Pottery-making attracts tourists to Huamao

The pottery jars that once filled village kitchens across Guizhou province are no longer everyday necessities. In Huamao village, however, they have become symbols of a rural revival.

The village, located along the route of the Red Army's Long March (1934-36) in Southwest China, was once known as Huangmaotian, a name that reflected its poverty and remoteness. Today, tourists wander its stone pathways, visit craft workshops and sample local specialties, fueling a transformation driven by tourism and traditional industries.

Mu Xiancai, a fourth-generation inheritor of Huamao's pottery-making tradition, is one of those at the center of that transformation.

Inside his workshop, a pottery wheel spins steadily as clay takes shape beneath his hands. Within minutes, a bottle-shaped vessel emerges.

"In the 1960s, even the bottles used for Moutai liquor were made in Huamao," Mu said.

Rich in kaolin clay, Huamao has produced pottery for generations. The village's yellow-brown earthenware was once a common sight in homes across the region, used for everything from cooking to food storage. However, as industrial products replaced traditional ceramics, their demand sharply declined.

Before 2014, Mu spent his days making storage jars and earned less than 30,000 yuan ($4,430) a year.

That changed as Huamao began developing rural tourism. Roads were upgraded, environmental improvements were carried out and visitors began arriving.

For Huamao, the revival of traditional crafts has become closely linked with the growth of tourism.

According to village Party secretary Zhu Jiao, Huamao's collective operating income exceeded 1 million yuan in 2025, while annual per capita income surpassed 27,000 yuan.

"I used to make pickle jars. Now I make vases and decorative ornaments," Mu said. "I never imagined this old craft could find new uses."

Today, he also offers pottery-making experiences for tourists. During peak season, his workshop can attract more than 400 visitors a day, generating an annual income of 200,000 to 300,000 yuan.

Among his most distinctive products is a large clay vessel known as a guzi, traditionally used to prepare one of the village's signature dishes.

The dish, called guzi chicken, is cooked without adding a single drop of water.

As steam rises from boiling water beneath the vessel, it condenses inside the upper chamber and drips onto the chicken, gradually creating a rich broth. The cycle continues until the meat is fully cooked, a process that often takes more than four hours.

The unusual cooking method has turned the dish into a major attraction, drawing visitors from nearby Chongqing and Sichuan province eager to taste the local specialty.

At the Red Home farmhouse restaurant, owner Wang Hao offers the dish to visitors and has witnessed the village's changes firsthand.

His father opened the village's first farmhouse restaurant years ago on a site once traversed by the Red Army during the Long March, naming it "Red Home."

When Wang returned to Huamao in 2017, he expanded the business by building a camping site, updating the menu and working with travel agencies to develop tourism routes.

"Our record was serving more than 100 tables during a single lunch service," Wang said. "Annual revenue has grown from just over 100,000 yuan in 2014 to nearly 1 million yuan in 2025."

The business now provides jobs for more than 10 local residents.

Traditional crafts are finding new markets elsewhere in the village as well.

In a small handmade paper workshop, founder Zhang Shengdi carefully presses freshly picked flowers and leaves onto wet mulberry paper, creating decorative artworks inspired by local scenery.

Plum blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums and scenes from Huamao's countryside all appear in her designs.

"The challenge isn't making the paper," Zhang said. "The challenge is making people want to buy it, use it and appreciate it today."

Her workshop has expanded beyond traditional paper products to include bookmarks, notebooks and decorative lamps, each featuring classical Chinese quotations or poetry.

"This handmade notebook sells for more than 50 yuan and is especially popular," she said.

Environmental improvements have also accompanied economic growth. More than 8,800 trees have been planted, 8.8 kilometers of waterways restored and sewage treatment coverage extended to all concentrated residential areas. Household waste is now fully collected and treated.

On a summer afternoon, visitors strolling through Huamao encounter rice paddies, streams and white-walled houses scattered beneath green hills. The aroma of home-cooked meals drifts through narrow lanes as tourists move between workshops, restaurants and guesthouses. The pottery jars that once filled village kitchens now hold new value.