The interior of a workshop. Photos by Zhang Hao / for China Daily

The porcelain tree

Every Monday, China's biggest street market for ceramics opens at 4 am. The market, known locally as the "Ghost Market" because it opens when the skies are still dark, attracts customers from across the country, and even the world.

"My great grandfather had his business in this market," said vendor Cui Shucai, who was trying to sell vases he claimed were made during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). "Porcelain is deep in Jingdezhen's roots, and we are all branches and leaves on the tree that's developed from those roots."

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