Firing up a shining past for porcelain

To pass down techniques and teach ceramic culture to a wider audience, he has invited experienced inheritors of the intangible cultural heritage to display their skills at a workshop next to the Xujia Kiln. Each inheritor has a couple of young apprentices, who learn from them as they work.

"In the past, porcelain-making techniques were traditionally passed down within families. Here, we have many families with three generations of porcelain makers, and I am the third generation in my family," says Yu. "However, to ensure the long-term survival of the craft, we must break away from past traditions and pass these skills on to more young people."

Xu Ling is one of the experienced craftspeople invited by Yu to demonstrate their techniques in Taoyangli. When she is sitting at her workbench, she is fully engrossed in carving patterns into the porcelain bowls, and is completely unfazed by the crowd gathered around her, even as people frequently take pictures, and occasionally praise her skill.

"Whenever they ask questions, I answer them, one by one. Many children are very interested, and I think it would be wonderful if my explanations spark their interest in making porcelain in the future," says the 58-year-old.

In recent years, Xu has taken on apprentices to ensure the skills are passed down. Two of them, both born after 2000, work beside her, demonstrating the different steps in the porcelain-making process.

When President Xi Jinping visited Taoyangli last October, he encouraged the inheritors to pursue their craftsmanship with dedication, and devote themselves to passing down their craft and to making innovations.

He said the principle of protection first and like-for-like renovation has been followed in the protection of Taoyangli, facilitating a mutually reinforcing interaction between ceramic cultural protection and the development of cultural and tourism industry.

Xu recalls working at a ceramics factory in the area when she was in her 20s. Present-day Taoyangli brings back memories of the way it looked in the last century.

In the distance, the towering chimney of the ceramics factory where she worked retains its original appearance. Xu's current workshop, where she demonstrates porcelain-making skills, has been restored to its former glory, with each brick, beam and pillar reflecting its original state.