Porcelain mender in Nakeli town near Ancient Tea-Horse Road

Do you know how to mend the porcelains? There is a “porcelain mending” store in the Nakeli old town, Ning’er Hani and Yi autonomous county, southwest Yunnan’s Pu’er city. With many tools on the table, the store owner Wang Jiangtong showed his latest “masterpieces” to us.

The store. Photo by Yao Chengcheng (Yunnan Daily)

Wang Jiangtong said, “To mend the broken porcelains, metal materials will be used like stitching needles which could peg the pieces up. This skill has witnessed more than a thousand year of history and now becomes a part of China’s intangible cultural heritage. ”

Every time Wang gets a broken porcelain, he will adjust his repairing plans based on the material, shape, color, historical background, and aesthetics of the customer. Simple ones can be mended in two or three days while the complex ones may take a month or even two. The process of his work will be entirely showed to visitors in his store and will also be seen online through vlogs. Therefore, people from all over the country who love such a skill or whose porcelains are in need of repair will see the steps.

Owner Wang Jiangtong. Photo by Yao Chengcheng (Yunnan Daily)

With the opening of the China-Laos Railway, the number of tourists visiting the town enjoys a lift. Now, the store are expanding its business. Other than porcelain mending, it provides services like firing potteries, porcelains and other stuff. Tea is also put on the shelf. “I hope more and more people would come to Nakeli and get to know about the porcelain mending skill," said Wang.

Source: Yunnan Daily; Trans-editing by Wang Yunya