Tourists visit the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum in Jingdezhen on Aug 16, following the official inscription of Jingdezhen's Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites in Jiangxi province on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July.

Cidu Hui (Porcelain Capital Illustrated: A Visual Guide to the Culture and Life of Jingdezhen) is launched at PageOne Bookstore in Beijing in August as Jingdezhen's first comprehensive illustrated guide.

Cover of Cidu Hui.

Artists from Germany carry the fired ceramics in Jingdezhen.

Tourists visit an ancient kiln.

The Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum.

On July 25, the Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites in Jiangxi province were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, marking them as the world's first World Heritage site dedicated entirely to porcelain and ceramics.

A book, Cidu Hui (Porcelain Capital Illustrated: A Visual Guide to the Culture and Life of Jingdezhen), was recently released as the city's first comprehensive illustrated guide.

The creative team from Jingdezhen Information Design Studio, China National Geography and Ciduhui Studio spent years visiting 45 core heritage sites, meticulously hand-drawing 72 traditional porcelain-making processes, detailing kiln architecture, and providing a year-round guide to local market delicacies.

Liu Zili, a Jingdezhen native and the founder of Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue, describes Cidu Hui as a "wormhole through time and space" leading to the porcelain capital. It not only portrays porcelain and old buildings but also conveys the enduring dedication of generations of guardians of the porcelain industry, he says.

The book's cover design features the iconic blue-and-white Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) plum vase from Jingdezhen. Inside, it captures the vibrant lives of kiln workers, artisans and newcomers.

Divided into five sections — heritage, porcelain, towns, architecture, and experiences — it connects the city's history from ancient imperial kilns and major state-run porcelain factories to the modern blend of local and migrant artisans, serving both as a professional resource on UNESCO's World Heritage List and as a travel guide for the public.

Wei Weijia, the book's initiator and chief planner, shared her 10 years of life and work experience in Jingdezhen, as well as the process of creating the book at its Beijing launch event in early August.

In 2016, Wei, who had just graduated from Cambridge University with a master's degree in architecture and urban studies, first came to Jingdezhen to work on urban renewal projects. At that time, the city was much less developed than it is today.

Over the past 10 years, friends have often asked her for advice on visiting the city, such as where to go and how to buy porcelain. This sparked the idea of creating a book that organizes the city's culture into a readable, engaging and easy-to-understand guide for everyone.

In late 2024, when she learned that Jingdezhen was applying for world heritage status in 2026 for its handcrafted porcelain heritage, she began planning the book to showcase the city from all angles, not just its porcelain.

After spending a decade in Jingdezhen, Wei offers a fresh perspective as an outsider drawn to the city in the book's "Experience" section, which highlights the lively urban life, featuring streets, markets, food, and the coexistence of artisans, locals and young creators.

"This book captures Jingdezhen in the 2020s. The city has a glorious history, but its modern life is just as vibrant, filled with lively interactions and ongoing creativity," she says.

This modern life is also what Zhang Jie, an urban planner and professor at Tsinghua University who leads urban renewal projects, such as the Taoyangli historical and cultural district and the Taoxichuan cultural and creative district, is glad to see in Jingdezhen.

"The true success of Taoxichuan is seen in the lights shining through factory windows late at night — people are living, creating, and interacting there," he says.

Speaking of the unique value of Jingdezhen as a World Cultural Heritage site, he says, unlike any other city, Jingdezhen has thrived for 1,000 years on its porcelain industry. While Venice's glass industry had a brief period of success, Jingdezhen's craftsmanship continues to thrive, with tens of thousands of artisans still engaged in handmade production. "This makes it one of the most vibrant examples of living industrial heritage worldwide," he says.

The book illustrates how Zhang and his team have transformed the city over the past 15 years.

Reflecting on the transformation of areas like Taoxichuan and Taoyangli, Zhang notes that, unlike many industrial heritage sites that become mere tourist attractions, Jingdezhen's renewal efforts focus on the real needs of the residents, veteran artisans and young creators. Instead of large-scale demolitions, they have preserved the original structures of old kilns and factories, allowing history to be a part of everyday life, he adds.

Zhang also emphasizes the "cultural and green integration" approach in urban renewal. This involves using existing factory structures to minimize new material consumption and employing recyclable materials, such as kiln bricks, to promote low-carbon practices. This strategy preserves historical continuity while meeting the lifestyle needs of modern youth.

"This approach, which balances heritage protection with youth development, offers a valuable model for urban renewal projects nationwide," he says.

Since Jingdezhen's handmade porcelain heritage is a complete, regionally dispersed chain, with production and life deeply intertwined, illustration requires a different approach, says Song Zhuangzhuang, co-founder of DDH Studio and executive producer of the book.

Apart from the chapters about Jingdezhen, the team also dedicates a whole chapter to porcelain, compiling vast amounts of glaze colors, dynastic reign marks, and hand-drawn diagrams of the 72 porcelain-making processes, he explains. Additionally, the large-format pages allow for horizontal comparison of hundreds of porcelain patterns, enabling readers to understand the complex ceramic techniques visually.

He notes that in today's world of fragmented information, Cidu Hui invites readers to engage in immersive reading. Through two-dimensional hand drawings, it integrates scattered heritage sites and craft knowledge, clarifying the intrinsic connections between landscapes, minerals, kilns, and human habitation.

"This makes the complex knowledge of world heritage accessible and readable," he says.

Contact the writer at yangyangs@chinadaily.com.cn