Lingnan Craftsmen's Handicrafts
At six in the morning, I stood on the bluestone road of Zhaoqing Duanzhou Old Street.
The alley was still asleep,
only a few workshops had their lights on.
Pushing open a wooden door,
the sound of carving knives "da, da, da" came through,
like a heartbeat, steady and ancient.
An old master bowed his head carving an inkstone,
the wrinkles between his brows deeper than the ink pool.
The stone in his hands
has been silent for 1,300 years.
📌 At this moment, I suddenly understood—
> Duan inkstone is not just one of the Four Treasures of the Study,
it is the pulsating vein of the Lingnan land.
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🖋 Zhaoqing · The Capital of Duan Inkstones One-Day Tour|Touching China's Last "Stone Civilization"
📍 Not a check-in spot,
not a trendy livestream,
this is a pilgrimage about time, craftsmanship, and soul.
📌 Zhaoqing, the only city in the world named after an "inkstone,"
the words "Duan Inkstone" originated in the Tang dynasty, flourished in the Song, and were as precious as gold and jade.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, a top-quality Duan inkstone
could be exchanged for a three-story mansion or ten acres of fertile land.
And today—
it is still alive,
hidden deep in the alleys,
guarded by a group of craftsmen who refuse to bow.
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⏳ 24 Hours · Entering the Life of a Stone
⏰ 7:00 AM|First Stop: Duanxi Ancient Quarry Cave|A Thousand-Year Underground Wait
📍 30 meters underground in Baishi Village, Duanzhou District
📌 Put on a safety helmet and crawl into a narrow tunnel,
damp air hits your face.
Underfoot are footprints left by ancient people,
above are mottled chisel marks.
> "This stone has waited for you for 1,300 years."
The guide, an elder, said this is the "old pit" mined since the Tang dynasty,
every inch is chipped bit by bit with a hand hammer.
📌 The raw Duan inkstone is deeply buried underground,
requiring hundreds of years of geological pressure
to form unparalleled textures like "stone eyes," "fish brain jelly," and "banana leaf white."
> ✅ Tip: You can book a "simulated quarrying experience" to personally chip off a small raw stone (safe and controlled) and take home your own "thousand-year memory."
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⏰ 9:30 AM|Second Stop: Baishi Craft Workshop|Listening to the Stone Speak
📍 Century-old workshop cluster in Baishi Village
Entering an inconspicuous small courtyard,
a dozen craftsmen sit around a table,
their carving knives moving lightly,
stone chips falling like snow.
📌 Every Duan inkstone undergoes:
material selection → design → rough carving → fine engraving → polishing → sharpening, six major processes,
taking from seven days to three years.
I saw a young apprentice,
working eight hours straight to fix a fine line,
his eyes red but his hands steady as a pendulum.
When asked why he persisted,
he smiled: "My dad has done this for forty years,
I don’t want this craft to end with me."
> ✅ Hidden experience: For 80 yuan, you can customize a small square inkstone with your name or birthday engraved, ready to take away in three hours.
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⏰ 12:00 PM|Third Stop: Duan Inkstone Museum|Understanding the World of a Stone
📍 Zhaoqing Duan Inkstone Museum
📌 Here are national treasure-level Duan inkstones:
- Song dynasty "Lotus Pond Serenity Inkstone" — stone eyes like dewdrops, vivid and lifelike
- Ming dynasty "Dragon Soaring Nine Heavens Inkstone" — carved from a whole old pit, once used by the royal family
- Qing dynasty "Thousand-Eyed Cloud Peak Inkstone" — densely covered with 108 natural "stone eyes," like a starry sky
The most striking is a sentence in the center of the exhibition hall:
> "Duan inkstones are priceless because they carry not only the fragrance of ink,
but also the spirit of Chinese scholars."
📌 The ancients said: "Cultivate oneself with the inkstone, nurture character with ink."
A good inkstone
grinds ink,
cultivates the heart.
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⏰ 2:00 PM|Fourth Stop: Ink Pool Tea Gathering by Bao Gong Shrine|When Calligraphy Meets Life
📍 Bao Gong Cultural Park · Ink Pool Academy
📌 In an antique-style courtyard,
use a genuine Duan inkstone to grind ink,
write your own name,
even if it’s crooked.
