Master potter shapes ancient art to suit modern tastes

From clay to ceramics, Yu Dahua keeps Yanshantou's traditional craft alive

In his workshop in Yanshantou, an area of Zhongxiang city in Hubei province beside the Hanjiang River, Yu Dahua shapes a pottery vessel, his fingers coaxing the clay into a smooth form. Nearby, rows of rustic pots wait to be packed and sent across the country.

For more than three decades, Yu has been molding more than just clay. He is the last master potter in Yanshantou, once a thriving hub whose abundant clay and firewood supported generations of artisans.

The craft of earthenware here dates back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties (c.16th century-256 BC) and flourished for centuries. In the 1960s and 1970s, dozens of family-run kilns lined the area, producing pottery that was sold across the province.