Lichuan Ceramics

Lichuan Ceramics

　　Lichuan is renowned as the “Second Porcelain Capital of Jiangxi.” Visitors to Lichuan County never leave without taking home some of the local cups and saucers. The daily-use ceramics here are not only bright white and shiny, with elegant shapes, but also come in a remarkably wide variety of styles and designs. Medium-grade teacups alone account for half of the national market share, and large quantities of cups and saucers are exported to Europe, America, and the Middle East.

The area boasts abundant high-quality porcelain clay resources, which, at the current production scale, can be mined for at least several hundred years. Although the Lichuan ceramic industry has only been developing for just over 30 years, it has grown rapidly. Currently, the county has 21 ceramic enterprises, employing more than 4,000 workers, with the total output value of the ceramic industry exceeding 100 million yuan. The ceramic industry has formed a production system encompassing industrial ceramics, daily-use ceramics, art ceramics, and aerospace ceramics, comprising over 300 varieties and more than 1,200 specifications. Dozens of these varieties have won ministerial or provincial-level awards, and ceramic products sell well in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Technological advancement has given the Lichuan ceramic industry wings to soar. Reducing energy consumption to 5,000 kcal per kilogram of ceramic product was a key project under the Ministry of Light Industry’s “Eighth Five-Year Plan.” In 1995, Lichuan ceramic experts and technicians were the first to overcome this technical hurdle, reducing energy consumption from 16,000 kcal to 4,700 kcal per kilogram. This improvement increased the pass rate of first- and second-grade quality ceramic products by 12 percentage points, and the whiteness of the porcelain surpassed the Ministry of Light Industry’s standards by 10 percentage points, reaching an advanced level among domestic daily-use ceramic kilns. The kiln technology of Lichuan attracted veteran plant managers from ten major porcelain factories in Jingdezhen—the “Porcelain Capital”—who came specially to study its methods. But Lichuan did not stop there. In 1999, large-section tunnel kilns achieved a further 30% energy saving, reducing consumption to just 3,000 kcal per kilogram of ceramic. The temperature difference inside the kiln was narrowed from 20°C to 5°C, and the product qualification rate improved from 60% to 99%.

Technological progress has strongly promoted the development, upgrading, and optimization of the ceramic product mix. The county invests over 3 million yuan annually in new product development, having successively launched more than 50 provincial and ministerial-level award-winning daily-use ceramic products. New types of ceramics and innovative designs continue to emerge. The region now offers four major types of ceramics—lightweight porcelain, ivory porcelain, high-white glaze tableware, and high-strength heat-resistant ceramic cookware—across 18 series, 580 varieties, and more than 3,000 designs. Last year alone, just one company, Global Ceramics, introduced over 60 new products to the market, including the Yuchun cup and saucer sets, Moon cup and saucer sets, and various patterned mug designs. Best-selling products both at home and abroad include celadon kung fu tea sets, red-brown mustard bowls, low-temperature clay pots, and the registered brand Kangshu series of high-strength heat-resistant ceramic cookware.

The enterprising people of Lichuan, following the comprehensive transformation of all local ceramic enterprises from state-owned and collective ownership to a joint-stock cooperative model in 1995, saw multiple enterprises complete a second round of restructuring by purchasing full enterprise ownership last year. A group of capable, management-savvy, and business-wise private entrepreneurs are now working closely together. Leveraging their exclusive sales outlets established in over 30 major cities nationwide—including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Xi'an, Shenyang, and Chengdu—they are using a powerful “networked” sales approach to promote Lichuan’s daily-use ceramics across the nation and around the world.