Discover beauty of black pottery in SW China's Yunnan

A craftsman makes black pottery products in Tangman village, Nixi township, Shangri-La city, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, on Nov. 16, 2023. (People's Daily Online/Hu Zunhui)

The craft of making Tibetan-style black pottery has a history of more than 2,000 years and is a national intangible cultural heritage in Tangman village, Nixi township, Shangri-La city, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Nixi township, located over 30 kilometers away from Shangri-La's city center, holds historical significance as an important stop along the ancient Tea Horse Road. In the Tibetan language, "Nixi" translates to "the place where the sun rises."

The region's unique natural geography, coupled with mineral-rich soil, has made it a significant black pottery production area. Black pottery includes tea sets, wine vessels, and cooking utensils, and is of great importance in the daily lives of the local people.

Black pottery production involves several processes, including clay collection, drying, and sieving, making moulds, drying, firing, and polishing. Unlike industrialized pottery production, Nixi black pottery continues to use traditional techniques and handmade production. In June 2008, the Tibetan-style black pottery firing technique was included in the second batch of the national list of intangible cultural heritage of China.

Zhishi Nyima, head of the Tangman village, said that Nixi township is actively promoting a master-apprentice system to pass on black pottery making. As of 2022, the number of households engaging in black pottery production in the entire township has increased from over 40 to 108, and the number of practitioners has grown from 45 to over 150.