constant pursuit of perfection. The company's achievements to date come down to Yu's good judgment in market competition as well as his innovative ideas.