Far away from the weekend tourist crowds and the night markets, there are the less glamorous parts of the city that are home to what seems to be endless workshops. ![[Update 4-5.jpg]] --- In wandering through these neighbourhoods some doors are open, allowing you to peer inside. Late one afternoon, on a particularly freezing day, I was running out of steam, looking for such possibilities. It was almost dark and the light had pretty much gone. Along a narrow road, one shutter was pulled down, close to the ground - to keep out the cold I guess. But there seemed to be this pink glow inside. Curious, I stooped down to see what that might be about, and we were soon beckoned in to have a look around. As elsewhere in China, the residents of Jingdezhen are remarkably friendly and seemed completely fine with me wandering around, stepping on things, asking strange questions.... ![[Update 4-3.jpg]] --- Years of accumulated clay dust had created a small world of pale pink. It seemed as though everything was covered in this fine layer of powder. ![[Update 4-7.jpg]] --- I don't need to add much else, just to say that it was a nice but somewhat challenging hour with Mr Lu and his son. Of course, they were very accommodating and hospitable, and we were amazed at their resilience given it wasn't much warmer inside than it was out. But I left with a seriously spinning head; the air was heavy with a fair amount of nicotine, more than I had experienced for a long time. ![[Update 4-1.jpg]] ![[Update 4-8.jpg]] ![[Update 4-4.jpg]] Tim Singapore | 17-02 --- [[Update 5]]