Kunlun town – administrated by Zibo city in East China's Shandong province – is among the first batch of characteristic towns released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in 2016.
In 2022, the town was selected as the characteristic ceramic town in Shandong province.
There are currently five State-level masters of arts and crafts, 21 provincial-level masters, and more than 6,000 enthusiasts of ceramic artwork in the town.
Kunlun town is the largest producer of household porcelains in Zibo. [Photo/zbnews.net]
Kunlun has a long and splendid ceramic manufacturing history. It has the exclusive Shandong Celadon Museum and the Cicun porcelain kiln site – a national key cultural relics protection unit that dates back more than 8,000 years.
To foster new industries such as art creation, industrial design, cultural exhibition tourism and exhibition trading, Kunlun town has promoted the development of the traditional ceramic manufacturing industry to the modern ceramic cultural creative industry.
For example, established in September 2017, the 1954 Cultural and Creative Park was transformed from a Zibo Ceramics Factory plant that was founded in 1954.
The factory used to be the pride of Zibo, but went bankrupt in the 1990s and only a dilapidated old workshop was left behind.
The old factory has now transformed into a ceramics experience block, a colored glaze workshop, a ceramic institute and an exhibition center.
An exquisite tea set on display in Kunlun town. [Photo/zbnews.net]
Zhaoxia Ceramics is another enterprise in the park that's engaged in transforming ceramic cultural and creative products.
The company has actively developed many new colors of glazes over the years. They take ceramics as the carrier of their cultural IP, and many products become a hit once they are launched.
The industrial structure of the characteristic ceramic town includes ceramic cultural and creative industries, new ceramic materials and ceramic machinery manufacturing.
It has guided the transformation of traditional daily porcelain production into modern ceramic materials, and built many professional R&D and service centers.
It has built the largest industrial base of new ceramic materials in Shandong and formed a complete industrial chain integrating research, development, design, production and sales of functional ceramics.
A shop in Kunlun town. [Photo/zbnews.net]
