Expats visit China's porcelain capital Jingdezhen

NANCHANG -- A group of expats concluded a three-day tour to East China's Jiangxi province on Sept 18, with a visit to the world-famous "porcelain capital" Jingdezhen as a highlight.

The tour is part of the Global Young Leaders Dialogue program, which was initiated by Chinese think tanks and offers a platform for the sharing of ideas and mutual learning among young people from different countries and fields.

The expats from eight countries visited several landmark places in Jingdezhen city, including the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute and the industrial heritage complex Taoxichuan, learning about the ceramic-making history, ancient porcelain repair techniques, and local industrial development.

"It's amazing that Jingdezhen still emanates the charm of ceramic culture after thousands of years," said Daria Lisaia, a Moldovan researcher with Vanke Urban Research, who participated in the tour.

"The city is like an old tree with new sprouts, grown on the fertile soil of ceramic culture," said Steven Weathers, founder of a Shanghai-based culture company.

The American noted that a number of small and medium-sized Chinese cities like Jingdezhen have seized various opportunities brought by the development of traditional culture, and they are becoming all the more open and diversified.

During the tour, the expats also visited Wuyuan, a beautiful county in Shangrao city, Jiangxi. They gained a better knowledge of China's rural revitalization strategy.

"The tour provides an opportunity for global youth to better understand China, and we will contribute to promoting Chinese culture and enhancing mutual trust and coordination among different countries," said Mnyaga Daniel Rukiko, a Tanzanian student who is studying at Nanchang Hangkong University.