China’s porcelain city carries centuries-old heritage to a new generation

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JINGDEZHEN, China (AP) — Chinese porcelain artist Chen Qing has a vivid memory of her grandfather. It was the only time he wrote down the formula for her family’s distinctive red pigment.

He asked her mother to memorize it and burned the paper minutes later. The secret has since been passed down orally from one generation to the next.

“My mother did not reveal the formula to me until I was over 30,” Chen said.

Her family has practiced the craft since around 1860 in Jingdezhen, known as China’s “Porcelain Capital.” It is located in Jiangxi province, about 1,180 kilometers (735 miles) southeast of Beijing.

Jingdezhen’s pottery-making history spans more than 2,000 years. It began during the Han Dynasty, and its porcelain sites were inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2026.

Small details take years to master

Jingdezhen’s craftsmen have kept alive techniques once used to produce porcelain for the imperial court. That knowledge later spread to private artisans.

Chen’s ancestors adopted some of those traditions after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912.

“The craft is very…