This ultra-obscure World Heritage site is unknown to 95% of visitors to Quanzhou

Among the 22 World Heritage sites I visited in Quanzhou, the one that is so obscure that almost no tourists visit it must be the Cizao Kiln site. It's no wonder, as this World Heritage site is indeed remote, far from the urban area of Quanzhou, and difficult to reach without driving. Moreover, the appeal of heritage sites like this is generally limited, and without a strong interest, it would be hard to make the decision to go and check it off your list. The journey from Wuyan Temple was smooth, and unexpectedly, the entire area of the Cizao Kiln site is well developed, looking very much like a scenic spot, complete with an imposing museum. However, the museum was not open, and there were hardly any tourists, giving it a somewhat abandoned feel. The technology of porcelain making was a great invention of ancient China, and since the 7th century, porcelain has played an important role in East-West trade and cultural and technological exchanges. From the 10th century onwards, porcelain became one of the largest commodities in international trade, popular around the world, and the word 'china' became synonymous with porcelain. The development of Quanzhou's overseas trade greatly promoted the ceramic industry in the Quanzhou area. From the 10th to the 14th century, kiln sites were scattered outside the city of Quanzhou, among which the Cizao Kiln and Dehua Kiln were relatively famous. As an outstanding representative of the porcelain kiln sites in the suburbs of Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties, the Cizao Kiln site has thus become a representative World Heritage site in Quanzhou. The Cizao Kiln site we are talking about now actually covers a larger area, distributed on both sides of the Meixi River. During the archaeological excavations, 26 kiln sites from the Southern Dynasties to the Qing Dynasty were discovered, among which the Jiaojiaoyi Mountain Kiln site is the representative, and also the main area of this visit to the Cizao Kiln site. The Jiaojiaoyi Mountain Kiln site is located on the hillside of Jiaojiaoyi Mountain in Goubian Village. Since the museum was closed, we went straight to the kiln site on the hill. The kiln site on Jiaojiaoyi Mountain was much larger than I expected, with a total of 4 sites and 1 workshop site. Although it is a site, you can still see some traces of the past, such as kiln walls, kiln doors, kiln furnaces, and even the wood-feeding holes are traceable. If you look closely, there are also a small number of porcelain shards and tile pieces scattered inside the site, which are the remnants of the celadon and black-glazed ware that were fired in the past. According to archaeologists, these date back to the late Northern Song to the Southern Song period. Although heritage sites like this may not be very appealing to see, without coming here, you might not be able to truly understand why the Jiaojiaoyi Mountain Kiln site has become a typical representative of ancient kiln sites in Quanzhou. Only by actually standing on the slope of Jiaojiaoyi Mountain and looking at the porcelain kiln factories that are still thriving around you can you understand the advantages of this place from ancient times to the present: abundant porcelain clay, hills suitable for kiln construction, and convenient water transportation. 🏠Name | Cizao Kiln Site 🎫Ticket | Free ⛳Address | Xiangpu Commercial Street, Cizao Town, Jinjiang City, Quanzhou 🚗Transportation | Navigate to 'Cizao Kiln Series Jiaojiaoyi Mountain Kiln Site' to get there