Youngsters Flock to River Town to Revive Ancient Porcelain Arts

For several centuries, the town of Jingdezhen's workshops were renowned to be the cradle of the best and most coveted china in the world. Today, these workshops are slowly being revived by young artisans in a bid to keep the ancient porcelain arts alive.

Made of clay and fired in the hottest kilns, Jingdezhen's china were transported all across the globe, landing on the hands of wealthy Persians, Mongols, and Frenchmen, according to an article by The New York Times.

However, the porcelain arts came to a halt when the Qing dynasty fell. Wars and revolutions served fatal blows, until the ancient art was only used for the production of Communist statues.

In an interesting turn of events, young artisans and craftsmen are moving to the river town of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province to learn porcelain-making.

"I like the atmosphere very much," said 27-year-old Fang Xin in an interview with The New York Times.

Fang came all the way the Guangxi region to become a "jingpiao" or Jingdezhen drifter. The "jingpiao" are the young people who have come to the town to learn how to make china, and in the process, earn a decent profit from the skill. After all, the middle-class boom in China has created a demand for porcelain.

"A lot of people with dreams come here," shared Fang. "There is a variety of teachers, and they teach all kinds of skills and ideas."

Fang worked and studied the craft at the Pottery Workshop, an education center opened by Caroline Cheng and Takeshi Yasuda in 2005. The center was one of the main proponents of the revived Jingdezhen ceramics scene.

The Pottery Workshop's students are mostly Chinese, although some of the instructions and administrators come from more diverse backgrounds. The center also organizes a market where students can proudly sell their wares.