Then sit down,
drink a cup of "Zhaoshi Lotus Heart Tea,"
listen to an old calligrapher explain:
> "Why did Su Dongpo rather starve than not buy a Duan inkstone?
Because—
some beauty is worth losing everything for."
> ✅ Recommended experience: Join the "One-Day Scholar" program (98 yuan/person)
includes Hanfu rental + ink grinding on inkstone + calligraphy lessons + custom ink brush bookmarks
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⏰ 4:30 PM|Fifth Stop: Antelope Gorge Ancient Plank Road|The Stone’s Homeland
📍 By the West River · Millennium Quarry Site
📌 Walk along the wooden plank road on the cliff edge,
beneath your feet is the mother rock layer that nurtures Duan inkstones.
The river water hits the shore, echoing like drums.
This was once an ancient "stone highway,"
huge stones quarried from the mountains,
transported down the West River to Guangzhou, Suzhou, Beijing...
Now only broken steles and traces remain,
but the wind seems to still carry the work chants:
> "Hey yo—Duan inkstones coming out of the mountain!"
📌 Standing here,
you will understand:
> Every Duan inkstone
is a drop of essence drawn from the earth’s lifeblood.
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⏰ 6:30 PM|Sixth Stop: Night Tour of Song City Wall · When Inkstone Culture Illuminates a Millennium City
📍 Under Piyun Tower, Zhaoqing Ancient City Wall
The light show begins,
the entire city wall becomes a giant projection screen:
the inkstone cracks open, turning into flying birds;
carving knives dance, writing "Seize the moment and enjoy life to the fullest";
finally, a line of large characters slowly appears:
> "Every character you write carries the soul of the stone."
📌 The audience quietly takes photos,
no noise,
as if attending a solemn ceremony.
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🎒 One-Day Tour Practical Guide (Condensed)
| Time | Itinerary | Suggestions |
|------|-----------|-------------|
| 7:00-8:30 | Duanxi Ancient Cave Quarrying Experience | Book in advance, wear non-slip shoes |
| 9:00-11:30 | Baishi Village Workshop Visit + Custom Small Inkstone | Look for the old brands "Li" and "Liang" |
| 12:00-13:30 | Duan Inkstone Museum | Free admission, professional guide available |
| 14:00-15:30 | Ink Pool Academy · Calligraphy Tea Gathering | Hanfu makes great photos |
| 16:00-17:30 | Antelope Gorge Ancient Plank Road | Most beautiful one hour before sunset |
| 18:30-19:30 | Night Tour of Song City Wall Light Show | Best to find a bench by the moat |
✅ Transportation advice: High-speed train from Guangzhou-Foshan-Shenzhen takes 30 minutes to Zhaoqing East Station, then 20 minutes by taxi to Duanzhou
✅ Must bring: Camera, notebook (to write down your insights), and a quiet heart
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💬 Tourists’ Comments Flooding with Tears:
- "I work in a big factory making PPTs and revising drafts every day. Here I carved a small inkstone by hand. Though ugly, touching it suddenly made me feel—I can create something 'timeless' too."
- "Brought my son to see our ancestors’ craft. He learned for the first time that 'Four Treasures of the Study' Grandpa talked about isn’t just a textbook term, but living culture. He hugged the small inkstone and wouldn’t let go: 'Dad, I want to use it for homework.'"
- "After thirty years of chalk dust, today I used a Duan inkstone to write for the first time. The fragrance of ink brought tears—turns out the Chinese characters I taught all my life have so many stories behind them."
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🎁 "How long has it been since you wrote a character?"|Exclusive Fan Action
👉 Comment: "If I gave my parents a small Duan inkstone, I would engrave __________"
The first 999 likes will receive:
✅ A [Inkstone Encounter · Original Heart] gift box (mini Duan inkstone pendant + handmade ink stick + custom calligraphy postcard)
✅ A phrase: "This era moves too fast,
but there should always be a stone,
to slow you down,
to write one,
a character truly belonging to you."
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🕯️ We always think civilization is in skyscrapers,
but it actually hides in a stone,
a carving knife,
and the obsession of generations who refuse to let go.
📌 Come to Zhaoqing,
not to buy inkstones,
but—
in this era where even writing is fading,
to reconnect with
those temperatures that refuse to be forgotten.
> Because some things
must be passed down by hand.