More youth chase dream in China's porcelain capital

Boasting a profound ceramic culture, relatively low startup costs, an excellent atmosphere for ceramics creation, and a relaxed lifestyle, China's porcelain capital Jingdezhen, a city in east China's Jiangxi Province, has become a magnet for young people.

More than 30,000 of them are chasing their dreams and pursuing their ideal life in the city.

People visit a market on the Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, Oct. 8, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhou Mi)

Low threshold for business startup

"In Jingdezhen, the threshold for starting a business in the ceramics industry is very low," said Chen Saijie, a 33-year-old man born in east China's Zhejiang Province who has been running his own ceramics studio in Jingdezhen since college.

Chen studied at Jingdezhen Ceramics University in the city as an undergraduate. Tempted by his senior schoolmates' experiences of starting their own ceramics businesses, Chen rented a room, bought a pottery wheel machine and half a bag of clay with the startup capital provided by his parents, and established a studio with a friend, Chen recalled.

As Chen's business grew, he rented half of an abandoned factory building for over 2,000 yuan ($279.31) a month and moved his studio into the place.

To this day, it's still easy to start a business in the city, according to Chen, who said a space in a carport renting for 400 to 500 yuan a month is enough for a newcomer to start building a new business.

"It feels great to take the first step of my career here," said Xiang Wei, a 30-year-old woman who came to Jingdezhen more than four years ago.

Xiang learned to paint as a child and majored in block printing in college. After completing her postgraduate studies abroad, she came to Jingdezhen at the suggestion of a friend, and started to try integrating block printing techniques into ceramics creation.

With more than 20 years of experience in fine arts and a bit of luck, Xiang quickly developed her unique style and successfully built a customer base. As a result, her ceramics studio has experienced continuous expansion, and her team has grown.

Xiang recently signed a new rental agreement on buildings of an old state-owned factory. She plans to move her studio into the factory next year. The new facility has a total floor area of 1,000 square meters, and is equipped with a 200 square meter garden.

"Through hard work and a bit of luck, people who are young and lack the capital like me can own a studio with a floor area of 1,000 square meters in Jingdezhen. This is unimaginable in first-tier cities," Xiang said.

A staff member promotes porcelain products via a livestreaming show at Taoxichuan Ceramics Art Avenue in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, Feb. 22, 2023.(Xinhua/Zhou Mi)

Complete industrial chain

Known as a millennium-old capital of porcelain in China, Jingdezhen has a complete ceramics industrial chain.

Buying raw materials for ceramics in Jingdezhen is as easy as buying vegetables in a supermarket. Since many blocks of the city are lined with various shops selling raw materials for ceramics, people can buy everything from clay to glaze and bisque in these shops. They can also fire their semi-finished ceramic products in public kilns scattered across the city, with the service for each item only costing several yuan.

It's convenient to learn the techniques to make ceramics in Jingdezhen, too, as the city provides training courses on ceramics of varying lengths and content.

Given that there is an abundant supply of ceramists in the city, inexperienced young entrepreneurs never have to worry about the implementation of an idea about ceramics creation.

The city has also established many platforms for the distribution and marketing of ceramic products.

While other Chinese cities have started to see fairs for cultural and creative products in recent years, the culture of such fairs was already brought to Jingdezhen more than 10 years ago. Today, operating stalls at fairs is a widely accepted way for ceramics artists to sell and showcase ceramics products and communicate with customers and peers.

The most popular fair for cultural and creative ceramics products in Jingdezhen lies in Taoxichuan Ceramics Art Avenue, a famous open cultural and art district with a rich variety of business forms. The avenue is also a must-visit tourist site and ceramics art landmark of the city.

The fair at Taoxichuan Ceramics Art Avenue is crowded with visitors every weekend, festival, and holiday. Besides tourists, ceramics buyers also come here to search for suppliers of ceramics products.

Aside from the fair, makers in the city are also provided with opportunities to present their abilities through many other platforms of Taoxichuan Ceramics Art Avenue, including an area dedicated to startups and innovations, a live streaming base, and smart workshops for ceramics.

This photo taken on May 15, 2023 shows a view of Taoxichuan Ceramics Art Avenue in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province.(Xinhua/Lu Zhe)

Favorable atmosphere

Jingdezhen's excellent atmosphere for ceramics creation is particularly attractive to many young dream seekers.

In Jingdezhen, entrepreneurs can easily find craftspeople who know a specific technique for making ceramics by mentioning it during a conversation, walk into ceramics studios to talk to ceramists, and learn from and communicate with peers at fairs.

Because of the vibrant atmosphere, ceramists are not the only ones who have been attracted to Jingdezhen. An increasing number of craftspeople and artistic creators are also flocking to the city.

"Ceramics is considered a niche field, but it is a major industry in Jingdezhen," Chen said. "The whole city is like a ceramics school," he noted.

Thanks to the city's complete ceramics industry chain, young ceramists can always sharpen their skills and expand knowledge of relevant fields by taking part in training courses.

"When you work in the ceramics industry in Jingdezhen, you can keep walking along the chosen path until you succeed. It requires perseverance in the process, but after working hard for a few years, you'll find your situation getting better and better," Chen said.

"Jingdezhen has a very good atmosphere for cultural and creative products, which is second only to big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen," Xiang pointed out.

The young entrepreneur, who was born in central China's Hunan province, said she initially came to Jingdezhen to experiment with expressing her block printing works in a three-dimensional way. However, she soon decided to stay in the city. Eventually, she has settled down in the city and now lives happily with her parents and younger sister, who joined her studio shortly after graduating from college.

In the past years, Xiang has not only leveraged her block printing skills to create ceramics products, but also set up a brand featuring the integration of ceramics into jewelry in collaboration with a friend who designs jewelry.

The comfortable living atmosphere in Jingdezhen is also one of the reasons why it appeals to young dream chasers.

And most of the young dream chasers in the city are the kind of people who are enthusiastic about life, follow their hearts, and lead a pure life, said Chen and Xiang when asked to describe what the young people pursuing dreams in Jingdezhen are like in their eyes.

"We all have our dreams and a pure passion for life and work. That makes it easy for us to understand each other and become good friends," said Xiang, who has made a lot of new friends since she came to the city.

Like-minded friends she has met in Jingdezhen are a major reason why she decided to settle in the city, according to Xiang.

The small size of the city makes it easier for friends to meet each other without having to make appointments in advance or spend much time on transportation. They only need to make a call before visiting each other.

A simple meal and relaxing conversations about any topic that interests them, ranging from artistic creations, to dreams, personal experiences, philosophy, and even the universe, are always the easiest and biggest enjoyment to these young dream chasers.