Porcelain Workshop in Sanqingkou, Porcelain production center in Sanqingkou, Jiangshan, China.
The Porcelain Workshop in Sanqingkou is a Qing-dynasty family-run ceramics complex in a small mountain basin 5 km south of Xiakou Town, Jiangshan. It comprises water-powered trip hammers, workshops, three pre-1949 kilns, a kiln-god temple, houses and the Huang ancestral hall. The oldest kiln stands east of the ancestral hall; the 1962 Dalong kiln has 27 chambers over 35 m.
The Huang family opened kilns here during the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty, drawn by local kaolin clay, stream-fed water mills and mountain firewood, with the Xianxia Ancient Road nearby for sales. Three kilns stood before 1949, the oldest east of the Huang ancestral hall; around the 1920s a feud between two branches of the family led each to build its own kiln and the old one was abandoned. A cooperative, the Sanqingkou porcelain workshop known as the bowl factory, formed in 1956, built a new kiln in 1958 and the 35-metre Dalong kiln with 27 chambers in 1962; production stopped in 1997.
The village takes its name from the Huang family, whose genealogy records ancestors arriving in the Qianlong era to open kilns. Most residents share the surname Huang, and the Huang ancestral hall stands among the workshops. The kiln god temple served the firing rituals of the family workshops.
Visitors can explore studios and workshops while observing different production stages in action. It helps to check opening times in advance and wear loose, practical clothing since the environment involves working with clay dust and other materials.
The oldest of the three pre-1949 kilns stands east of the Huang ancestral hall; it was abandoned around the 1920s when the two Huang branches quarrelled and each built its own kiln. The village's water-powered trip hammers, workshops, kilns, kiln temple, houses and ancestral hall survive largely intact, which the sources call rare in China.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,226 contributors worldwide.