"If you make tea with black teapots, they remain fresh even after half a month in the black teacups. They're extremely breathable," says Zeng Qinghong, whose family has been making black pottery for generations.
During Qingming Festival in April, Zeng sold hundreds of black pottery every day, mostly pots and teapots. But business has been poor since the quake.
"A craftsman makes only one teapot a day. Before the quake, the demand was greater than supply. But now people are afraid of coming here in case there is another killer quake," says Zhu, who owns one of the biggest factories in Yingjing. He has 30 craftsmen at his factory but says hiring skilled craftsmen remains a challenge.
Many people in the mountainous county choose to work in the cities for bigger paychecks so that they can rebuild their houses, instead of remaining in the county to be craftsman, which pays little.
A craftsman makes, on average, 30 pots a day and earns a salary of 2,000 yuan ($320) a month. For those who are skillful enough to make teapots, they earn an extra 1,000 to 2,000 yuan, says Zeng.
"But that's not enough to keep the youngsters here to learn our traditional techniques. Besides they have to sit for a whole day. It's boring for them," says Zeng.
Then why not use machines?
"I want to keep the purity of traditional handicraft. More people now prefer handmade pottery. To some extent, handmade pottery is one of our advantages," says Zeng, who believes in quality over quantity.
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