Jingdezhen | Taoyangli & Imperial Kiln Museum

### Jingdezhen Taoyangli and Imperial Kiln Museum: Cultural Twin Treasures of the Millennium Porcelain Capital Jingdezhen's Taoyangli Historical and Cultural District and the Imperial Kiln Museum together form the cultural core of this thousand-year-old porcelain capital. Taoyangli continues the city's cultural heritage through "living history," while the Imperial Kiln Museum reconstructs ceramic civilization through "genetic decoding." These complementary sites epitomize Jingdezhen's transformation from a traditional handicraft city to a world cultural landmark. --- ### I. **Taoyangli: From Industrial Ruins to Cultural Tourism Landmark** 1. **Living Continuation of Millennium Kiln Fires** Taoyangli is the historical center of Jingdezhen's porcelain industry, preserving the settlement pattern of "dock—folk kilns—old streets—alleys—imperial kilns." It encompasses 108 old city alleys, Ming and Qing dynasty kiln complexes with over 400 years of history, and 70+ years of industrial heritage. The Xu Family Kiln, built in the late Ming Dynasty, is the most complete and largest preserved wood-firing kiln site. In 2024, its rekindling produced over 6,000 "reborn" porcelain pieces, attracting more than 5 million visitors. Intangible cultural heritage inheritor Zong Hongxin teaches porcelain-making techniques here, where young people experience "history with a tactile warmth" through pottery wheel demonstrations. 2. **Cultural Tourism Transformation of the Old City** Taoyangli preserves historical traces through the principle of "restore the old as old," including restoration techniques for moss-covered brick joints, while introducing cultural creative industries, dining, and nighttime consumption. In 2022, it was designated as a national-level nighttime cultural tourism consumption cluster, hosting over 400 annual events such as the Taoyang Temple Fair and Kiln Opening Festival, creating an experience where "street life and kiln fires intertwine." The Imperial Kiln Site area connects with creative markets, allowing visitors to both purchase blue-and-white porcelain tea sets and participate in porcelain plate painting. 3. **International Cultural Magnet** Taoyangli attracts artists from over 40 countries for residencies, such as Belarusian artist Alexander who blends Eastern and Western ceramic arts here. The international studios and "foreign Jingdezhen drifters" community serve as bridges for the global dissemination of ceramic culture. --- ### II. **Imperial Kiln Museum: Genetic Repository of Ceramic Civilization** 1. **Resonance Between Architecture and History** The Imperial Kiln Museum adjoins the Ming and Qing imperial kiln sites. Its architecture is based on Jingdezhen's traditional egg-shaped wood-firing kilns, featuring 8 curved vault structures with kiln bricks suspended inside and out. Through sunken plazas and landscape pools, it integrates seamlessly with the historical site, earning the "Oscar of architecture." Visitors experience the spatial dimensions of artisan labor through design details like kiln arches reflected in water surfaces and vertical gaps revealing the Linglong Pavilion, reinforcing the blood connection between "kiln, porcelain, and people." 2. **Decoding Civilization from Porcelain Fragments** The museum houses 10 million porcelain fragments excavated from the Imperial Kiln Factory, with over 3,000 restored masterpieces. Its permanent exhibition "Jingdezhen Zhushan Excavated Imperial Kiln Treasures" displays rare pieces from home and abroad. In 2022, China's first ancient ceramics gene bank was unveiled here, using 3D printing, composition analysis, and other technologies to transform fragments into physical and digital genetic specimens, building a database covering dimensions such as clay bodies, glazes, and decorative patterns to support academic research and industrial innovation. 3. **Immersive Cultural Experience** The museum innovates exhibition methods, such as recreating the complete Qing Dynasty "Illustrations of Ceramic Production" through porcelain plate paintings, incorporating ancient porcelain restoration processes into exhibitions, and setting up restoration experience rooms. Visitors can participate in Raman spectroscopy testing, robotic sampling, and other technological interactions, experiencing the fusion of traditional craftsmanship and modern technology. --- ### III. **Twin Treasures: Dialogue Between Tradition and Future** The synergy between Taoyangli and the Imperial Kiln Museum embodies Jingdezhen's development path of "equal emphasis on protection and innovation": - **Spatial Symbiosis**: Taoyangli integrates the Imperial Kiln Factory site, museum, and Ming-Qing kiln complexes to form a complete chain of "archaeology—exhibition—experience—consumption." - **Complementary Functions**: Taoyangli focuses on cultural tourism experiences and industry incubation, while the Imperial Kiln Museum specializes in academic research and cultural dissemination, jointly promoting ceramic culture to "come alive and go global." - **International Influence**: Through IP events like "Spring and Autumn Grand Assembly" and "Taoran Collection," they attract artists from over 60 countries, while the Imperial Kiln Gene Bank collaborates with global institutions to build a digital sharing platform for ceramic civilization. --- ### Conclusion The vibrant atmosphere of Taoyangli and the academic nature of the Imperial Kiln Museum together weave Jingdezhen's "porcelain capital character." The former continues historical warmth through dynamic street life, while the latter preserves civilization's code through a static gene bank. Just as the golden chimneys of Xu Family Kiln and the brick arch lights of the Imperial Kiln Museum shine together in the night, the millennium kiln fires write the city's legend of "tradition never dies, innovation never stops."