A specially crafted porcelain vessel presented to Russian President Vladimir Putin has cast a spotlight on Liling, a city in Central China's Hunan province. Renowned for its centuries-old ceramics industry, the city is experiencing a renaissance through modern design and growing global engagement.
During Putin's recent visit to Beijing, he reunited with Peng Pai, a civil engineer from Hunan, in a heartwarming encounter. Twenty-six years ago, during Putin's first official visit to China as Russian president, he met the then 12-year-old Peng and his family at Beijing's Beihai Park, a moment captured in a memorable photograph.
At their reunion at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on May 21, Peng presented Putin with a porcelain wine set from Liling. Its centerpiece was a wine pot with an unusual feature: it chirps like a bird when poured.
The pot is elegantly decorated with red plum blossoms and bamboo on a pale blue-white glaze. A small ceramic magpie perches atop the handle. In Chinese culture, the magpie and plum blossoms symbolize the arrival of good news. When the pot is tilted, it emits a gentle yet distinct chirping sound, bringing the tiny bird to life.
Remarkably, the sound is not produced by any mechanical device, but only by air pressure, explains Xiao Diqiang, head of the public research and development department at the Liling Ceramic Research and Development Center. The secret lies within the pot: hidden beneath the magpie is a small ceramic whistle. As liquid pours from the vessel, shifting water levels compress air inside the pot, forcing it through the whistle and creating the birdlike call.
"The principle is simple," Xiao says. "It works much like human whistling." Whether filled with wine, tea, hot or cold water, the sound remains unchanged. Instead, its tone and duration depend on the speed of the pour and the craftsmanship behind each piece.
"In theory, every pot has its own voice — though the differences may be too subtle for most people to notice," Xiao adds.
The pot was originally produced in the early 1970s, a period of transformation for Liling's ceramics industry. It was part of a limited batch of hand-painted works made primarily for state guesthouses and diplomatic gifts.
Because so few were produced, these pots have become rare over the past five decades. The set presented to Putin was donated by a local collector who had preserved it for years, Xiao says.
The renewed attention has sparked interest among collectors and ceramic enthusiasts eager to re-create the design. Yet, reproducing it remains difficult. The whistle mechanism is a single, integrated structure made of high-temperature porcelain, Xiao explains.
"The margin for error is extremely small," Xiao explains. "Any slight deformation or crack during firing would cause the piece to fail."
To better understand the pot's construction, researchers at the Liling Ceramic Research and Development Center have been studying surviving examples, including flawed pieces that reveal details of their internal structure. The team also plans to interview retired craftsmen who worked on the original production to document and preserve the techniques behind the pot.
At the Liling Ceramics Museum, four similar bird-chirping pots from the 1970s have been brought out of storage and placed in a prominent display case. They are among more than 2,000 exhibits, each narrating a different chapter of Liling's rich ceramic history — from its ancient roots to its modern-day revival.
In 2018, an ancient porcelain kiln was discovered in Liling's Maojialing area. Archaeologists dated it to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960), marking the earliest known evidence of porcelain production in the region.
By the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, Liling had become a major center for blue-and-white porcelain production, with more than 100 workshops clustered around Weishan Mountain.
In 1905, Xiong Xiling, a reform-minded Qing official, founded a vocational ceramics school in the city to cultivate talent for a modern ceramics industry. Around the same period, a new technique emerged: underglaze polychrome porcelain, which produced richer colors under a vibrant, glassy finish. Liling ceramics went on to win international acclaim, including awards at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915.
The technique was lost during years of conflict but revived after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Since 1958, porcelain factories in Liling have produced large quantities of wares for State leaders and diplomatic gifts.
Today, Liling's ceramics industry is both rooted in tradition and geared for the future. Local manufacturers have been continuously innovating, developing products that appeal to contemporary tastes and younger consumers.
Earlier this year, Hunan TR Gallery launched a blind-box collection featuring ceramic pony figurines created for the Year of the Horse. Combining zodiac-inspired designs with functional teacups, the collection offered a playful interpretation of traditional porcelain and quickly gained popularity among younger consumers. More than 60,000 units were sold within three months of launch.
Liling manufacturers have also become suppliers to global brands such as Starbucks and Ikea. Their products, including cups, plates and bowls, are exported to more than 140 countries and regions.
The industry has developed a comprehensive supply chain — from raw materials and equipment to manufacturing, marketing, and logistics. By the end of last year, Liling was home to more than 1,500 ceramics-related enterprises, employing nearly 200,000 people. The total output value of the industry cluster exceeded 80 billion yuan ($11.8 billion), according to government figures.
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