Young foreigners experience traditional craft in old town

Qianjiang district in Chongqing municipality hosted a cultural exchange event from March 9 to 10. The event welcomed young delegates from Vietnam, Laos and Cameroon to visit the local ancient town, learn about intangible cultural heritages and experience cultures of the Tujia and Miao ethnic groups.

On March 9, the young foreigners came to Shijituo in Sanmen community, Zhuoshui town of Qianjiang district, to explore the wood-fired pottery kilns, pottery workshops, and the exhibition hall, while also immersing themselves in the pottery-making process. Shijituo, nestled amid mountains and rivers, is renowned for its pottery-making technique, which has been passed down for thousands of years.

The pottery-making technique of Shijituo was included in the intangible cultural heritage list of Chongqing municipality in 2016. This ancient craft is passed down by the Tujia ethnic group and involves the use of locally sourced white sandstone. The process consists of over 10 steps, namely clay collection, refining, mixing, sedimentation, hand-building, throwing, drying, glazing, firing, and kiln unloading.

Under the guidance of masters, young foreigners tried their hands on making pottery, who placed prepared clay on the pottery wheel and shaped it into various forms by hand.

"I have always enjoyed crafting, and through experiencing pottery making, I felt a great sense of accomplishment by molding clay into shapes I desired," said Abdoulaye Abanchime from Cameroon.

"The pottery-making tradition of Shijituo boasts a long history, producing a wide variety of utensils with unique craftsmanship that reflects the imagination and skill of the artisans," said Thuy Tien from Vietnam. She believes that these intangible cultural heritage crafts are a testament to human ingenuity, which are both useful and beautiful.

"The pottery of Shijituo preserves the traditional hand-making techniques which have been passed down through generations. It uses locally sourced clay, a pedal pottery wheel, and a traditional wood-fired kiln," said Liu Hailong, an inheritor of the Shijituo pottery-making craft. The use of traditional techniques enables the pottery having a thin wall and light body, which have both functional and ornamental values.

Now an intangible cultural heritage inheritance base and a poverty alleviation workshop have been set up at Shijituo, which provides pottery making trainings to college students and local farmers, as well as introducing jobs for them after graduation. This initiative not only contributes to poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, but also promotes the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage.

Besides, young foreigners also visited Zhuoshui Ancient Town during the event, immersing themselves in its folk customs and learning about the town's "Honesty and Integrity" culture. Zhuoshui Scenic Area in Qianjiang district is a millennium-old town known as the "Water Town in the Wuling Mountains". It features a collection of Tujia stilted houses, water transportation docks, and bustling markets. Zhuoshui Ancient Town is among the list of sixth batch of China's Historical and Cultural Towns and a national 5A scenic spot.