Shandong village preserves ancient black pottery craft

[Video provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Editor's Note:

The Yellow River runs through nine cities in East China's Shandong province and flows into the sea, bringing vitality and prosperity to the land. Along its banks, numerous intangible cultural heritage projects have been created and inherited, reflecting the colorful scenery, brilliant culture and rich diversity of Shandong. Shandong is a province with a long history and a splendid civilization. It boasts 186 national-level intangible cultural heritage projects, ranking it second in the country. Moreover, eight projects have been inscribed onto the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, according to the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism. Join me on a journey in Meeting the Sea Along the Yellow River in Shandong, to discover the treasures of intangible cultural heritage there and appreciate the charms of this ancient and modern land.

Black pottery, a time-honored Chinese craft, has a fine texture and exquisite shape and is made from natural clay that is fired at high temperatures.

In Hongxin village, Linqu county, Weifang city of East China's Shandong province, the black pottery industry has flourished in recent years due to measures to protect intangible cultural heritages.

The village, which has a history of making black pottery for over 300 years, uses clay from the foot of Haifu Mountain which gives the pottery works their unique color and gloss.

The production process of black pottery is intricate and refined, involving soil collection, drying, kneading, shaping, carving, and firing. A piece of black pottery takes at least half a month to complete. So sturdy is black pottery that it can often last for millennia. (Edited by Fan Yuanyuan)