Appreciate the new development of the thousand-year-old porcelain capital in Jingdezhen
From April 30 to May 5, the Taoxichuan Cultural and Creative District in Jingdezhen ushered in the "Spring and Autumn Fair" with the theme of "To Get Together". This cultural event combines markets, performances, exhibitions and other exciting activities, bringing together more than 500 domestic and foreign artists and craftsmen from 33 countries and regions, attracting more than 300,000 people to "go to the market" .
This "Spring and Autumn Festival" shows the world the vitality and openness of this city, and the vitality of Jingdezhen is much more than that. From the revitalization and renewal of historical sites, the innovation of integrating culture and tourism, to the construction and innovation of industrial trade, walking in Jingdezhen, you can see the new development of this thousand-year-old porcelain capital everywhere.
Jingdezhen has a long history of porcelain making. More than 2,000 years of pottery making history, more than 1,000 years of official kiln history, and more than 600 years of imperial kiln history have engraved ceramics into the city's DNA. The Taoyangli Historical and Cultural District, which consists of the Imperial Kiln Factory Site, Imperial Kiln Museum, Ming and Qing Kiln Groups, and Old Town Alleys, embodies the precious memories accumulated in this land. Here, you can follow General Secretary Xi Jinping’s inspection footsteps and appreciate the profound cultural heritage of the porcelain capital. Enter the unique Imperial Kiln Museum, follow the exhibition, and touch the historical context of Jingdezhen porcelain making.
Coming to the China Ceramics Museum is like walking into a chronicle of Chinese ceramic culture. The rich collection presents the background and style of Chinese porcelain in different eras. The blue and white are delicate and elegant, the red glaze is bright and bright... Even the fragments of ceramics can piece together a microcosm of a period of time. These precious cultural relics also reflect the increasing maturity of Jingdezhen's porcelain-making technology and carry the wisdom of Chinese porcelain culture.
The Ancient Kiln Folklore Expo Area also retains precious historical relics, and the porcelain kilns here have witnessed the passage of time. What spans thousands of years is not only the ancient kilns, but also the continuous skills and ingenuity. On what is known as the oldest porcelain production line in the world, you can witness traditional hand-made porcelain techniques. The production of a porcelain bowl is subdivided into multiple steps, and the intangible inheritance masters in each link perform their duties. They use the ingenuity of focusing on doing one thing well to develop a calm demeanor of "expert hands". Walking to the porcelain music performance stage, from the moving and sweet melodies, you seem to hear the historical echo of the thousand-year-old porcelain capital.
The reason why the thousand-year-old kiln fire has become more and more prosperous is Jingdezhen's careful protection and inheritance of historical monuments and intangible cultural heritage skills, constantly injecting new energy and writing a chapter of the renaissance of ceramic culture.
In addition to traditional cultural monuments, Jingdezhen has also created many unique and creative new cultural landmarks in recent years, attracting a large number of young people to come here and join here. The Taoxichuan Cultural and Creative District, where the "Spring and Autumn Fair" event is held, is one of them.
As soon as you step into the neighborhood, you will first be attracted by the red brick buildings with a sense of design, which blend retro with modern simplicity. Taoxichuan is a representative result of urban renewal of Jingdezhen’s industrial heritage. What was once a workshop has been transformed into a museum and art gallery. It also brings together handicraft workshops, youth innovation spaces, brand exhibition halls, artist studios, etc. For young creators who love "playing in the mud", this is a fertile ground for incubating creativity and realizing dreams. For famous artists at home and abroad, Tao Xichuan also provides them with a platform for creation and communication.
When night falls, Taoxichuan's vibrant cultural nightlife has just begun. The market on weekend evenings is crowded with people. Young people bring their own original works to the stalls. A table and a small lamp create a world of different styles. Walking in the market, you can feel the youthful and vigorous creativity. And the conversation with creativity doesn’t stop at the moment. Stall owners followed the live broadcast trend and continued to spread the popularity of Taoxichuan Market online, forming a stronger cultural influence.
There are many ways to play in Taoxichuan. In addition to doing pottery, listening to lectures, and visiting the market, you can also travel through time and space and enter the Jingdezhen Ceramic Industry Heritage Museum, the predecessor of this neighborhood. This exhibition hall located in the center of Taoxichuan was transformed from the state-owned Universe Porcelain Factory. The structure, facilities and equipment of the old factory are preserved in the museum, ranging from a meal ticket to a track. The Universe Porcelain Factory ceased production in the 1990s. The immersive exhibition space truly records the changes in Jingdezhen's modern ceramic industry.
The transformation of old factories into new neighborhoods is Jingdezhen’s innovative attempt to adapt to the tide of the times. When the Millennium City of Porcelain began to explore new ways to integrate culture and tourism, it showed an open and inclusive mind and the courage to pioneer.
Jingdezhen's determination to promote ceramic culture does not stop there. On the basis of making porcelain well, it will then explore how to sell it well. Gradually improve the industrial chain, build multi-business attractions, give full play to the agglomeration effect, explore more business opportunities, and reflect the technological level at the forefront of the industry and the macro layout of radiating global trade.
In Mingfang Garden, known as the "condensed version of Jingdezhen", there are brand pavilions of major ceramic companies and art museums of ceramic masters. Mingfangyuan is focusing on building a "city of thousands of pavilions tourist destination", where you can come into contact with the world's leading ceramic production technology. Among them, the Hongye National Porcelain Museum displays exquisite sets of national gift porcelain and state banquet porcelain. The exquisite production technology demonstrates Jingdezhen Ceramics Group's leading posture as the leader in Jingdezhen ceramics industry. Chinese porcelain, which reveals its cultural confidence, has also become a cultural messenger telling Chinese stories to the world.
Another strategic result of Jingdezhen's promotion of the development of the ceramic industry is the Taobao City with a total investment of nearly 10 billion yuan. This is a key pilot project for Jingdezhen City to promote the construction of the National Ceramic Culture Inheritance Innovation Pilot Zone with high quality. It is invested, constructed and operated by Jingdezhen State Control Group. Taobo City brings together more than 600 ceramic shops, with brands covering 13 countries around the world. The diverse brand types and product lines allow everyone who comes to Taobo City to find their favorite ceramic products according to their own needs and preferences.
In addition to satisfying tourists' consumption, Taobo City is also committed to becoming a new ceramic professional trading market with the largest volume, the most complete categories, the most complete supporting facilities, and the most convenient transactions, fully realizing "buying from the world and selling to the world". From physical malls to live broadcast platforms and cross-border e-commerce, behind Taobo City's integrated online and offline trade ecological layout is the blueprint for becoming the main platform, gathering place and global distribution center for ceramic trade.
Ceramic culture and history accumulated over thousands of years are the unique and precious urban background of Jingdezhen. Cui Suxiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Jingdezhen Municipal Committee and deputy mayor, pointed out that Jingdezhen is an international porcelain capital well-known at home and abroad. It is the main starting point of the Maritime Silk Road and an important source of goods. It is also the only city in the world that relies on the ceramic industry to support its millennium development. How to protect and make good use of this historical heritage, Jingdezhen's cultural tourism construction provides a model for other cities. Build a solid cultural heritage, seize the opportunities of the times, and seek new changes in all aspects to make the beautiful business card of "Millennium Porcelain City" even brighter!
