I didn’t know much about Cixi before this, but I just thought the name was very nice. Let’s summarize the bits and pieces of information we’ve seen:
1) The city slogan of Cixi is: Secret Color Porcelain City, Create Cixi with Wisdom. "Secret Color Porcelain Capital" is probably because this is the earliest production area of Yue kiln celadon. Secret color porcelain, as the top grade of celadon, came from the Yue kiln in Shanglin Lake, Cixi. "Intelligent manufacturing" is probably because Cixi was originally a strong manufacturing county, but now it hopes to shift from manufacturing to intelligent manufacturing.
2) The best physical evidence of secret-color porcelain in Cixi is the 13 secret-color porcelain treasures unearthed at Famen Temple in Xi'an. Unfortunately, they are not in Cixi. Some of the secret-color porcelain on display in the Shanglin Lake Museum are imitations of those 13 pieces. I read a lot of information, and it seems that except for the 13 pieces of Famen Temple that are said to be secret color porcelain, the others are not sure which ones are celadon and which ones are secret color porcelain? The Yue kiln started in the Tang Dynasty and stopped in the Southern Song Dynasty. From the perspective of natural conditions, there were roughly three conditions for building a kiln in a place in the early days: soil quality, rivers, and wood. The quality of the soil is clay suitable for firing, the river is responsible for transporting the porcelain, and the wood is mainly used as fuel. It is said that one of the reasons for the decline of Yue kilns was that fertile farmland occupied the mountains and forests, and the wood for kilns was greatly reduced. However, the decline of Yue kiln brought opportunities to Longquan kiln. At that time, experienced Yue kiln masters went south to find jobs, which promoted the great prosperity of Longquan kiln in a short period of time.
3) I visited Shanglin Lake Yue Kiln Site and Heming Ancient Town. These two places are not far from each other, but a bit far from the center of Cixi. It takes an hour by bus. They are basically located in the middle of Ningbo and Cixi. You can also take a bus from Ningbo. The Yue Kiln Site Museum is a bit thin. I thought there would be some old kiln sites, but there are only exhibits. Fortunately, the exhibits are more in line with my taste, otherwise I might complain that it is not worth the trip. Heming Ancient Town is highly praised by the literary youth on Mafengwo, but I don’t think it’s anything special. It’s just one ordinary The only difference between the ancient towns in the south of the Yangtze River and the surrounding areas is that they are not yet very commercialized and there are still many indigenous residents living in the town. One of the reasons it is touted is that it is very original and non-commercial, but are we really that tired of commercialization? Without commercialization, how could we have such complete supporting facilities? Without commercialization, how could we have so many shops that make it convenient for us to eat, drink and have fun? Outside the tourist-dense area is a completely pristine residential area. There are aunties cooking by the river and young ladies hanging clothes by the window. I didn’t see anyone showing much interest in this non-commercial residential area.
4) Cixi will be connected to high-speed rail in the future, which will lead directly to Shanghai. It looks very promising. Not to mention when it will be opened to traffic, houses in Qianwan New District are selling hotly.
This eight-sided water purification bottle is a representative work of Cixi secret color porcelain. It was unearthed at Famen Temple. The restored product is on display here in Cixi.
The ancients described the secret-colored porcelain as jade-like as ice, which is really appropriate. There is also a saying about secret-color porcelain that "water comes out of nothing", which is like a clear water in a bowl or plate. “When the craftsmen made these secret-color porcelain, they cleverly designed the bottom of the vessel to be slightly convex toward the inside of the vessel, which formed a slight arc at the bottom of the bowl or plate. Coupled with the green and transparent glaze, This makes the bottom of the bowl or plate resemble a "convex mirror", which has a divergent effect on the light, thus forming a visual difference. This is the phenomenon of "making something out of nothing, as if it contains water".
When porcelain is fired, it is placed in such a platinum
Shanglin Lake outside the museum
This was originally a residential area, but somehow it developed into an ancient town. There is no admission fee, you can wander around as you like. The tourist-dense area is not large, but the surrounding residential area is very large. There is no clear boundary between the ancient town and the surrounding residential areas , or they are integrated. Some areas have many tourists, while some areas have few tourists . Beside the town is a large lake, and beside the lake are rolling hills, near the water and the mountains.
The sun was shining at noon when we were shopping. It was really hot and the light was so strong that it was impossible to take pictures. I found a coffee shop to rest until about three o'clock, then went out to take a few photos, and then quickly left. How could a disguised photographer sit in a car during the prime time before ten o'clock and after four o'clock, and then go out to take pictures in the middle of the day?
I didn't have time to go shopping in the city. I walked from the station to Shanglinfang Food Street and passed the Global Center along the way. It looked very high-end. There are BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes on the roadside, as well as some sports cars. But there are also many shared electric vehicles, haha, not all of them are rich.
On the right is the Greentown Rose Garden. I checked specifically and found that it is now about 30,001 square meters. If based on the price level of less than 20,000 square meters I saw in the old city, this community is still relatively rich.
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