Ceramics Making at Yingge Old Street
Yingge is a district of New Taipei City famous for its long history as the ceramics capital of Taiwan. Located a mere 30 minutes by bus or train from Taipei, it’s a great place to check out on a day trip.
One of the best ways to experience the ceramics culture is to stop by Yingge Old Street, also known as Yingge Ceramics Street. It’s a surprisingly pretty street lined with palm trees and stores of all sizes selling all kinds of “traditional” knick-knacks as well as a multitude of ceramics, both hand and factory made. Prices vary from store to store, with some businesses focusing on cheap, touristy goods, and others boasting collections of exquisitely crafted, pricier pieces. It’s a great place for souvenir shopping, whatever your budget.
The cool thing about Yingge Old Street is that you can actually try your hand at making your own ceramics, even if you are a complete beginner. There are plenty of shops that offer classes, but we came across two that took our fancy.
The first shop we came across was Shu’s Pottery, a big, fancy place with gorgeous ceramics (and other Taiwanese items) for sale. They offer pottery classes of all kinds (see prices below) and can cater to English speakers. They’re very popular, so it’s necessary to make an appointment in advance (even during the week), something that we did not do. If you make something in class, do note that it will take two months for them to dry and fire it, and you will either need to come back to collect it in person or get it shipped to you. They offer both domestic and international shipping. Even if you aren’t able to take a class, it’s a nice place to stop by because they have lots of cute stuff and even a whole wall of different-looking mugs that you can customize with your own photos.
Since we didn’t make an appointment, we kept searching for a place with ceramics classes. We settled on this place across the street from Shu’s Pottery (we couldn’t find the name on Google Maps, but it’s across the street towards 7-Eleven) with pretty plants and ceramics outside. Classes were $400 including materials and shipping, which was necessary since whatever we made wouldn’t be ready for collection until a month later and we didn’t want to go back. Instructions were only in Chinese, so only go if you’re feeling confident in your language skills, or you’re bringing a friend. You can pay and provide your address for shipping before class starts.
First, choose what you want to make. There’s a shelf of items that you can pick from, with the option to add colour.
Once you’ve chosen the design, your instructor will guide you to the potter’s wheel with a block of clay waiting for you. You must first mould the clay into a dome (easier said than done), after which you can start to create a hole on top.
Our instructor was on the terse side, but working with the clay was really fun. Even without any experience and instruction in Chinese (we needed translation help from our friend), it was relatively intuitive, and there was a photo guide on the wall showing how our individual projects should look.
Once you’ve moulded the clay to your desire, the instructor will place it on a table where you can etch a design into it — if you choose. Don’t forget that unless you are quite skilled at etching words into soft clay, your finished product may come out looking rather childish.
After that, you’re done! The instructor will take a note of which colour you want, and it will be added after your item is fired and ready.
All in all, we really enjoyed the ceramic-making experience. If we could go back in time, we’d probably choose the slightly more expensive class at Shu’s Pottery (it’s prettier and the teachers speak English), despite having to wait a full two months until it’s ready for collection or shipping. Still, we were happy enough with the class that we took.
What’s the vibe?
Beginner’s pottery classes at Yingge Old Street, which has over 200 years of history as Taiwan’s ceramic capital. The classes vary in price and overall experience, so you can easily hunt around on the internet for one that suits you, or try one of the ones we recommended above. The street itself is pretty and it’s a great place to buy souvenirs, but unless you’re into ceramics there’s not much going on. There’s also a ceramics museum nearby.
Worth it?
Yes, if you want to buy or make ceramics. If not, you might want to do it as part of a larger trip to Sanxia and Yingge, since there’d be more to see.
Would you go back?
Maybe to bring friends, but it’s very unlikely that we would go back by ourselves. It’s a real shame that you have to wait so long to receive your finished product because it would be a great activity for visitors.
Visited: December 2018
| Yingge Old Street |
| Chinese Name: 鶯歌老街 |
| Hours: Open 24 hours (but best to go before 5pm) |
| English Address: 239 Jianshanpu Road, Yingge District, New Taipei City |
| Chinese Address: 239新北市鶯歌區尖山埔路 |
