Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Round Table.
For over a thousand years, one Chinese city turned mud into gold,
crafting ceramics so exquisite that kings demanded them,
rivals tried to steal the recipe,
and the very name of the material became a global shorthand for the country itself.
Now, that centuries-long run of mastery has just landed Jingdezhen on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
But beyond the prestige, this is a story of innovation
and how a single industry shaped taste and trade across oceans.
We're live from our studios here in Beijing.
This is Round Table.
I'm Steve Hatherly.
Thanks for being with us today.
And for the show, I'm with Yushun and Yushan.
First up,
When you hear the word China, what comes to mind?
For most people, it's either the country or the fine porcelain sitting in a display cabinet somewhere.
What's remarkable is that those two meanings are connected.
For centuries, China produced porcelain so beautiful, so durable, and so difficult to copy,
that in many parts of the world, the material itself simply became known as China.