Foshan is a city that is both old and young. It has been named in the Tang Dynasty since its establishment in Jin Dynasty. From ancient times, it has had the reputation of being the Southern Capital of Pottery and the birthplace of Lingnan medicinal herbs. In the Tang and Song dynasties, the handicraft industry and commerce were quite developed in Foshan. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, together with Hankou, Jingdezhen, and Zhuxian town, Foshan was listed as one of the four most famous towns in China. During the Qing dynasty, "Beijing in the north, Foshan in the south, Suzhou in the east, Hankou in the west" were known as the four most important commercial cities in the country.
The prosperity of the economy has promoted the local culture and Shiwan Figurine arts and crafts have become internationally famous. In modern times, the city became well known for the famous martial arts master Wong Fei-hung. In addition, Foshan is also the birthplace of the Cantonese Opera. Therefore, Foshan, the birthplace of art, ceramics, food, and martial arts, not only carries traditional culture, but also guides the emerging trends of the future. Foshan is also the hometown of Wing Chun practitioner Leung Jan, and Bruce Lee, master of the Kung Fu world.
Foshan is located in the south-central part of Guangdong in the Pearl River Delta, adjacent to Hong Kong and Macau. The water, land, and air transportation of Foshan are unobstructed, and the land is vast and abundant. Since ancient times, Foshan’s fertile land allowed it to be the gate that opened southern China to the world. As early as the Eastern Han dynasty, Foshan's cultural and agricultural economy were quite developed. Foshan is known as the southern pottery capital. Ceramic production began in the Tang dynasty, laid its foundation in the Song dynasty, flourished in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and today, Foshan has become China's largest ceramic production base.
Foshan ceramics has opened its historical prelude of burning pottery as early as the Shell Mound in the late Neolithic period. During the Qin and Han dynasties, Foshan's pottery-making techniques were at a relatively high level. A large number of locally-unearthed pottery figurines, animals, and utensils proved that ceramic arts were already being made at that time. During the Six Dynasties, Foshan locals had already mastered the ceramic glaze technology. In the Tang dynasty, Foshan produced commercial ceramic products. In the Song dynasty, Foshan ceramics products transitioned from the circular kiln production to the dragon kiln production and a specialized and scaled production system for ceramic products was gradually formed. In the Ming dynasty, Foshan ceramics entered a prosperous period. At this time, Foshan, as a focal point for the production of folk ceramics, was already unique in its method of industrial production. The use of Foshan ceramic manufacturing technology has continuously improved, and the appearance of fine arts ceramics with a local folklore characteristics also greatly enhanced the Foshan ceramic art. Tiles produced in Foshan, the world-class quality, which generally reflects the status of Foshan ceramics production at that time. In the Qing dynasty, Foshan ceramics embraced a boom, and a large number of various types of daily-use ceramics were produced.
The production of unique pottery tiles, construction decoration components, Buddhist statues, gardening supplies, furnishings, writing furnishings, artistic figures, flowers and birds, and ceramics not only opens up a broad market in many provinces and regions of southern China, but are also widely exported to markets in Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States through the Maritime Silk Road, becoming a highly developed production technology and commodity economy at the time.
The annual average temperature of Foshan is between 21.2-22.2°C. The climate is mild and the best travel time to Foshan is from April to October. There are many hotels in Foshan, ranging from high-end hotels to budget accommodation. Foshan hotels have a complete infrastructure. Middle level to high-end hotels also have meeting rooms, gymnasiums, and swimming pools. In addition, convenient transportation is available around the hotels in Foshan.
