'Reserved lady': Chaozhou handmade red clay teapot

Xie Hua and his Chaozhou handmade red clay teapots. [Photo/IC]

Xie Hua, a fifth generation craftsman of the teapot branded Jun He Hao, has been trying to make more kinds of Chaozhou red clay teapots. He studied teapot making in the 1980s and began to make teapots inspired by the Chaozhou porcelain making technique.

At present, Chaozhou red clay teapots made by Xie Hua have more shapes than before.

He also broke the rules of only passing the technique to male family members. Recruiting almost 100 apprentices who are all post-80s and post-90s, Xie would like to teach anyone who is determined to take teapot making as a career.

"It's better to learn teapot making at a young age. Often your eyesight would not be that good when you are 60. If not learnt early, your career life will be very short," Xie said.