Jingdezhen overview 景德镇

About Jingdezhen

At the Imperial Kiln site, excavated fragments reveal the exacting production of court wares. Taoxichuan preserves a later industrial world of factory buildings and chimneys, now occupied by cultural spaces and ceramic businesses. Visiting both gives a more layered picture of the porcelain city than concentrating only on finished objects in shops.

The area belonged to the state of Chu in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, then to Fan County of Jiujiang Commandery under the Qin and to Poyang County of Yuzhang Commandery under the Han. Its first recorded name, Xinping, dates from the Eastern Jin; the town was later called Changnan, then renamed Fuliang in 742 and Jingdezhen, after the reign era of the Song emperor Zhenzong, in 1004. In the Ming and Qing dynasties it was counted as one of China's four great towns, alongside Foshan, Hankou and Zhuxian.

In 1855, Taiping forces destroyed all 9,000 kilns in Jingdezhen; they were rebuilt after the war, in 1866. Jingdezhen was separated from Fuliang County in 1949 and upgraded to a city; although the customary designation would have replaced 'zhen' (town) with 'shi' (city) in its name, the town's noted history of porcelain-firing led to 'Jingdezhen' being retained in full as the city's proper name.

Jingdezhen lies in northeastern Jiangxi in the transitional zone between low hills and the Poyang Lake plain. The Chang River (昌江) flows north to south through the city, and the Le'an River (乐安江) crosses the south. Jingdezhen is a National Historical and Cultural City (国家历史文化名城), and in 2026 its porcelain-industry heritage sites were inscribed on the World Heritage List.

What to look for

• The Imperial Kiln site’s archaeology and restored porcelain fragments.
• Taoxichuan’s former factory buildings, chimneys and ceramic-art spaces.

The surrounding area

A craft-city stay combining kiln history with contemporary ceramics and adapted industrial spaces.

Location & getting there

Getting to Jingdezhen

Jingdezhen North railway station serves the city’s high-speed rail connections. Arrange an onward transfer to the Imperial Kiln area on Zhushan Middle Road or to Taoxichuan on Xinchang West Road; these are separate urban districts.