Chinese ceramics are renowned worldwide, with advanced craftsmanship found across many regions of the country. While Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province is widely known, another hidden gem holds an even rarer distinction—Dehua County in Fujian, the only place on Earth officially recognized by UNESCO as the ‘World Ceramic Capital’. What makes this small town so extraordinary? Let’s find out at the recent Dehua white porcelain exhibition in Shanghai.

One masterpiece, ‘The Fairy’, which took seven years to complete, features robes as thin as cicada wings and hair strands rendered in exquisite detail. The artist used his proprietary high-strength, ultra-thin porcelain technique to achieve an unprecedented thickness of just 0.2 cm—making it one of the thinnest Dehua porcelains ever created. From a distance, it looks like sheer fabric; up close, it reveals its true ceramic brilliance.

Another standout exhibit is the ‘World Expo He Ding’, a monumental cauldron first displayed at the Shanghai World Expo 15 years ago. Adorned with China’s four mythical beasts and over a hundred hand-sculpted porcelain flowers in full bloom inside, it remains a testament to Dehua’s unparalleled craftsmanship.

Dubbed the ‘Imperial Kiln of the World’, Dehua’s luminous white porcelain—known in the West as ‘Blanc de Chine’—has been a symbol of luxury since the days of the Silk Road. Today, Dehua continues to redefine the boundaries of porcelain, blending tradition with innovation in every translucent masterpiece.