Celadon porcelain making in Cixi, east China

Staff members work at a celadon porcelain workshop in Cixi, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

The Yue Kilns, which were mainly distributed in today's Zhejiang Province, were among the world's oldest porcelain kilns. Since the earliest known Yue Kilns appeared during the late period of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), celadon, the signature Yue-Kiln product, had seen robust development for about a millennium. The pale green colour and unsophisticatedness of ancient Yue-Kiln celadon wares were especially hailed by their contemporaries, who compared them to the green hills and jades.

After their heyday between the 7th and 13th centuries, Yue-Kiln celadons began to decline, and slumbered for nearly nine centuries. The revival of their past glories seemed distant until recently, when local governments and cultural institutions offered supports to some replicas of ancient celadon kilns.

This photo shows porcelain wares after being glazed at a celadon porcelain workshop in Cixi, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

A staff member adds firewood to a kiln at a celadon porcelain workshop in Cixi, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 31, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

A staff member takes out porcelain wares from a kiln at a celadon porcelain workshop in Cixi, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 6, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

This photo shows porcelain wares made from a traditional kiln at a celadon porcelain workshop in Cixi, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 6, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

Sun Maihua, an artisan of celadon porcelain, puts a semifinished porcelain ware into a kiln at a celadon porcelain workshop in Cixi, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

Sun Maihua, an artisan of celadon porcelain, puts a semifinished porcelain ware into a kiln at a celadon porcelain workshop in Cixi, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

Sun Maihua, an artisan of celadon porcelain, applies glaze to a porcelain ware at a celadon porcelain workshop in Cixi, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)

Sun Maihua (L), an artisan of celadon porcelain, applies glaze to a porcelain ware at a celadon porcelain workshop in Cixi, east China's Zhejiang Province, May 29, 2024. (Xinhua/Xu Yu)