Historic kilns fire up memories

Successful renovation

Dong Lin, who teaches arts at the Beijing Union University, works on ceramic panels and sculptures at her studio in Jingdezhen on every summer and winter break.

"I love Jingdezhen so much as it has everything I want to make ceramic artwork," says Dong, who is a PhD graduate of ceramic art from the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, all the family-run workshops in Jingdezhen were regrouped into 10 State-owned pottery plants, and mechanized porcelain production started there.

These factories ran brilliantly for decades, and their products were exported to countries around the world, earning heaps of foreign exchange for China.

In the 1990s, these plants lost their edge as their counterparts in Fujian and Guangdong provinces had better equipment and technology. The factories shut down, and their workers were laid off. Family ceramic businesses restarted in Jingdezhen.

To keep its unique porcelain culture, Jingdezhen has launched a large-scale conservation and renovation campaign to protect its ancient imperial kiln sites, as well as the old residential buildings and workshops.