How China's porcelain capital is attracting international talent
BEIJING (June 13): In her sunlit studio tucked away in China's porcelain capital Jingdezhen, French ceramic artist Camille Grandaty is immersed in her latest sunflower-themed series.
To Grandaty, the beauty of life in a foreign land is a constant spark for creativity.
As she taps open her photo gallery and scrolls through images, her playful imagination comes to life: the legendary character Wu Song sporting sneakers, the mythological Nezha with a head of blue hair – fusing whimsy and tradition, the East with the West.
A thousand years ago, Jingdezhen porcelain journeyed across the Maritime Silk Road.
Today, the city continues to attract global talent – including Swiss artists, French museum professionals, and Italian traders – all united by their passion for ceramics.
In recent years, Jingdezhen has seen not only a steady influx of domestic migrants but also a growing international community.
Among them are nearly 5,000 foreigners who have become part of a vibrant, drifting community known locally as 'Jingpiao'.
The term blends 'Jing', short for Jingdezhen, with the Chinese word piaoliu, meaning 'to drift'.
Much like Beijing's Beipiao, Jingpiao refers to those who've chosen to live, create and chase dreams in this ancient porcelain capital.
'We've established several service stations specifically for foreign 'Jingpiao,' offering policy consultations, community events, and more,' said Chen You, deputy director of the service center for ceramic talent in Jingdezhen.
The city supports foreign artists applying for major national and provincial talent programmes.
To date, more than 20 individuals have received grants or awards in recognition of their work.
To support this growing creative community, Jingdezhen has rolled out initiatives like innovation platforms, talent funds and international exchange programmes, fueling cross-border collaboration and revitalizing the city's centuries-old ceramic tradition.
Thousands of miles away, Iznik, Turkey's own porcelain capital, is Jingdezhen's sister city.
Cultural exchanges between the two have flourished.
'The future of ceramics depends on human creativity,' said Iznik's Deputy Mayor Ahmet Kaya, recalling his visit to Jingdezhen in a WeChat post.
'And that creativity is sparked when different cultures and mindsets meet.'
After living in Jingdezhen for a decade, Grandaty is now fluent in Chinese.
As she applies for a permanent residence permit, she is ready to further develop her artistic style – a fusion of Eastern and Western influences shaped by years of cross-cultural experience. – Xinhua
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Focus Malaysia
32 minutes ago
- Focus Malaysia
Passengers share Grab drivers' tall tales – are they doing it for the money or just to kill time?
E-HAILING car rides are a blessing for many – convenient, relatively safe and (usually) more readily available than liveried taxis. Just as important is that being a e-hailing driver has been a viable source of employment for many, cutting across lines of age, gender and even indeed, education. Many would have also come across chatty e-hailing drivers who will regale passengers with all manner of small talk – some that will cause an eyebrow or two to be raised sceptically. One such episode was shared by Facebooker Nik Lee who booked a Grab ride to get to the Kajang MRT station. He described the driver as being very friendly and talkative, claiming that he (the driver) had worked extensively abroad, including in the US, UK and Europe. The driver further revealed that he had also worked in the Compliance Regulatory Department of Deutsche Bank, reaching the level of vice-president. But he quit at 40 to return to Malaysia. The banker-driver was described as being very fluent in English and even owned houses in Bangsar and Ayer 8 (in Putrajaya which he bought cheap on auction) but lived in Bangi. The poster made a wry remark signifying he thought these were just tall tales by the Grab driver. The post has since generated 2.2K likes, 583 comments and 174shares with more than a few also coming across such corporate high-flyers who have opted to kill time by being an e-hailing driver. It was confirmed that this driver was indeed the chatty type and was wearing exact same attire as in the photo. Another commenter who claimed to have also taken this uncle's ride previously confirmed the driver's talkative nature. He would speak on all manner of subjects even though receiving little or no response from the passengers. Though very well-spoken, the condition of his cab was less impressive. At first, the commenter thought the Grab driver was 'a Chinese uncle' only to realise 'he's as Kelantanese Malay Muslim'. 'He dons a (short sleeve) suit shirt with short pants just like overseas … but his car is heaty till my hubby has to switch on a mobile fan to direct at our kid.,' recalled the passenger. One commenter shared a similar experience of an e-hailing driver who claimed to have earned up to RM100,000/month working in Dubai previously. He stayed in a five-star hotel but quit upon his children completing their education and securing employment overseas. He claimed that they send him money to the tune of RM5,000/monthly and that he was being a e-hailing driver just as a hobby. But when queried to his working hours, his reply was 'from 7.30am till 8pm'. It was then pointed out that such long hours meant it was no longer a hobby but actual toiling for a living. The conversation then stopped till they reached the destination. Another commenter hilariously highlighted a case where an 'uncle' chose to become an e-hailing driver just to get out of the house and avoid the spouse's constant nagging. He would even sometimes send passengers for free! At the end of the days, it was pointed out by one commenter that all this was 'just small talk', hence no need to take the ensuing conversation seriously. If one does come across e-hailing drivers who are very chatty and seem to regale in tall tales, just bear with it for the duration of the trip. They may be just bored, lonely or both. As for the tall tales, some may have fallen on hard times, thus necessitating them to take up this vocation. Have some empathy as it may be difficult for them to adjust to this new station in life. – June 23, 2025 Main image credit: Nik Lee/Facebook
