One day in Jingdezhen: China's porcelain hub

By Laura Imkamp

BEIJING, July 4 (Xinhuanet) -- It's 9am on a sunny spring morning in Jingdezhen and I'm getting off a plane from Shanghai with eight other women. They're all there for one thing: porcelain.

Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province has been China's porcelain capital for about 1,800 years and as we ride into town from the airport, the signs are everywhere: giant vases, billboards advertising porcelain shops; even the lampposts are decorated in porcelain.

It's a unique heritage and an important one in Chinese history. The porcelain from Jingdezhen is said to be "as thin as paper, as white as jade, as bright as a mirror, sounding as clear as a chime."

The words "porcelain" and "china" are basically synonymous, thanks in large part to this town, where the emperor Jingde (968-1022) laid the groundwork for top-quality ceramics during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

In fact, Jingdezhen native Natalie Wu, 29, says this may even be where the country's English name "China" comes from. The city was once named Changnanzhen, which, according to local legend, was difficult for foreign traders to pronounce. They shortened "Changnan" to "China," and, somehow, that stuck.

Eventually the emperor renamed the town Jingdezhen, after himself, to solidify his role in developing the porcelain trade. The city is still one of the world's porcelain hubs today, but as we make our way to one of the porcelain markets, there's not much in the way of scenery.

Indeed, most of the tourism here is somehow connected with the main industry rather than sightseeing.

Case in point: the women I'm with are here for today only, to buy porcelain at a fraction of what it would cost in Shanghai.

It's still fairly early when we get to the International Trade Square market, and since I'm not here just to shop, Wu - a part-time tour guide and part-time antique pottery student - and I head over to the Ancient Kiln Folk Exhibition Center. It's almost like an assembly line here. Everything is hand-made by retired ceramics masters, each specializing in a particular step.

The first master shapes the bowls; the second trims and reshapes them; the third applies a layer of glaze; the fourth paints, and so on through every step of the process from the initial shaping to the final firing.

Huangshan Jingdezhen Porcelain Tour With Huangshan Essence | China ...

: Located in the south of Anhui Province, with an area of about 1,200 square kilometers, known as “the loveliest mountain in China”,famous for magnificent scenery whatever the season: granite peaks piercing the clouds, strangely shaped rocks and gnarled trees, hot springs, waterfalls, wonderful outlooks and over 1500 plant species. No traffic within the core area of about 150 square kilometres, accessible by cable car or on foot. Many enticing walks of all grades, all include some steps. : It’s located in the place which is about 10 kilometers off the northeast part of Yixian County. An ancient village over 800 years old leaning against Mt. Huangshan, it is folded in the fog of the Mt Huangshan, which makes it look like a natural landscape painting. The famous film “Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon” was made here. Surrounded by a picturesque moat with bridges to the village and a half-moon shaped pond in the centre, it is a favourite haunt of artists and students who often stay with local families to paint here. Laid out to represent a buffalo, it is one of the prettiest places in the area, known as the Chinese town in the pictures and has been listed by UNESCO for its beauty and largely undeveloped traditional streets and houses. Various halls, dwellings and an old school are open to visitors. : Likeng is an ancient village where mainly lives the families with the surname of Li, and is about 12 km distant from Wuyuan County. Likeng is a place that has a great period of prosperity of literature and men of talent came out in succession. From the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, there came out more than 100 officials and rich business men. The scholars of the village left 29 books of classical works.

Accommodations: : Located in the western suburb of Jingdezhen City, Jingdezhen Ceramics Museum covers an area of 830,000 square meters. The museum boasts nineteen thousand ceramic articles. Of all these collections, the Ming-Qing Dynasty Official Ceramics, the Ming Ceramics, the ceramics of the Cultural Revolution and the artistic works by modern masters all enjoy high reputations and prestige both in China and abroad. : Located in Hutian village in the suburb of the Jingdezhen City, Hutian Kiln covering an area of 260,000 square meters. Jingdezhen is reputed as the City of Porcelain in China. The Hutian Ancient Kiln Site is like a shining pearl among the ancient kilns in Jingdezhen. Various porcelain items of the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties have been discovered at the site. The Hutian Ancient Kiln Site represents the development of porcelain-making techniques, artistic quality and production scale, and provides important concrete materials for the research into the developing history of Chinese porcelain.

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