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. ¥361 for had sleeper, ¥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
- 🌍 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.
- 🌍 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.
- 🌍 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 ¥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