Jinsha Red Pottery

Jinsha Red Pottery

　　Jinsha Red Pottery is a new product developed in recent years by the Huangshan Nationality Pottery Factory in Lijiang County. Its products mainly fall into two categories: daily-use pottery for the Naxi people and arts-and-crafts pottery, comprising over forty varieties. Among the daily-use pottery, the distinctive “Two Dragons Soaring Ghee Pot,” rich in Naxi ethnic characteristics, was recognized as a high-quality product at the 1983 National Ethnic Minorities’ Daily-Use Products Evaluation and was once exported to places such as Qinghai and Tibet. In recent years, the factory’s arts-and-crafts pottery has won multiple awards at the provincial level and at events such as the 1997 China Kunming Science and Technology Fair. To distinguish it from the purple clay pottery of Jianshui in Yunnan Province, the pottery produced in Lijiang has been officially named “Jinsha Red Pottery” by local pottery experts.

　　Since Jinsha Red Pottery in Lijiang has been developed as a local specialty tourism product in recent years, a variety of craft items rich in Naxi ethnic culture have been introduced, such as “Dongba Buddha Statues,” “Dongba Clay Plates,” “Scholar’s Ink Wash Basins,” and “Inkstone Holders,” which have been cherished by consumers. At the same time, high-end craft tourism products such as large “Double Dragon Clay Vases” have also been produced. These handicrafts have been purchased by local and non-local foreign-related tourist hotels for use as decorative pieces in corridors and pavilions, further showcasing the charm of Jinsha Red Pottery from Lijiang. Meanwhile, mid- to low-end Jinsha Red Pottery daily-use products such as oil, salt, and vinegar jars have also gained widespread popularity among ethnic minority groups.

　　Jinsha Red Pottery features an ancient and simple shape, dense texture, a color resembling purple copper, and a sound like a bronze chime when struck—qualities that often make it a collectible item for pottery connoisseurs.