Craftsmen carve out niche with Nixing pottery

He told China Daily his company's priority is to attract more people, especially non-locals, to visit and boost sales, as local consumption has limited potential. The company is eyeing more business opportunities based on word-of-mouth among visitors, Long said.

This "one-stop industrial tourism", as Long calls it, has contributed more than 60 percent in total sales since his company started to feel out the market in 2005.

Long witnessed the company transform from a State-owned enterprise to a market-oriented limited company at the turn of century. By streamlining internal bodies and lifting the proportion of employees involved in production while promoting its products via culture and tourism, costs can be cut, according to Long.

Now, he added, the annual production value of the company has reached 10 million yuan ($1.5 million).