Jiangshan Colored Pottery

Jiangshan Colored Pottery

　　At the "2007 China Yiwu Cultural Products Fair," samples of colored pottery exhibited by the Hemu Colored Pottery Craft Factory in Jiangshan City caught the eye of merchants from Yiwu. The two parties reached a cooperation agreement: the Hemu Colored Pottery Craft Factory’s products would be wholly distributed by the Yiwu merchants, with an annual sales volume of no less than 100,000 pieces, 80% of which would be exported to the European market.

　　 Héwú Village, Wǎyáo Natural Village, Qīnghú Town, Jiangshan City, is a small settlement that left its mark on history for its pottery-making tradition. The clay selected for pottery in Wǎyáo Village is pure, well-trodden to be fine, tough, and free of impurities. The roughcasts are smooth, pliable, and free from blotches or unevenness. The kilns are sealed airtight and fired without extinguishing the flame—all in one continuous firing process, yielding only perfect finished pieces. These traditionally crafted earthenware items once enjoyed great popularity, selling both within and outside the province, but declined by the late 1980s. Today, a new craft—colored pottery made using traditional pottery techniques—has breathed new life into Hemu’s earthenware heritage.