Jingdezhen in a Day from Nanchang, by High-Speed Train

Jingdezhen is close enough to Nanchang to do in a day if you do not need to throw anything. The high-speed train takes about two hours; we meet you at the station and go straight to Taoyangli, the block that holds the excavated imperial kiln. From the early Ming this works supplied the court, and the rule was absolute: what the court did not accept was broken and buried on site so that it could not be sold. Archaeologists have spent years putting those pieces back together, and the museum built beside the dig - a row of brick vaults shaped like kilns - is where you see them.

After lunch it is the China Ceramics Museum, the national collection, which is free but needs a reserved slot. It is the place where the sequence makes sense: proto-porcelain, the Song classic wares, and then the blue-and-white that made the town. We finish at Taoxichuan, the 1950s state factory complex now full of studios, timed so that you arrive as the night market opens, and put you back on an evening train. If you want to make something rather than look at it, this is the wrong tour - take three days.

• Designed around the high-speed timetable: about two hours each way
• Taoyangli and the imperial kiln excavations, where the rejects were buried
• The Imperial Kiln Museum's reassembled court porcelain
• The China Ceramics Museum, free with a reservation
• Taoxichuan at dusk, when the studios and the night market open
• Back in Nanchang the same evening

• Meals as listed in the daily itinerary (lunch as listed in the itinerary below)
• Private air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver throughout
• English-speaking local guide (Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian or Japanese on request)
• All entrance fees for the sites listed, including shuttle buses, eco-buses and cable cars where the site requires them
• Local handling and coordination service throughout the programme
• Bottled water (2 bottles per person per day) and audio headsets where group size requires them
• Travel accident insurance for the duration of the tour

• International air tickets and any domestic flights not listed in the itinerary
• China visa or visa-free entry documentation fees
• Meals not specified in the daily itinerary and all beverages/alcohol
• Tips for guides, drivers and hotel staff (suggested USD 8-12 per person per day)
• Personal expenses: laundry, telephone, minibar, shopping
• Optional activities and any item not listed under Price Includes
• Single-room supplement if a traveller requires a room alone
• High-speed train tickets, if you would rather buy them yourself
• Any pottery you buy at Taoxichuan
• Hotel in Jingdezhen

Published: October 2026 — prices and itinerary reviewed on this date; later updates are shown in the revision note below.

Please read the notes below before you book. Reservations for the China Ceramics Museum are made against passport details - send them at least three days ahead. This day is looking, not making.

Q: Can I make pottery on a day trip?
A: Not properly. A throwing session needs two to three hours, and then the piece has to dry, be bisque-fired, glazed and fired again, which takes days. You can do a short hand-building or painting session on bisque in about ninety minutes if you insist, but the piece still ships later. For real time at the wheel, take the three-day tour.

Q: Do you book the train tickets?
A: Yes, normally, and we send the e-ticket to your phone. Chinese high-speed rail sells out on holiday weekends, so book with us at least a week ahead if your dates are fixed. You can also buy them yourself through the railway app and we will meet you at the barrier.

Q: How much of the day is on the train?
A: About four hours in total, two each way, plus station time. That leaves roughly seven hours in Jingdezhen, which is enough for the two museums and Taoxichuan without rushing. If two hours each way is too much, staying overnight gives you the workshop as well.

Q: Is the museum reservation a problem at short notice?
A: It can be. The China Ceramics Museum is free, which means the timed slots fill quickly at weekends and in school holidays. We reserve as soon as you confirm, so the risk is low if you book three days ahead or more. Inside a day we cannot guarantee it.

Q: What is the best thing to buy in Jingdezhen?
A: Studio work from the people who made it, which is what Taoxichuan is for. Avoid the reproduction 'antiques' sold in the tourist streets - they are usually transfers rather than hand-painted, and the giveaway is a pattern that repeats exactly. If you want to spend real money, tell us and we will take you to a studio we know.

Q: Can this be tagged onto a Nanchang stay?
A: That is what it is designed for. Most people do the Nanchang day tour first, then this, then leave from Nanchang Changbei. If you are on 240-hour transit, note that Jingdezhen is one of the two Jiangxi cities you are permitted to visit, so this day is within the rules.

Q: Do I need a visa for this trip?
A: Most travellers do not. China's unilateral visa-free scheme now covers 50 countries for stays of up to 30 days, and the 240-hour visa-free transit scheme covers travellers from 57 countries entering through 65 designated ports. If you enter on 240-hour transit at Nanchang Changbei, note the stay area that applies to Jiangxi: you may move within Nanchang and Jingdezhen only, not the whole province. Check your nationality against the National Immigration Administration list before you book flights, because the scheme is reviewed and extended periodically.