Ancient porcelain techniques are experiencing a remarkable renaissance in Shapotou district, Zhongwei city, northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Five years ago, Yao Sijie, now head of a cultural and creative park in the district, came to Xiaheyan, a historic kiln site along the Yellow River in Changle town of the district, to search for porcelain fragments that would unlock centuries of craftsmanship.
Through extensive research of county records, Yao gradually pieced together Shapotou’s illustrious history as a major porcelain production center.
Standing amid the ruins of once-bustling porcelain workshops dating back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220), Yao reflected on the cultural significance of this heritage. Each ancient porcelain piece carries the memory of Yellow River culture, yet the traditional firing techniques had faded into obscurity over time.
"Without active preservation efforts by the current generation, these invaluable skills face potential extinction," he said.
Photo shows ancient Yellow River porcelain products. (Photo/China Daily)
Determined to revive ancient Yellow River porcelain, Yao partnered with Li Chengren, a veteran ceramicist, to establish a production team dedicated to recreating all 18 steps of the traditional porcelain-making process.
After years of field investigation, the team analyzed samples from over 20 locations along the Yellow River’s banks before identifying the optimal raw material: purple-red clay from an ancient riverbed in Changle town. This specific clay composition proved ideal for crafting greenware in the ancient Yellow River porcelain tradition.
Today, the cultural and creative park produces over 10,000 pieces annually across 12 categories of ancient Yellow River porcelain, with 30 percent exported overseas via cross-border e-commerce platforms.
"In addition to restoring traditional porcelain-making techniques, we strive to integrate ancient porcelain into modern life," said young designer Sun Chen.
Sun designed a series of ancient porcelain tea sets with relief decorations inspired by a satellite map of the Yellow River’s winding course. The designs have sold well and won a prize at the China Tourism Commodities Competition.
Young people like Sun represent the driving force behind the innovation of intangible cultural heritages. The cultural and creative park hosts daily livestreams, drawing over 10,000 viewers per session. Its educational tour activities have welcomed more than 5,000 students for hands-on Yellow River clay pottery experiences.
"Every autumn, we hold the ’Yellow River Handicraft Festival,’ bringing together representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritages from throughout the Yellow River basin to demonstrate their skills," Yao said.
Advanced tools and technologies, such as 3D scanners, laser engraving machines, digital modeling, and augmented reality, have been introduced to aid the preservation and evolution of Yellow River porcelain craftsmanship.
At the Shapotou scenic area’s intangible cultural heritage workshop, tourist Li Tianxue carefully molded Yellow River clay into a bowl. After biscuit firing, the piece would retain the raw clay’s distinctive brownish-red color, becoming a unique Yellow River-themed souvenir.
Scenes like this exemplify the integration of cultural and tourism in Shapotou district, where ancient Yellow River porcelain transcends its function as a mere artifact and becomes a part of the cultural tourism market marked by the iconic Tengger Desert, Yellow River, and starry sky.
Creating distinctive cultural experiences and services beyond natural scenery is a key value-added component for tourism, said Zhu Wenjun, deputy general manager of China Travel Service (Ningxia) Shapotou Tourist Scenic Area Co., Ltd.
In 2024, Shapotou district welcomed over 14 million tourist visits, generating 9 billion yuan ($1.25 billion) in tourism revenue, with creative cultural products making a significant contribution to this economic success.
原文地址：http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0703/c90000-20335663.html