Jingdezhen: China’s Porcelain Capital

First Stop: Jingdezhen

Known as the “Porcelain City”, Jingdezhen was the designated source for all porcelain goods in the Imperial household for over 900 years. It has a history of porcelain making dating back near two millennia. The majority of the world’s fine Chinese ceramics dating from that time can be traced to Jingdezhen’s workshops. Though it doesn’t at first glance look like a “porcelain city,” and the ancient wood-fired kilns and manual wheels have been replaced with more modern appliances, Jingdezhen nonetheless remains a major source of ceramic goods found around the world.

Your Journey Begins

Today is the day, the start of your China Adventure Club adventure. Step off the plane in Jingdezhen and meet your local guide in the airport arrivals hall. They’ll be waiting to welcome you and will have your private vehicle on standby, ready to whisk you off to your hotel for check-in.

Tao Xi Chuan Art District

Start off with a leisurely stroll through Tao Xi Chuan Art District. Situated in an old ceramics factory, the revived Tao Xi Chuan Art District is now brimming with shops, cafes, and boutique hotels that make this area a bustling art mecca. With restored brick facades, you’ll find people doing photoshoots and students at the most prestigious ceramics university in China selling their recent creations.

The Ancient Kiln

Begin by learning the craft named after the country, porcelain (also known as China), at the Ancient Kiln. Since the 1200s, the Ancient Kiln made China’s iconic porcelain for the imperial court. Nowadays, you can find classically trained pottery masters making porcelain in the traditional manner and pass by the huge kilns that were once used to make the emperor’s prized possession. You’ll have the opportunity to purchase some of the most authentic porcelain money can buy.

Ceramic Folklore Museum

Next, step back in time and see tradition in action at the Ceramic Folklore Museum. The Ceramic Folklore museum is like a living timeline of the history of porcelain. Delicately preserved fine china show the evolution of porcelain style and technique that varied from dynasty to dynasty. Visitors will see porcelain archaeology in action as well as a showcase of pottery that’s survived the ages.

Pottery Workshop

After lunch at a local Jiangxi-style restaurant, get your hands dirty at a contemporary ceramics studio with a hands-on pottery workshop. Jingdezhen is the capital of all things porcelain, a stop by a contemporary ceramics studio will also let you become master of your own pottery wheel. Mold your creations with the precious local clay that made this region famous as the wheel spins under your hands. After it’s time to fire your creation, you can step into the next room and paint your own designs on the brilliant white porcelain.

Dig into the Imperial Kiln

After, witness ceramic excavation at the Imperial Kiln. Several feet below the earth’s surface, the Imperial Kiln is undergoing an archaeological excavation. Shards and remnants of the porcelain made in this giant kiln are still being found and archaeologists are using this opportunity to document the history of China’s porcelain culture. From the viewing hall, you can try to spot your own discoveries in the digging site below.

Walk to the Dragon Pavilion

After, stretch your legs with a leisurely walking to the Dragon Pavilion overlooking the city. Originally built during the Tang Dynasty, the structure features red bricks with upturned roofs in the classical Chinese style. Back in the day, officials supervised the production of porcelain wares for the imperial court from the top of this pavilion.

Local Porcelain Market

If you want a real, contemporary porcelain experience, you can visit a local porcelain market in the town. The tiny shops along this back alley are filled floor-to-ceiling with porcelain wares from tea sets to statues of Buddha.

Meals included: breakfast and lunch

Wuyuan Village

Secluded in the mountains and only accessible by cable car, Wuyuan Village features well-preserved Hui architecture and colorful tapestries of drying chili peppers and chrysanthemum flowers hanging atop roofs. Although a walk through Wuyuan and its courtyard homes is a step back in time, the village is most famous for its ornate tapestries. As the word has spread about Wuyuan’s hidden beauty, more and more local guesthouses and small coffee shops have sprung up in the village.

If the weather permits, you will enjoy your afternoon tea in Wuyuan and meanwhile view the rape flower.

And you will also have chance to visit the local tea plantation to pick up tea leaves and taste the local tea as well.

After the visiting in Wuyuan, you’ll be transferred back to Jingdezhen.

Saturday Morning Porcelain Market

Wake up early and join the bustling Saturday morning porcelain market where students and locals from all over Jingdezhen come to showcase and sell their wares. Here, you’ll find everything from traditional pottery made by old masters to contemporary designs made by students at the leading ceramics university in China. You can even buy ceramic jewelry, mugs, and tea sets to take home as souvenirs

Hike Gaoling Mountain

After, hike the slopes of Gaoling Mountain, where the original kaolin clay was excavated from the clay mines by industrious men. You can find life-size replicas of these workers performing the various labors needed to extract the clay from the inside of the mountain. A worthwhile hike in-and-of-itself, tracing these ancient clay supply lines makes for a history lesson out in the great outdoors.

Stroll Through Dongbu Village

At the base of Gaoling Mountain is the centuries-old Dongbu Village (and your lunch). The village was once a major hub for the trade of the kaolin clay used to make porcelain in the city of Jingdezhen. This quaint little village is now home to a small museum where you can find artifacts of the tools used to mine for porcelain as well as scaled-down replicas of the trading routes taken to trade the clay.

Your Flight Back Home

Your local guide will escort you to the airport and help you check in for your flight home.