Source: CCTV.com

11-17-2008 09:33

As New York city has the classic "I love NY" T-shirt as a symbol, many cities have their own T-shirts. So does Beijing. Two years ago, a Briton named Dominic Johnson Hill began affixing his own impressions of Beijing on T-shirts. He sells them in his T-shirt shop, Plastered 8. The shop is located in an ancient Beijing Hutong.

A Briton named Dominic Johnson Hill began affixing his own impressions of Beijing on T-shirts. He sells them in his T- shirt shop, Plastered 8. The shop is located in an ancient  Beijing Hutong.

Fourteen years ago, 20-year-old Dominic came to China as a backpacker. He fell in love with Beijing and decided to live here. In 2007, he opened Plastered 8 in Nanluoguxiang, one of Beijing's most ancient Hutongs.

Dominic Johnson Hill, owner of "Plastered 8" T-shirt shop, said, "'Plastered' is a well-known word in English. Because it has three meanings. One is plastered. The second one is to plaster something on a T-shirt or wall. And the third meaning is a very drunk person. So it's quite fun."

Dominic Johnson Hill

In Dominic's 13 years in Beijing, he's discovered the diversity and latent beauty of everyday life in Beijing. He turned to graphic design. Among his T-shirt designs we find Beijing's old-fashioned subway tickets and the appealing scenery of Beijing traditional Hutongs and courtyards.

Dominic Johnson Hill said, "You can 'plaster' almost everything on a T-shirt. Many of my inspirations come from the old stuff in a Chinese family. Most Chinese people have ignored them as they are so familiar with them. But in my eyes, this old stuff is art that reminds me of the old Beijing."