Liling cashes in on its colorful past

"People's tastes are changing, and they have higher standards now. So we need to keep innovating all the time," says Peng, who is a well-recognized porcelain designer in Liling.

Many designers like Peng are involved in nurturing talent among the younger generation.

Through mentoring, Liling has fostered a large group of young porcelain makers in recent years, according to Yi.

Yi's museum integrates tourism, technological development and training of the young.

Zhang Jiabing, a 26-year-old local who paints porcelain at Yi's museum, says: "Many people of my age in the city are joining the porcelain industry.

"The industry is developing very well. And I enjoy the work of painting porcelain."

Zhang decided to quit working at a painting studio in Hangzhou and return to Liling to do porcelain painting six years ago.

According to Yi, it typically takes years for youngsters to master the technique.

"Colors may change during the firing process. It's hard to control and you can only rely on experience," Yi says, adding that painters have to become familiar with the process to produce good porcelain.

In recent decades, Liling's porcelain industry has experienced a boom.

There are now more than 660 porcelain enterprises in Liling; and about 220 of them have annual total turnover of more than 20 million yuan. Nearly 200,000 people, about one fifth of the city's population, work in the industry, according to Zeng Wenchu, the director of Liling's bureau of ceramic industry.

Liling's porcelain is popular overseas, too.

In 2014, more than 3 billion pieces were exported.

Liling's porcelain is now exported to more than 150 countries, earning about $800 million annually, says Zeng.

As Yi describes porcelain: "It is not only closely related to daily life in China, but it is also for collectors."