Precious porcelain

The Yuan Dynasty saw an even more prosperous scene: Ships with large amounts of ceramics in different colors and styles set out from busy port cities, such as Quanzhou, known as Chinchew at the time, in Fujian, Hangzhou and Guangzhou, and the destination countries and regions numbered up to 100.

The peak of porcelain production and exports came in the 15th century. Ceramics were exported more widely, along the routes explored by the legendary expeditioner Zheng He (1371-1433) and his fleet, and also via the navigation network formed after Europe had more overseas exploration. Chinese ceramics then appeared in bigger quantities in the European market.