Chenlu Ancient Town
陈炉古镇
The “Oriental Capital of Ancient Ceramics,” where kilns have never gone cold for a thousand years. Hillside cave dwellings are built with discarded jars, and you can watch pottery being made by hand and try throwing clay on the wheel.
Chenlu Ancient Town sits on the eastern slopes of Yintai District, about 20 km from Tongchuan urban area. It has made ceramics since the Song dynasty and is the kiln site that has continued operating since the Yaozhou kilns stopped firing. It is known as “Furnace Mountain Never Sleeps.” The cave dwellings in town are layered up the hillside, and their courtyard walls and lanes are built from discarded pottery jars and saggers stacked into a distinctive “jar wall” landscape. Visitors can tour the Chenlu Ceramics Museum, old kiln sites, and working pottery workshops, and try wheel-throwing and carving. Chenlu ceramic firing techniques are national-level intangible cultural heritage. The town is free to enter, while workshop experiences cost extra. Driving or taking a taxi is the main option. The hillside roads are narrow, so park at the town entrance.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Wangshiao Coal Mine Heritage Park
- Yaozhou Kiln Museum
- Yaowang Mountain
- Shende Temple Pagoda
- Yuhua Palace Ski Resort
- Yuhua Palace
- Xiangshan Mountain (Daxiangshan Temple)
- Zhaojin Danxia Landform (Xuejiazhai)