Tibetan craftsmen turn Yunnan village into pottery hub

Many travellers to Shangri-La in Southwest China’s Yunnan province will likely pass Tangdui village in Nixi township without paying much attention to it.
British author James Hilton’s fictional Shangri-La in his 1930s’ novel “Lost Horizon”, is said to have been inspired by the city.
Nevertheless, Tangdui resident Tadrin Phuntsok, 45, who runs a roadside store that sells black pottery works, has reason for optimism.
Nixi is known for its stewed chicken, often served in earthen pots. It is a hub of traditional Tibetan craftsmanship and it was listed as a nation-level intangible cultural heritage in 2006.
“It (Nixi pottery) was unknown to the outside world for a long time,” says Tadrin, a seventh-generation potter. “They were mainly exchanged for crops rather than being sold before the 1990s, when some overseas travellers came and bought them.
“I didn’t even know how to charge,” he recalls. “I sold each piece for a few yuan, but they would want to pay me much more than that.”
The pots are usually decorated with ancient Tibetan images such as deities and are completely handmade. Tadrin says the materials are produced locally. “Each family has its own unique formula,” he says.
Among about 880 villagers in Tangdui, there are more than 100 pottery artisans, and Tadrin is considered among the best.
In the 1980s, only a few families inherited the tradition, many more have since been encouraged to join after he began to sell his pots.
“I once sold the pots on the Bund. I expected to sell them for 250 yuan ($37) in total, but a foreigner came and bought all for 400 yuan,” he says of a 1997 sale in Shanghai where a Romanian diplomat bought the pots.
Previously, the pots were more popular with overseas buyers than domestic collectors, but over the past three years that has changed, with Chinese being the biggest buyers.
Today, a fine piece of Tadrin’s pottery can easily sell for 2,000 yuan and he is able to earn more than 80,000 yuan a year.
In 2015, Tangdui village sold pottery articles worth some 4 million yuan.
Although he spent most of his life in the mountainous areas he has an uncommon understanding of how skills have improved. After travelling around China, he went to the United States and exchanged experiences with some veteran Native American artisans.
“Of course, they wouldn’t reveal their formula,” Tadrin says, laughing. “But I could guess after observing the topography and vegetation of an area.”
He says he was enlightened by the fact that Native Americans often use different materials to make different parts of one article.
Tadrin’s 24-year-old son, Losang Champa, is continuing the family tradition.
“I once considered being a potter as really low-class work,” says the son, who has a Tibetan literature major from college. “But when I was away from home and missed pottery, I realised that it is the foundation of our culture.”
Losang spent all his spare time in college on pottery and abandoned a chance to become a civil servant after graduation.
He also considers it crucial to mix modern design with old craftsmanship.
“The only problem here is the poor internet connection. Otherwise, I could open an online store.”