The Western Pottery Capital on the Silk Road

Time flies, time flies. Pingchuan District has been established for more than 30 years. In just a few decades, it has witnessed the rapid development of this young city. The former Gobi desert has become a vibrant modern city. The three pillar industries of the largest thermal power plant in the northwest, the largest ceramic city and the coal base with the longest mining history have established Pingchuan's important position as an emerging industrial city.

The ceramic industry is the oldest traditional industry in Pingchuan. As early as 3000 BC, there was a history of firing pottery, and it enjoys the reputation of "Northwestern Ceramics Industrial City". The ceramic industry has a long history of development. After thousands of years of historical development, the ceramic industry has become increasingly mature.

After the founding of New China in 1949, the country attached great importance to the development of the ceramic industry, and the regional ceramic industry developed further. In 1952, the Jingyuan County People's Government sent a working group to Ciyao to help with the work and organized a mutual aid group on a voluntary basis with 16 members. In 1956, the "Jingyuan Ci Kiln Ceramics Production Cooperative" was established. In April 1958, the "Jingyuan Ci Kiln Ceramics Production Cooperative" was renamed "Jingyuan Ci Kiln Ceramics Factory", transforming from a collective enterprise to a local state-owned enterprise owned by the whole people. In 1972, the state invested more than 5 million yuan to build a factory in Gegetan, west of the Long March, and the name was changed from Jingyuan Ciyao Ceramics Factory to Jingyuan Ceramics Factory.

In 1980, Jingyuan County handed over the ceramic factory to Dingxi Prefecture and became the Dingxi Prefecture Jingyuan Ceramics Factory. In October 1985, it was transferred to Baiyin City and became Baiyin City Jingyuan Ceramics Factory. After 1985, the factory director responsibility system was fully implemented, a sound corporate internal responsibility system was established, the single fixed-term employment form was broken, and a variety of employment forms, mainly contract labor, were implemented, and the company achieved great development. In its heyday, there were more than 750 workers and 8 engineering and technical personnel. My father and aunt were both workers in the former ceramics factory at that time. In the late 1990s, the once-prosperous ceramic industry in Pingchuan District fell into a period of depression. Workers in the ceramics factory were laid off and the Jingyuan Ceramics Factory went bankrupt. ?

Entering the 21st century, Pingchuan District regards the ceramic industry as the preferred industry for economic transformation. Starting from the innovative system, we carried out drastic restructuring of the original state-owned ceramic factories and took the path of privatization. Many new ceramic companies have emerged, including Baiyin Xinleya Ceramics Co., Ltd., Baiyin Huashun Ceramics Co., Ltd., etc. In August 2005, the original Jingyuan Ceramics Factory was restructured and established Baiyin Longye Ceramics Co., Ltd., becoming the first state-owned enterprise in Baiyin City to be converted into a private enterprise.

Pingchuan has unique advantages and resource endowments for the development of the ceramic industry. The area is rich in mineral resources. Ceramic raw materials are abundant, complete in variety, and of excellent texture. The clay reserves exceed 1.2 billion tons and the pottery clay reserves exceed 4 billion. tons or more. Pingchuan's coal and electricity industry, ceramic production with a long history, and skilled practical talents make Pingchuan a ceramic production area with industry advantages. The Western China Ceramics Summit was chosen to be held in Pingchuan, which also brought a new spring to the development of Pingchuan's ceramic industry.

In August 2009, the first Western China (Silver? Pingchuan) Ceramics Summit and Pingchuan Ceramics Culture Festival were held in Pingchuan, with the goal of accurately positioning the development direction of the ceramic industry, scientific transformation, and building a ceramic logistics base in Western China. Determine the investment and construction of Cathay Ceramic Building Materials City to help Pingchuan build the "Ceramic Capital of the West". The second (August 2011), third (October 2015), and fourth (August 2017) ceramic summits were successfully held one after another. The Ceramic Summit promotes the Silk Road ceramic culture, condenses the development wisdom of the ceramic industry, promotes the integrated development of the ceramic industry, and builds a ceramic cultural exchange platform.

Pingchuan District has successfully held four ceramic summits and ceramic culture festivals. On the basis of actively promoting ceramic enterprises to expand production capacity and enhance product added value, our district has built a comprehensive ceramic building materials trading market, established a ceramic research center, accelerated the construction of ceramic industrial parks and ceramic cultural and creative parks, and the ceramic industry has embarked on a new journey The road of independent innovation will promote the development of the ceramic industry and the optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure, and make the ceramic industry bigger and stronger.

The Pingchuan District Ceramic Characteristic Town Project seizes the opportunity of the national policy of building characteristic towns, closely focuses on the ceramic characteristics of the west, takes the excavation, inheritance, and promotion of Pingchuan traditional ceramic culture as the main line, and creates a ceramic-based carrier , a ceramic town with culture as its foundation and creativity as its soul.

The total investment of the project is about 2.5 billion yuan, covering an area of ??about 1,800 acres, and will be constructed in three phases. In 2018, it is planned to invest 120 million yuan, focusing on the transformation of the core area, and mainly completing the three tasks of core area, western pottery capital, brand image and ceramic road construction. We strive to create a truly complete and distinctive town.

On the morning of May 3, 2018, the opening ceremony of the Pingchuan District Ceramic Town and the launching ceremony of the Ceramic Academician Workstation was held grandly. The "Pingchuan District Ceramics Study and Travel Base for Primary and Secondary School Students" and the "Pingchuan District Youth Activity Center-Youth Ceramics Practice Base" were unveiled. Organized by the District Youth Activity Center, primary and secondary school students in Pingchuan District participated in a ceramics competition at the Ceramic Art Base. Carrying the ardent expectations of the leaders and the children’s interest and love for ceramic art, the Ceramic Art Base will surely become an ideal base for study and travel for primary and secondary school students in Pingchuan District. , becoming an important platform for inheriting Pingchuan ceramic culture.

In 2018, China marks the 40th anniversary of its reform and opening up. China has undergone earth-shaking changes.

At this commemorative node, we have a historical opportunity to look back and look forward. The colorful Silk Road, the millennium "Pottery Capital", and the fruitful results achieved in the past will also be valuable assets for future development.

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