Electricity breathes new life into millennium-old pottery

Beiye town in Xin'an county, Luoyang, Henan province, lies on the banks of the Yellow River, and is the most important ceramics production base in western Henan. Taking its name from the iron smelting that flourished here as early as the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), the town is now best known for the kilns of Ganquan village. With more than a thousand years of potting history, Ganquan still contains 105 ancient pottery sites and over 300 buildings from the Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279), Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644), and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Listed as a traditional village of Henan province in 2015 and a national-level traditional village in 2016, the settlement is now the focus of the Ganquan Ancient Kiln Cultural Tourism Project. Phase One of the core heritage zone has already taken shape, and Phase Two is under development.

It is often said that "nine out of ten kilns fail". Jiang Xiaohui, general manager of Luoyang Tianqing Ceramics Co knows this only too well. Originally the clay was fired with coal, but the temperature was hard to control, glazes often came out uneven, and defects were common. Driven by his love of the craft, he experimented with electricity as a substitute for traditional fuels. After countless trials he succeeded. More importantly, a reliable, high-quality power supply has given his business strong momentum. Today Jiang's black-pottery workshop has evolved from a traditional studio into a modern plant where "electric baking" has replaced wood- and coal-fired kilns. Electric furnaces guarantee maximum temperature accuracy and stability, sharply raising the success rate, cutting costs and CO₂ emissions and protecting the environment.

To support construction of the Ganquan cultural-tourism project, State Grid Luoyang Power Supply Company upgraded the village's electricity infrastructure according to current ceramic output and future expansion plans, following a "tailored, moderately ahead" principle. A 250 kVA transformer was installed, and 1,200 meters of insulated conductor was strung, greatly improving supply reliability. The company also carries out periodic patrols and defect elimination and conducts safety-awareness campaigns, forging a first-class service brand for its local business office.

Today, Beiye town continues the ceramic craft that has been handed down for centuries. Backed by abundant, stable electricity, the industry has moved from a focus on tradition to innovation. The town hosts 14 purple-clay enterprises that provide jobs for nearly 1,000 people, offer more than 80 product types, and generate an annual output of almost 100 million yuan (14.04 million).