State Grid Cixi Power Supply Company: Safeguarding Emerald Porcelain Heritage with Steady Power Support

On May 8, to ensure stable production capacity for local celadon workshops and related enterprises, Hu Quanli and Shen Jiaye, staff members of the Cinan Power Supply Station under the State Grid Cixi Power Supply Company, visited Shanglin Porcelain Garden. Inside the spacious production workshop, craftsmen were busily engaged in orderly work, including clay kneading, shaping, adobe air-drying, biscuit firing and glazing. After exchanging greetings, Hu and Shen conducted a thorough inspection on power distribution boxes, electric kilns and other electrical facilities to eliminate all potential safety hazards.

Yue Klin by the Shanglin Lake fired its first celadon crafts in the Eastern Han Dynasty and discontinued in the Southern Song Dynasty, with its kiln fire lasting for over a thousand years. It then fell into disuse for hundreds of years due to various reasons. In 2001, invited by the Cixi Municipal Government, Sun Maihua, founder of Shanglin Porcelain Garden, rekindled the ancient kiln fire by Shanglin Lake and revived the elegant secret-colored celadon craft. A decade later, the firing technique of Yue Kiln celadon was inscribed on the third batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Representative Lists. Meanwhile, traditional wood-firing was gradually replaced mainly by electric firing and gas firing. On the first floor of Shanglin Porcelain Garden stand three electric kilns, two gas kilns and one combined electric-gas kiln.

"In the past, kiln firing took thirty to forty hours and required constant on-site supervision. After switching to electric kilns, we can achieve precise temperature control, which greatly cuts labor costs. Compared with wood firing, electric firing produces fewer impurities and ensures more stable product quality, while also effectively protecting the ecological environment around Shanglin Lake," said Li Yushuang from Shanglin Porcelain Garden, speaking highly of the transformation from wood to electric firing. "We are truly grateful that your team regularly comes to inspect our power facilities and popularize safe electricity usage knowledge for us."

To boost the development of intangible cultural heritage industries, the State Grid Cixi Power Supply Company has moved its service outlets forward over the years. Addressing the power demands of the Shanglin Lake Celadon Culture Inheritance Park, as well as surrounding workshops and enterprises, it has carried out targeted renovation of power line and distribution facility upgrades to fully support energy supply. In addition, the company has organized its Red Boat Communist Party Member Service Team to visit local celadon manufacturers. The team conducts on-site inspections of distribution boxes, electric pottery jiggers, electric kilns, and other equipment to ensure safe and stable power use throughout all celadon production procedures. Tailored energy-saving, high-efficiency power solutions are also formulated for enterprises with different needs, effectively helping them reduce electricity costs.

On April 23, two community managers from the State Grid Cixi Power Supply Company visited the newly built Yue Kiln Celadon Shi Zhen Art Museum. They inspected the museum’s electrical facilities and surrounding power lines to make full preparations for the upcoming peak tourist season. It is learned that apart from celadon making and firing activities, the art museum receives numerous foreign guests, "bayberry ambassadors", and study tour enthusiasts around the annual Bayberry Festival every year. Visitors can experience pottery wheel throwing with electric jiggers. Powered electricity helps traditional culture glow with new vitality.

(Reporter: Pan Yuyi)