The Yixing dragon and lion teapot

They mold ceramic clay into every possible form: plants, fruits, animals, people, and even abstract designs. Their sophistication and creativity is something that cannot be copied anywhere in the world.

The Yixing monkey teapot

The exceptional tradition of Yixing china tea sets began long, long ago. Recent excavations show that people in Yixing began to make pottery almost 7, 000 years ago, even earlier than the Egyptians.

So the techniques used today have been perfected over thousands of years and artisans in Yixing produce some of the best Chinese tea sets available.

Today the largest ceramic museum in China, and maybe the world, stands in Yixing. There you can see all kinds of precious Yixing teapots made in this interesting little town.

Some of these china tea sets are massive and date back so far that the original shapes have been weathered and changed into new, strange objects.

The Yixing secret spot teapot

Their long history allows Yixing artisans to make the best, most beautiful, and sometimes most ornate china tea sets in the world.

One striking teapot made in 2006 is 3.6 meters tall and weighs over 1 ton. It is the largest teapot in the world. Another, the smallest in the world, weighs only 1.4 grams, and can fit on your finger tip. Both teapots are fully functional and make tea.

In fact, Yixing’s most celebrated offering to the world is the purple clay teapot. A deep understanding of pottery has helped craftsmen here make teapots that any real tea lover can’t go without.

The rare purple clay that’s used to make Yixing teapots is only found in this area. Enthusiasts say Yixing purple clay teapots bring the best flavor out of every batch of tea, but it is quickly running out because of over-exploration.

The Yixing web tea set

Emperor Qianlong, a tea fanatic, had a fine collection of Yixing Chinese tea sets that he personally custom-ordered. He shared tea from them only with his favorite ministers.

He once described Yixing teapots to be ‘teapot of teapots,’ not only for their practical use, but also the artistry of the wonderful china tea sets.

The very name “Yixing” came from another famous emperor. Over 1,700 years ago, many warlords ruled of different areas of China. The emperor needed the support of these families to maintain control, but most of them turned against him and attempted a coup three different times! Only the family from Yixing came to save him each time, so he rewarded the town with the name Yixing, which means ‘Righteous Undertaking.’

If you visit Yixing today, you will be amazed by its beautiful mountains and rivers, and terrace after terrace of tea plants. Yixing has some of the oldest tea plantations in China. The local Zisun tea is noted for its subtle, sweet flavor, and ability to promote weight loss. In the Tang dynasty, this tea was set aside for the enjoyment of the royal family.

Masterpiece Chinese tea sets from Yixing are often sold for thousands of dollars in auctions across the world. So some of the remaining master potters are venerated as living treasures, and their work is an important piece of Chinese culture that shouldn’t be missed.

The Yixing black elephant teapot

Before him, all teapots were plain shapes with no special designs crafted in the clay. Gong Chun was the servant of a monk who was a teapot expert but treated him meanly.

He secretly learned the monk’s techniques and one day, when the monk was out, he decided to make a Chinese tea set in the shape of tree knot on his own. Gong Chun was successful, and even he himself was surprised by the beautiful, irregular shape that was produced.

Now you can see that very teapot at the Chinese Museum of History in Beijing, because it was the pot that inspired artisans to look to natural objects for their designs.