Intelligent design: a ceramic renaissance in Jiangxi

Every Saturday, come rain or shine, the stone-paved courtyard of a half-century-old ceramics factory in Jingdezhen is abuzz with creativity. Here, each of some 30 pitched white tents houses the artistic creations of a budding potter. Aptly called the Creative Market, this is a bazaar at which some of China's most original ceramics are showcased and sold.

It was the 2,000-year-old ceramics industry that put this Jiangxi province town on the world map - and may have given China, the country, its name. Over the past few decades, however, the once-glorious tradition has been beaten down by imitations and the flowering of fakery. Recently, though, a steady influx of young potters from all over the country has brought about a creative renaissance. They come to master the techniques, ply their wares and, all being well, make a living.

"To pursue art, I need to have an economic footing," says Zhou Xionghao, 23, who specialises in ceramic accessories and, according to her accounts, makes more than 500,000 yuan (HK$630,000) a year. "Such is the reality in China."

The market was founded by world-renowned ceramics artist Caroline Cheng, a Hongkonger who established the Pottery Workshop in Central 28 years ago. In 2005, Cheng refurbished a section of an abandoned ceramic-sculpture factory in Jingdezhen into a compound of design studios, workshops, galleries, stores, an artists' residence and a coffee shop. The weekly gathering sprang up in the compound's courtyard two years ago. The makers must apply for entry by submitting their works and, if accepted, pay a small rental fee. To stay in business, however, they must win over not only Cheng, the curator, but also customers.

This is a far cry from the days when local potters relied on the patronage of just one person: the emperor. One of the first royal customers was Emperor Zhenzong (whose reign, from 997-1022, was named the Jingde era), who decreed that all fine wares from the town, then known as Changnan - of which "China" may be a derivative - be marked with the "Made in the Jingde era" seal. With an imperial stamp of approval, it rose to fame as Jingdezhen (" zhen" is "town" in Putonghua).

With the imminent fall of the Qing court, the imperial factory was shuttered by 1910 and in moved the state-run Jiangxi Porcelain. The economic reforms of the 1980s weren't kind to the local industry and only two of Jiangxi Porcelain's three dozen pottery factories have survived.