Inbound tourist numbers to Dalian in northeast China have jumped 60 percent year on year since the start of July, as the coastal city's mild summer climate, with average highs around 25 degrees Celsius, drew domestic and international visitors seeking relief from the heat.
At Donggang tourist resort, the cool weather and rich attractions have drawn crowds of foreign visitors. Some glide along the canals in gondolas, while others stroll scenic waterfronts amid European-inspired architecture.
"Dalian left a very deep impression on me. The climate is pleasant, lush greenery is everywhere, and the natural scenery is stunning," said a tourist from Egypt.
"I'm from Pakistan. I live in Islamabad. So the average temperature in summers there is around 42 to 45 degrees centigrade. So it's much cooler here. I went to the (Oriental) Venice (Water) City today and it's very beautiful. I took a lot of pictures and I will post them on my Instagram in social media," said a Pakistani visitor.
Nestled within the European-inspired architecture of the Oriental Venice Water City lies the World Music Culture Museum. Here, rare instruments like Chinese bianzhong and European court organs offer immersive East-West musical experiences.
"I think Dalian is very beautiful," said a Russian visitor.
"This summer, an increasing number of visitors are coming to our World Music Culture Museum, with international guests surging by over 25 percent year on year," said Zhang Jingxuan, curator of the museum.
Beyond seaside walks and culture, marine life is another highlight. At Laohutan Ocean Park, adorable polar creatures and lively dolphin and beluga whale performances draw enthusiastic crowds.
"I really like Dalian ocean park and the most amazing was to see the show of dolphins and beluga whale," said an Italian visitor.
"think this ocean park is truly attractive. The climate here is very comfortable, the air is fresh, and the seawater is clean. It's much cooler than my country. I saw many tourists here enjoying the sea and the scenery," said a visitor from Niger.
To welcome global travelers, Dalian has enhanced international tourism services by adding multilingual airport help desks, entry stations that support 22 languages, and smoother customs clearance.
Dalian inbound tourism surges 60 pct on cool summer appeal
For more than 1,000 years, Jingdezhen, the "porcelain capital" in east China's Jiangxi Province, has shaped how the world understands porcelain, with even discarded shards preserving a living tradition.
Weng Yanjun, president of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute, reflected on the scale and challenge behind Jingdezhen's historic creations.
"When I look at this gigantic dragon jar, I couldn't help going back to 600 years ago, when the emperor had this order to create something bigger than ever before. The failure rate of the dragon jar is so high. It could be nine out of 10. Even making failure products like this takes courage, takes techniques and takes commitment," said Weng.
Those failed attempts, once discarded, now preserve the evidence of how Jingdezhen pursued perfection.
For more than 1,000 years, Jingdezhen's porcelain industry has endured through the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (960-1911). What has survived is not only its porcelain, but also a living heritage of raw materials, workshops, kilns and specialized craftsmanship.
Those firings produced masterpieces as well as failures, with the discarded pieces forming another kind of archive.
At the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute, Weng told archaeology students that fragmented specimens sometimes provide more information than complete artifacts.
Weng leads the development of the world's first Ancient Ceramics Gene Bank, which extracts and catalogs the defining characteristics of each ceramic shard.
"For our institute alone, we have excavated more than 20 million pieces of shards for the past over 1,200 years. Among those shards, we do sorting, we do restoration, and we do scientific tests. And then we find, wow, a small shard can tell us much more information than even a whole piece," said Weng.
Using a standardized sample library and unified data framework, the project records each piece's shape, decoration, body material, glaze, color, firing marks and inscriptions, creating a valuable resource for authentication and research around the world.
"The whole city is a wonderful lab and space range makes Jingdezhen uniquely a wonderful example of how the handicraft ancient industry with porcelain as the focus survived even to today," Weng added.
Jingdezhen once helped establish benchmarks for how porcelain was made. Now, the gene bank is turning fragments into a language that can be read beyond the city. For French artist and researcher Yann Colleu, learning to read that language has also changed the way he creates.
"Since my childhood, my parents had these teapots, tea sets, plates and cups. I was very curious about the pattern, like the meaning, what was behind it? Actually when I discovered in Jingdezhen that it was a bat, because of 'fu' and 'fu' is fortune, but also you have the 'wufu,' like the five blessings. I was like a child with stars in the eyes, discovering the world for the first time," said Colleu, PhD candidate at Jingdezhen Ceramic University.
What once seemed abstract became part of Yann's own visual language. In his work, traditional Jingdezhen motifs and production scenes are reimagined through a contemporary, cross-cultural lens.
"Jingdezhen is a timeless city. The past, the present and even the future are tied together. This is one of illustration of 72 traditional steps developing during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The difference is, instead of using Chinese characters, I use foreigners. I want to use the past to talk about the present and even the future with Jingdezhen," said Colleu.
The Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on Saturday. The inscription recognizes not just a single kiln or masterpiece, but an entire production system, from its archaeological remains and traditional craftsmanship to its industrial knowledge and global influence.
Porcelain shards preserve Jingdezhen’s timeless legacy
