We went to Yixing
two years ago and it was truly an eye opening experience.
Last week we got the chance again to revisit our friends in Yixing, and got to see more. For my friends who do not know why the small town of Yixing is interesting, here is a short introduction.
Yixing, in Jiangsu province and about 4 hours by car from Shanghai, is the home to Zisha or purple clay. The clays in this area somehow has special properties that make it the best material to make top quality teapots and plant/bonsai pots. Some simple green teas are easy to make with ceramic teapots. But the more complex teas are better made with Zisha pots which can bring out the variety flavors and substance. Perhaps one of the reasons is that Zisha is porous and contain various oxidized iron - properties that affect how heat is conducted and retained, and the same for flavors.
Jiangsu has long been a prosperous part of China. Where there is wealth, culture, arts and handicraft develops. For about 500 years, Zisha ware making had taken root in Yixing where skills and fame are passed from generation to generations.
As explained in my last travelogue, Yixing is the biggest town in the area and the distribution center. The finest clay and teapot making is actually focused in the small town of Dingshu, which is about 20 min by car from Yixing. But Yixing is the much more conventionally known name.
I have taken hundreds of photos and about 4 hours of video. Most of the pictures and video are about the various process in making teapots. It will take some time to process all the material and making comments from my notes and memory.
