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For some Chinese youths in Guangdong, pottery is a way of life
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More than a dozen youths appear focused on the tea set pottery they are working on in a workshop owned by Yongxuan ceramics in Chouzhou. (JP/Irawaty Wardany)
M
ore than a dozen youths appear focused on the tea set pottery they are working on in a workshop owned by Yongxuan ceramics in Chouzhou.
Some of them are busy molding the clay, while others put final touches on ceramic tea pots, good enough to be sold at 500 RMB (US$76) apiece.
Lu Jinfeng, 26, shifted from the fashion industry to the pottery business two years ago.
(Read also: A glimpse of centuries-old tea ceremony in Chaozhou)
“I didn’t think I had a future in the fashion industry,” he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
His passion for pottery grew as he became absorbed in the different techniques to mold clay.
“Hopefully I can improve my technique and open my own workshop in the future and a gain reputation as a pottery master here in Chaozhou,” he said.
Another pottery master hopeful, Chen Zhi Cong, attended a vocational school for two years after graduating from junior high school.
He decided to dedicate his life to pottery after seeing a close relative mold clay into a tea set.
“I have trained in this workshop for six months now,” said the 21-year-old.
Chen also hopes to make a name for himself in pottery.
Chaozhou, a city in the easternmost part of Guangdong province, southern China, has long been known locally as the ceramic capital of China.
Its ceramic products vary from toilet ceramics, kitchen sets to artistic ones.
Wu Yi Yong, who is in charge of the workshop, said he oversaw around 150 students at the workshop.
“Most of them are youngsters who could not continue their studies for various reasons. So they are looking for some skills that might offer them a future,” he told the Post.
(Read also: A peek into Guangzhou's traditional Chinese medicine museum)
“The workshop was established four years ago,” he said.
He added that he was proud of his former students who went on to start their own pottery businesses.
“Ten of them have already opened their own businesses,” he said. (dmr)