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
No tensions with New Zealand, says Xi
High-table diplomacy: Luxon (second from right) meeting Xi (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. — AFP The leaders of China and New Zealand discussed the role of trade in boosting ties, while New Zealand also pressed its interests for peace and security in the Pacific, government statements showed. President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met in the capital's Great Hall of the People yesterday as China's influence grows in the Pacific, challenging the traditionally stronger security foothold many Western nations have had there. On his first visit to China since taking office in November 2023, Luxon discussed the need for stability, less tension in the Indo-Pacific and New Zealand's 'enduring support for Pacific-led priorities', his government said in a statement. Luxon's meeting with the leader of New Zealand's biggest trade partner was 'constructive', he said in a post on X. 'We discussed the depth of the New Zealand-China relationship – from trade and people-to-people ties to our shared global responsibilities,' he said. 'In a complex world, open dialogue is more important than ever.' Luxon also backed up the role of the Pacific Islands Forum, an inter-government body seeking to foster cooperation among Oceanic countries and territories. Without making specific reference to any issue, Xi called for both countries to seek common ground and view differences 'accurately', state news agency Xinhua said. 'There are no historical grudges or conflicts of interest between China and New Zealand, so we should respect each other, seek common ground,' Xi told Luxon, it said, adding that both must precisely tackle disagreements. During his four-day visit to the commercial hub of Shanghai and the capital, Beijing, Luxon has championed an agenda of boosting business, travel and education for New Zealand. Xi also talked about deepening trade and investment ties, as well as scope to work on science and technology, climate change response and infrastructure along with education exchanges – echoing most of Luxon's goals. Luxon documented his meetings on Instagram, posting video messages to fellow citizens reinforcing his mission of getting 'money into your back pocket'. He clinched travel-related pacts and pushed New Zealand's tertiary education as well as its exports of meat, a key item of trade with China after dairy. Chinese tourists are New Zealand's third-largest group of international visitors, though official data show their numbers are still nearly a fifth lower than in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic. China Eastern Airlines will launch more flights with New Zealand from December, New Zealand said on Wednesday. Days before the visit, New Zealand unveiled a 12-month trial of visa waivers from November for Chinese passport holders arriving from Australia with valid visas from its neighbour. — Reuters
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Energy stocks take centrestage as FBM KLCI bucks downward trend
KUALA LUMPUR: A surprise reversal in the performance of blue chips on Bursa Malaysia suggested foreign funds were seeking out local equities even as global markets were wracked by nerves over the US's entry into the Isreal-Iran conflict. While other regional equity benchmarks wallowed in the red, Malaysia's FBM KLCI made an unexpected bounce to erase a 14-point deficit and tack on a 6.61-point gain to 1,509.35. Nestle was seen leading the blue chips higher, surging RM3.18 to RM75.70. PETRONAS and energy-related stocks performed especially well following crude oil's weekend rally. MISC gained 13 sen to RM7.69, Tenaga Nasional rose 12 sen to RM14.34 and PETRONAS Chemicals climbed seven sen to RM3.11. The lower liners on the domestic market, however, remained subdued with the declining issues outweighing the advancers 4.17-to-1. Market volume remained on pace with that of previous days, with 2.04 billion share changed for RM960.69mil. Among the top performers, Petron Malaysia rose 13 sen to RM3.86, Hibiscus Peroleum jumped 13 sen to RM1.84 and Hengyuan Refining added nine sen to RM1.94. Regionally, stock markets were a sea of red, in line with US futures as the threat of growing warfare in the Middle East sapped investor appetite for equities. Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.2% to 38,331, South Korea's Kospi slid 0.51% to 3,006 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.13% to 23,498. On the Chinese mainland, the CSI300 fell 0.2% to 3,838, although the composite index showed some mild resilience, rising 0.15% to 3,365. With the exception of the Malaysian index, all other Asean markets were in negative territory. The Philippine and Indonesian markets led with 2.06% and 1.77% declines respectively.
