For many westerners, the main impression they have of old China probably involves silk, tea and ceramics, or china, which bears the name of the country.

Shangyu district in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, home to nearly 400 old kilns, is one of the birthplaces of Chinese porcelain, especially celadon.

Celadon is a famous type of glazed porcelain made of violet-golden clay and a mixture of burnt feldspar, limestone, quartz and plant ash. It has been widely applied to daily necessities such as bowls, salvers, cups, pots and bottles for thousands of years.

The Yue kilns in Shanghai have a history of more than 1,800 years and the crafts developed here later spread to Jingde town in Jiangxi province and Longquan county in Zhejiang, two important porcelain production bases in China's history, according to Dong Wenhai, a local master craftsman.

Experts universally acknowledged that Shangyu's kilns have mature calcination crafts and produce high-quality celadon products.

Dong explained that the celadon products in Shangyu are completely handmade in using traditional methods, from choosing and washing clay to shaping and calcining them. To make a good product requires years of practices, which discourages today's youth from learning and inheriting the time-honored art.

Dong is now imparting the crafts to his son and the craftsmen believe that one day, his grandchildren will also be engaged in the art.

Video courtesy of Zhejiang Daily (视频由浙江日报提供)