Foshan Culture

Traditional Culture of Foshan
Located only twenty-eight kilometers from Guangzhou, Foshan is one of the best-known handicraft centers in China. It is especially noted for its pottery, papercutting and lanterns. The intricate art of papercutting dates back in Foshan to the period between the Song and Yuan dynasties. The lanterns produced here come in many shapes and types-from elaborate palace lanterns to amusing fish-shaped designs.

Shiwan Old Town
Located in the suburbs of Foshan, Shiwan has long been associated with pottery production. Exquisite earthenware of the Han Dynasty has been excavated in the surrounding areas. Today, realistic human figures and animals are produced, as well as pottery for daily use.

Shiwan Gongzai - artistic pottery
As artistic pottery is one of the most distinctive features of Shiwan, people are inclined to call it "Shiwan Gongzai"(i.e. artistic pottery). Shiwan Gongzai (i.e. artistic pottery) is provided with four series including character, animal, vessel and micro-sculpt. In the "Gongzai" street, there are not only precious artworks of modern pottery masters and personalities, but also artworks of many young promising handicraftsmen. Besides, there are not only exotic rare treasures, but also ordinary potteries in batch production, not only traditional, but also modern, representing one hundred blossoming flowers.

Shiwan's ceramics technique was shaped in Tang and Song Dynasty and flourished in Ming and Qing Dynasty. Therefore, owing to its history over one thousand years, it's compared to a precious flower in Chinese arts' history.

Foshan Ancestor Temple
This temple was first built in the Northern Song Dynasty and renovated in 1372 during the reign of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Most of the buildings in the existing complex, covering more than three thousand square meters, were constructed during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The Foshan Ancestor Temple is unique in style and architecture, its tiles decorated with Shiwan pottery figures drawn form Chinese folklore and drama and its courtyard walls covered with lively carvings and reliefs.