Dehua Winter Olympics licensed commodity retail store display different sizes of ceramic versions of "ice pier" and "snow melting". Photo by Li Hongtu
Dehua, Fujian, February 20 (Reporter Sun Hong) The mascots of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, "Ice Pier" and "Snow Rongrong", have become super popular "explosive products", and also let the production of ceramic mascots Dehua "fire".
"Can I buy an 'ice pier' now?" "Do I want 3,000 sets of 'ice piers' and 'snow melting' in stock?" ...... As the head of a ceramics company that is licensed to produce the mascot of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Zheng Pengfei recently received a soft phone call. "Most of the more than 200 calls were received in a day, all of which came to ask if there was any goods."
In the face of such a burst product, although Zheng Pengfei was mentally prepared, he was also surprised. "The company has been around for more than 30 years and has never seen such a heat." Since the sixth day of the first month of the first month, Zheng Pengfei has gathered workers in Dehua for the New Year to return to the factory to start work, working overtime to produce, and the supply is still in short supply.
Painted for the ceramic version of the "ice pier". Photo by Li Hongtu
The reporter learned that Zheng Pengfei's enterprise is the only authorized manufacturer of the ceramic version of "ice pier" and "snow rongrong", producing a total of 3 sizes of products, which are 20 cm high piggy bank and 15 cm, 8 cm high ornaments.
Not only are the products selling hot and "one pier is difficult to find", but in recent days, the popularity of "pier hunting trip" has also driven the tourism industry in Dehua. Many schools, tour groups, and self-driving tourists come to see the production process of "ice piers" and feel the subtlety of the millennium ceramic process.
"It is necessary to use the ceramic version of the mascot 'ice pier' of the Beijing Winter Olympics as a favorable opportunity to explode, create a sightseeing point for the mascot production process, enhance the ceramic tourism route, attract more people and passengers, and drive the development of Dehua tourism." Fang Junqin, the county magistrate of Dehua County, said this during the investigation of ceramic enterprises.
Dehua ceramics are known for their "white", and their porcelain carving skills are well-known in the world. As early as the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Dehua ceramics were an important export commodity of the "Maritime Silk Road", and were renowned in the world along with silk and tea. In 2015, Dehua was awarded the title of the only "Ceramic Capital of the World" by the United Nations World Handicraft Council. In July 2021, the Dehua kiln site, as one of the heritage sites of "Quanzhou: World Marine Trade Center of Song and Yuan China", was also included in the heritage list, becoming the first world cultural heritage in the category of porcelain kilns.
Today, as China's largest production and export base of Western porcelain handicrafts, Dehua has always used traditional porcelain-making techniques, and 70% of the county's ceramic products are exported to more than 190 countries and regions in the world. In 2021, the output value of Dehua ceramics will exceed 45 billion yuan.
As a ceramic company mainly exported, Zheng Pengfei told reporters that the company's exports in 2021 accounted for more than 80% of total sales. "At present, we must find ways to increase production capacity and meet market demand, but also plan how to take advantage of the opportunity of the Beijing Winter Olympics to make the company develop further."
He said, "We will pay more attention to norms in research and development, innovation, management, etc., so that enterprises can truly connect with customers around the world." ”
Including Zheng Pengfei's enterprises, many ceramic enterprises have now transformed from simple manufacturers and operators into cultural communicators, setting sail again along the Millennium Sea Silk Road.
The popularity of "dun-seeking tour" has driven dehua's tourism industry. Photo by Li Hongtu
In mid-February, the National Ceramic Industry Industrial Design and Research Institute launched the "Winter Olympic Ceramics Collection Order" with the theme of the Olympic spirit, and openly solicited China (Dehua) 2022 Winter Olympic Ceramics Cultural and Creative Design Works at home and abroad, aiming to further explore the connection between the culture of the Winter Olympics and ceramic cultural and creative products, and further shape the high-quality and high-specification image of Dehua ceramics.
In recent years, Dehua has used "scientific and technological elements" and "cultural elements" to empower the ceramic industry in both directions, and has formed a development pattern in which traditional ceramic sculpture, Western craft ceramics and daily ceramics go hand in hand in terms of design, material, process and use. With the help of the hot spots of the Beijing Winter Olympics, in the future, Dehua will further excavate the history, production technology and cultural elements of ceramics, strengthen industrial design, promote cross-border integration, and continue to expand the influence and reputation of "Dehua, the world's ceramic capital". (End)