Jingdezhen
Jingdezhen (景德镇; Jǐngdézhèn) is a city in northern Jiangxi Province. It is the world capital of porcelain and the historic home of the Chinese ceramics industry. It is now not only a popular tourist destination but a center for education and workshops, drawing pottery students and artists from around the country.
Get in
By plane
By train
From Shanghai the 2182/2183 trains leave at 12:40 with a travel time of 16 hours. ¥117 for a hard sleeper. From Beijing there is a direct train to Jingdezhen (K645) that takes nearly 24 hours. RMB 361 for had sleeper, RMB 552 for soft sleeper. From Nanchang Railway Station there are three daily direct trains. But the trip takes almost 2 hours longer than the one by bus. There are connections to Tunxi.
From Beijing there are 5 daily high speed trains to Wuyuan (about 7 hours). It takes about 2 hours to get to Jingdezhen from Wuyuan, which can easily be combined with any Jingdezhen trip.
By bus
The long-distance bus station is in the west of town.
Licun bus station is on Shuguang Lu. From Wuyuan connections take 2 hours. From Hangzhou West station at 09:00 and 14:20. They cost about ¥140 and take about 7 hours. From Nanchang there is bus service that takes approximately 3 hours departing from Qingshan Road North Station. ¥79.
Get around
Taxis are the easiest way, the meter starts at ¥6 and is billed to ¥0.1 but rounded either up or down. ie. ¥4.3 = ¥4, ¥8.7 = ¥9. Do not be fooled into taking a fixed fare for ¥10 or more as almost everywhere in the city will cost less.
There is also a public bus service, with very frequent buses at least until 23:00. If you manage to get a route plan, it is a quite fascinating way to get where you want while having a better sightseeing than from a taxi, if you can stand being watched at yourself. Very low standard rate, like in Beijing, ¥1 in a box for each trip.
There are motor bike taxis, but judging by their propensity to laugh in the face of death, they probably are not a wise choice.
See
- 1 [dead link] Jingdezhen Ceramics Museum (景德镇陶瓷馆; 中国陶瓷博物馆), 1 Zijing Avenue, Changjiang District (昌江区紫晶大道1号) (Bus no. 23), ☏ +86 798-8253702. 9:00-17:00, no entry after 16:30. Free.
- 2 Ancient Kiln Folk Customs Museum (古窑民俗博览区), 1 Guyao Road, Cidou Avenue, Changjiang District (昌江区瓷都大道古窑路1号) (The nearest bus stop is Fengshushan (枫树山), which is served by over a dozen bus routes, including routes 1, 2, 3, 6. 7, 10, 11, 13, 16, 17, 23, 30, 33, 123, k106 and several others), ☏ +86 798-8534444, 133831728@qq.com. 08:00-17:30. ¥95 for regular ticket, ¥50 for persons aged 60 to 65 and children over 2 years old who have a student card, free for persons over 65 and children under 1.2 metres in height.
- 3 [dead link] Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln National Archaeological Remains Park (景德镇御窑厂国家考古遗址公园), 187 Zhushan Middle Road, Zhushan District (珠山区珠山中路187号) (Catch bus no. 27 or K26 and get off at the Imperial Kiln Galleries (御窑长廊)), ☏ +86 798-8201378. 8:00-17:30. ¥60.
- Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue. A hub for ceramics. The old industrial area of red brick buildings and tall coal chimneys was converted into an art district of studios, galleries, and coffee shops. It serves as a gathering point every week for artists and students to sell their ceramics. A nice place for an evening stroll.
Do
Buy
- Xinchang East Road, Xinchang East Road, Zhushan District. Closing: 5-6 PM. The street is lined with bargain porcelain stores with stock spilling out onto the streets. You can get an entire lower quality tea set for RMB 100.
- Ceramic Art Avenue market. On Friday and Saturday nights, vendor stalls take over the streets of Ceramic Art Avenue and offer a dizzying variety of porcelain pieces.
- Saturday Creative Market. The Pottery Workshop Creative Market happens every Saturday morning from 08:00-12:00. Over 100 vendors, comprised of young local artists, sell their artistic works. Vendors sell traditional pottery, contemporary designs, jewelry and sculpture.
Eat
Drink
There is a Chinese style disco/club across the street from the Kaimenzi hotel.
Sleep
- Wenyuan Hotel, Tongzhan Road. 4 star Japanese rooms, rooms can smell like an ashtray. There are a number of similar hotels along this street, Ma'anshan Lu, and Shuguang Lu, due to being near the bus and train station. Can be bargained down to ¥120.
- Jingdezhen International Youth Hostel, No.139, Xinchangdong Road. Hostel across from the Saturday Creative Market site.The streets behind the hostel has lots of shops selling contemporary style porcelain.
Go next
- Wuyuan - Some of the most beautiful villages in China are also in northeast Jiangxi, just two hours away.
- Fuliang County - The beautiful villages of this county undisturbed by the mass tourism of Wuyuan