Ceramics center

Many Chencun residents are well aware of the importance of cultural heritage protection. Wang Baoqing is responsible for keeping watch over the ruins in the old, empty section of the village, with local farmers moving to the new site. Wang knows the village's temples date back to the Yuan and Ming dynasties. He gets 10 yuan ($1.38) a day for his work but he takes it seriously. "As long as I am a keeper for this cultural heritage, I will do my best," Wang says.

In the summer of 2022, fellow Chencun villager Zheng Honghu found a pile of white ceramic pieces when he built a cistern in his courtyard. He reported it to the archaeologists working in the village and they discovered porcelain-making ruins such as a Jin Dynasty workshop, three Yuan Dynasty kilns, Ming Dynasty house and porcelain shards, marking Zheng's place as an important excavation site.

Archaeological work at Huozhou is ongoing and surveys showed that the site of the ancient Huozhou kiln complex may cover 25,000 square meters, with Chencun serving as a focal point, Liu says.

Recognizing the increasing cultural importance of the area, archaeologists and scholars also suggested setting up a national archaeological site park or a museum where visitors will have a chance to see how Huozhou kilns work and further experience traditional Chinese porcelain culture.