Yu Nannan shapes a pottery pot in Manlang county, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province on Oct 20. [Photo/Xinhua]

Yu Nannan, a 58-year-old Dai ethnic woman from Xishuangbannna in Yunnan province, is an inheritor of Dai ethnic slow-wheel pottery manufacturing skills. According to archaeological discoveries, Yunnan has a pottery manufacturing history of about 6,000 years.

When Yu was about 10 years old, her mother taught her slow-wheel pottery manufacturing skills by hand. After she married, Yu started to sell the hand-made fried pottery production in the markets. “Four years ago, Yunnan province awarded me as the inheritor of slow-wheel pottery manufacturing skills, and now I can make about 20,000 yuan ($3,271) every year,” said Yu.

Manlang county in Xishuangbannna is a Dai ethnic county with a long history of potter manufacturing. However, since the manufacturing of pottery is complicated and doesn’t yield high profits, fewer and fewer make a living in pottery manufacturing.

In 2009, Yu started a training session of pottery techniques. “I am now old and can no longer make many potteries every year. I hope that my skills can be passed on to the next generation,” said Yu.