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Jingdezhen, China - City of Porcelain - 23 Oct 2008
 
Porcelain recycling bins
 
A representative porcelain street light pole with a painting of peaches
 
Porcelain painting of cranes available for purchase at the Porcelain Museum
 
Porcelain painting of a blossoming cherry tree with poem
 
Porcelain bathroom sinks (Ming style) at the Jingdezhen Pottery Culture Exposition Center
 
An artisan in his 70's forming bowls on a hand powered pottery wheel
 
The same artisan forming a gourd shaped vessel on the pottery wheel
 
Bowls formed on a pottery wheel are allowed to sun dry before proceeding to the glazing step. Cracked bowls are crushed, and the clay mixture is recycled.
 
After the bowl is formed on the pottery wheel, artisans shape and trim the foot of the bowl.
 
The foot of the bowl is trimmed and shaped.
 
Further trimming and shaping of the foot of the bowl follows.
 
The sun-dried bowls are coated with a white glaze.
 
Cobalt blue glaze designs are applied using brush strokes to the white glaze-covered bowls.
 
Vessels that are have multicolor glazes are applied by hand using Chinese brushes.
 
Artisan applying colored glazes to a vase to create a painting of a floral scene.
 
Artisan applying colored glazes to a decorative plate
 
Artisan carving a vase; this vase requires one month to complete all of the carvings.
 
Examples of carved vessels, prior to glazing.
 
Artisan painting a multicolored scene on a white vase.
 
Examples of porcelain products - a decorative pot with brown cobalt blue glaze applied prior to firing, several finished MIng style blue vessels, and one carved gourd vessel to be glazed.
 
One of the original large pottery kilns in Jingdezhen, which is heated by firewood (see the stack of firewood in the background).
 
In the kiln room, glazed bowls are stacked in cylindrical clay vessels prior to firing.
 
The kiln is partially filled with clay cylindrical vessels containing glazed vessels to be fired. Different areas of the kiln are of different temperature, and glazed objects are arranged in the kiln to take advantage of the different temperatures needed for different types of glazes and objects.
 
After firing, the finished glazed bowls are removed from the clay cylindrical vessels and stacked as shown here for transport.

Jingdezhen historically has been the center of porcelain production in China. With it's rich natural resources (kaolin and clay), the city specialized in the production of porcelain. The Imperial Porcelain of several dynasties were produced in Jingdezhen. Famous glazing styles developed here include the blue and white Ming style porcelain, which was exported throughout the world. The Jingdezhen Pottery Culture Center provided a first-hand look at how porcelain has been produced in Jingdezhen over the ages. Porcelain is used throughout the city as a decorative element, whether it is public art, street light poles, trash cans, or even bathroom sinks.
COMMENTS
Chinaplus said at 6:33 p.m. on Nov 23, 2008:
Lisa,
As I love all things Chinese, I especially loved this. Where iChina is this city. I have never heard of it - and I know at least a bit about China!
Mary
GlennS said at 6:49 a.m. on Nov 24, 2008:
Very nice, you have captured some interesting images.
Saulblum said at 8:04 a.m. on Nov 24, 2008:
Thanks for the informative tour! Very nice documentary.
Lisawang said at 5:56 p.m. on Nov 24, 2008:
Mary, I'm glad you enjoyed the photos! It's hard for me to describe where Jingdezhen is located; I can say that it is ~ 3 hours bus ride away from Mt. Huangshan and ~ 3 hours bus ride away from the city of Jiujiang, which is located along side the Yangtze River. It's roughly southwest of Shanghai by a couple of days journey.
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