Yixing to hold International Ceramic Culture and Arts Festival

A model presents a purple clay teapot during the opening ceremony of the Yixing International Ceramic Culture and Art Festival in Beijing on Aug 18. [Photo/ provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The annual Yixing International Ceramic Culture and Art Festival will begin in Yixing, Wuxi on Oct 26.

Yixing, a county-level city in Wuxi that is known as China's "capital of ceramics", will hold fifty-eight pottery and art-related activities during the festival to present Yixing's traditional craftsmanship to the world.

Visitors will have the chance to learn about Yixing's heritage as a center for ceramics, watch master potters demonstrate how to make the city's famous purple clay {zisha) pottery, and enjoy traditional tea ceremonies.

Several large-scale events including the Traditional Chinese Craft Art Fair, the 2nd Jiangsu Ceramic Art Competition and the 1st Four Famous Chinese Potteries Show will also be held in Yixing during the festival.

The festival opened with a special exhibition in Beijing, which featured 24 exquisite purple clay teapots made by Jiangsu-based Ziyujinsha Tea Art Co and other renowned artists.

Many of the works on display have played an important role in promoting Yixing on the world stage—as gifts to foreign leaders, for example, or by being added to the United Nations' collections.

Yixing has also organized a touring exhibition to promote its purple clay pottery across China and the world. The exhibition has already visited Chinese cities including Quanzhou, Xiamen, Hangzhou and Shanghai, and there are plans to take it to countries such as Hungary, Czech Republic and Italy in the future.