Gongguantun Kiln Site

Gongguantun Kiln Site

The Gongguantun Kiln Site is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

【Gongguantun Kiln Site】

Located in Gongguantun Village, Xiaotun Town, Wensheng District, Liaoyang City. The kiln site is quite large, though a significant portion has been eroded away by the Taizi River. The main products were white-glazed coarse pottery, with fewer pieces featuring white glaze with black designs or black-glazed ceramics, along with a small amount of tri-colored pottery. The kiln was initially built during the Liao Dynasty, flourished in the Jin Dynasty, and gradually declined in the Yuan Dynasty until it was abandoned. It is a large-scale folk kiln that operated for a relatively long period.

Although the Gongguantun Kiln in Liaoyang has been abandoned for 700 to 800 years, the site remains largely intact and covers a large area with abundant accumulation of ceramic fragments. It was the only ancient kiln site in the former Dongjing (Liaoyang Prefecture), and many of the burial ceramics found in Liao and Jin tombs across the Liaoyang region originated from this kiln. The Gongguantun Kiln holds significant importance for studying the production techniques, characteristics, as well as the social and economic life during the Liao and Jin periods. In 1988, the site was designated as a Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Liaoning Province, and in 2013, it was listed in the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

The Gongguantun Kiln Site is one of China’s important folk kilns and has attracted considerable attention from scholars both domestically and internationally. Wensheng District plans to restore and rebuild the ancient Gongguantun Kiln.

Xiaotun Town: Xiaotun Town is located in the eastern part of Liaoyang County, bordering Liaohua to the south, Gongchangleng to the east, and adjacent to Liaoyang City to the west. The town administers 18 administrative villages, 12 neighborhood committees, has a population of 50,000, and cultivates 62,500 mu of farmland, covering a total area of 164 square kilometers. The Shen-Huan Highway and Liaoxi Railway run through the town, while the Tang and Taizi Rivers flow across it. It is a semi-mountainous, semi-flat town with convenient transportation, abundant resources, fertile soil, and a relatively prosperous economy. In 1992, Xiaotun Town was designated as a satellite town of the Liaodong Peninsula Economic Development Zone by the provincial government; from 1995 to 1997, it was consecutively recognized for three years as... More details about Xiaotun Town++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units of Liaoning Province

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units