China's Jingdezhen porcelain sites were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2026. Located in Jiangxi province, about 1,180 kilometers (735 miles) southeast of Beijing, Jingdezhen is known as the "Porcelain Capital" due to its long and rich history of pottery-making, which dates back over 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty. The city has been a center for producing some of the finest porcelain in the world, with techniques and traditions passed down through generations. One such tradition is found in the family of Chinese porcelain artist Chen Qing, who recalls her grandfather writing down the formula for a unique red pigment before burning the paper and asking her mother to memorize it. This secret method has been passed down orally since around 1860. Chen said that mastering such techniques is extremely difficult, with families sometimes taking nearly a century to perfect a single method. The process of creating a porcelain teacup, for example, can take days, and even a single speck of dust or sweat can ruin the piece, forcing the artist to start over. Landscapes are particularly challenging to paint on porcelain due to their unclear boundaries, requiring years of practice to master. Artists like Chen work closely with archaeological sites and museums to preserve Jingdezhen’s porcelain heritage. The Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute, located near the city’s historic kiln complex, researches and restores ceramics found in excavations. These kilns once produced porcelain for Chinese emperors, and their remains are still visible today. The institute is now using modern technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to help match and reconstruct ancient porcelain fragments. President Weng Yanjun of the institute explained that their "ceramic gene bank" collects information to recover ancient techniques using modern science, shedding light on the cultural and spiritual aspects of porcelain-making. Jingdezhen’s history is also reflected in the religious and cultural influences found in its porcelain. For example, tiles made in the city were used in the Bao’en Pagoda, a Buddhist temple complex in Nanjing that was destroyed during a 19th-century rebellion. The pagoda’s exterior was covered with porcelain tiles depicting the Buddha. Other religious traditions, including Islam, Taoism, and later European Catholic Christianity, are also evident in the institute’s studies. Within the imperial kiln complex, a shrine honors Tong Bin, the "Kiln God," who was revered during the Qing Dynasty for his sacrifice in protest against the mistreatment of kiln workers. While some modern artisans do not follow traditional beliefs, others place symbols like the laughing Buddha, Budai, in their workshops for good fortune. Despite the passage of time, Jingdezhen’s pottery-making continues to be passed down within families. At the same time, universities and residency programs are attracting new generations of Chinese and international artists. Paola Masi, an Italian ceramic artist in a residency program, said that studying Song dynasty porcelain influenced her early training, and coming to Jingdezhen felt like returning to the roots of her artistic journey. Huang Qi, a Chinese artist who graduated from Jingdezhen Ceramic University in 2015, left the city but eventually returned, now working as an artist-in-residence. She said that the city, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, is gaining more attention, and the growing community of craftspeople offers opportunities to learn new techniques and share knowledge. The recognition by UNESCO has inspired optimism about the future of Jingdezhen’s ancient art.