Ancient Kiln Folk Customs Expo Area: Look north to the Forbidden City, and south to the ancient kiln

Here, there are lush green trees, serene bamboo forests, fragrant grass, and brimming pond waters; deep within the bamboo forest, a winding wooden bridge, on the island in the lake, calligraphy, painting, antiques, the fragrance of tea, the melody of the guqin, all found in the Purple Bamboo Academy. If it weren't for the colorful ceramic and pottery shard mosaics on the bridge piers forming water channels, one might think it's a tranquil and elegant park. Upon closer inspection, the signs, street lamps, plaques, and couplets are all fired from ceramic, which is just the prelude to entering the Ancient Kiln Expo Area. Walking along the path, one frequently encounters porcelain patterns pieced together from broken shards, elegant and beautiful, too lovely to tread upon. Plowing and pottery making, casually embedded in the small paths and green fields are blue and white porcelain dragon jars and large vases. Only upon seeing the majestic statue of Tong Bin does one officially enter the Ancient Kiln Expo Area, and thus enter the world of porcelain. Blue and white porcelain elements can be seen everywhere; on the ground, in the water, in front of halls, behind houses...; porcelain lamps, porcelain columns, porcelain paintings, porcelain characters, porcelain plaques, porcelain jars, porcelain vases...; even the trash bins and restrooms are all made of blue and white porcelain. Porcelain Music Pavilion, an antique building in the middle of Lake Ming, where a group of girls dressed in ceramic-patterned clothing play one melodious tune after another, with clear flute sounds, soft xiao tones, lingering huqin melodies, deep drum beats, accompanied by the ding-dong of chime bells, and many more instruments whose names are unknown, all made of porcelain! A porcelain music feast, truly deserving of the title 'The Charm of Wondrous Porcelain' (inscribed by Qian Qichen)! The Ancient Kiln Area includes ancient kilns from different dynasties—dragon kilns, mantou kilns, gourd kilns, town kilns, lion kilns, and imperial kilns of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The reconstructed kilns still maintain the scale and pattern of the ancient kilns, delving into them one can appreciate the wisdom of the ancients, the hardship of porcelain firing, and the cultural heritage. In the Handicraft Workshop Area, one can watch artisans up close as they shape, refine, paint, and carve porcelain, witnessing the entire process of porcelain making beyond just kiln firing. This place gathers many inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, the real masters! Ceramics is an art of heritage, requiring hundreds, thousands of years, a salute to those 'ordinary people' who silently pass down the art of ceramics, the culture of ceramics!