The World’s Porcelain Capital: Jingdezhen

Location map. Source: Wikipedia

History:

It is known as the “porcelain capital” because it has produced ceramics for more than 1,700 years. The city has a well-documented history stretching back as far as 2,000 years.

During the Han dynasty, Jingdezhen was known as Xinping. Historical accounts indicate that the city began making porcelain in that period. In 1004 CE, during the Northern Song dynasty, it was renamed Jingdezhen after the emperor’s reign era, during which its porcelain production became famous.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Jingdezhen was considered one of the four most important towns for commerce and industry.

Geography:

Jingdezhen lies in the north-east of Jiangxi province, bordering Anhui. The city centre is in the north-eastern part of the Poyang Lake plain. Its highest point is 1,618 m, with plains in the south at an average altitude of 200 m.
Jingdezhen’s natural resources include kaolin, coal, manganese and lime, but kaolin made the city famous in China and worldwide. For more than a millennium, this distinctive material enabled the production of high-quality porcelain. The name kaolin comes from Gaoling, or Kaoling, a locality in Ehu, Fuliang County, within Jingdezhen.

Kaolin ore. Source: http://www.51ci.com/

Climate:

Jingdezhen has a humid subtropical climate influenced by the East Asian monsoon. Summers are long, humid and very hot; winters are short and dry, with occasional sharp drops in temperature.

The Porcelain:

Jingdezhen porcelain is famous in China and worldwide as “thin as paper, white as jade, bright as a mirror and resonant as a bell”.
Jingdezhen porcelain is appreciated by collectors worldwide. According to Christie’s, the blue-and-white Yuan-dynasty Guiguzi jar sold in London on 12 July 2005 for £15,688,000, a record price at the time. The sale illustrates the historical standing of these porcelains in the art market, rather than a continually updated ranking of prices.

Bowl with peony decoration. Qingbai porcelain. Jingdezhen. Southern Song dynasty. Source: Wikipedia.