Peony porcelain, a unique variety of firing porcelain in Luoyang City of central China's Henan Province, reflects a combination of peony imagery with Chinese porcelain culture. It has been dubbed as "the peony flower that never fades".

The porcelain uses kaolin as raw material, which is kneaded into shapes like petals, pistils, buds, roots, stems and leaves, then stuck together for firing, glazing, coloring and calcination. Finally, lifelike "peonies" bloom in porcelain form, attracting people nationwide.

Li Xuewu, the inventor of peony porcelain, combines the white porcelain-making techniques of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) with innovative modern art design.

Li is also an inheritor of the Tang white porcelain-making techniques, and has created over 1,000 kinds of peony-themed porcelain. In addition, he has produced porcelain artworks themed on cultural elements such as the ancient Silk Road and the Belt and Road Initiative to spread Luoyang culture and Chinese culture.

Since 2010, Li's peony porcelain artworks have won many prizes, including the highest accolade for China's arts and crafts and the top prize for the country's porcelain art.

Li's peony porcelain artworks have also been selected as national gifts for foreign leaders. One of his peony porcelain artworks was collected by the National Museum of China.

Photo shows a peony porcelain artwork. [People's Daily Online/Wang Xiaofei]

A worker colors peony petals at a workshop in Luoyang, Central China's Henan Province, April 11, 2023. [People's Daily Online/Wang Xiaofei]

Staff work at a peony porcelain workshop. [People's Daily Online/Wang Xiaofei]

Photo shows a peony porcelain artwork. [People's Daily Online/Du Mingming]

Photo shows a peony porcelain artwork. [People's Daily Online/Du Mingming]

A craftsman works on a peony porcelain artwork. [People's Daily Online/Du Mingming]

A craftsman works on a peony porcelain artwork. [People's Daily Online/Du Mingming]

(Source: People's Daily Online)