Yanshen Ancient Town: Intangible Heritage of Ceramics and Colored Glaze Bridges Cultures, Sino-Foreign Exchanges Shine Anew

Recently, Sofia, a guest from Russia, stepped into Yanshen Ancient Town in Boshan, Zibo, where she immersed herself in the experience of lampworked colored glaze craftsmanship, gaining an up-close appreciation of the unique charm of Shandong's intangible cultural heritage in ceramics and colored glaze. A cross-border cultural exchange unfolded here.

At the lampworked glaze experience workshop, a variety of crystal-clear glass flower artworks were displayed on the tables. Sofia paused to admire them, carefully learning about the creative process of lampwork glazing and appreciating the artisans' ingenuity of using fire as a brush and glaze as the material. As the hometown of Chinese colored glaze, Boshan's Yanshen Ancient Town preserves a complete heritage of the ceramics and glaze industry. Lampwork glazing is a highly representative category among Boshan's traditional crafts, showcasing the profound craftsmanship heritage of the Qilu region through its dynamic shapes and translucent texture.

Sofia carefully admired each glass flower piece, marveling at the exquisiteness of the traditional craftsmanship. During the exchange, she felt the oriental aesthetics embedded in the intangible cultural heritage and shared her own understanding of handmade art, building a bond of cultural dialogue through these crafted objects.

Relying on its century-old ceramics and glaze heritage, Yanshen Ancient Town continues to build a platform for foreign cultural exchange. The town continuously explores and revitalizes its intangible cultural heritage resources of ceramics and glaze, inviting overseas friends to step into the ancient town through craft experiences, cultural explorations, and other forms to better understand Shandong's traditional handicrafts. In the future, Yanshen Ancient Town will continue to leverage its intangible cultural heritage resources, persistently carry out diversified foreign cultural exchange activities, and let Boshan's ceramics and glaze go beyond Qilu to tell Shandong's intangible heritage stories to the world.