Nyishar Thardod is a Tibetan village located in Shangri-La, Yunnan Province. With black pottery, villagers here not only saved certain crafts from being lost, they also opened a door to getting out of poverty and earning more money.

Damdrun Pichu is a seventh generation inheritor of the Nyishar black pottery craft. He learned to make black pottery from his father when he was a child, and has been crafting it for nearly forty years. Damdrun Pichu said, “Our family has lived in Nyishar for generations. Thanks to the unique mineral soil and environment here, black pottery has become a special product of Nyishar, and there is nothing else like it. Black pottery can be made into daily cookery or ornamental pieces.”

To make black pottery, a craftsman needs to mix three kinds of raw materials: stone powder ground from weathered sand and stone, white clay, and red clay. The process for making black pottery is also very particular. There are a total of 12 steps that must be completed to make each piece of black pottery.

For the last few years, almost every villager in Thardod learned to make black pottery, and each household has someone who has mastered the techniques. The villagers’ annual incomes have also increased from a few thousand yuan to tens of thousands of yuan. With the rise of e-commerce and tourism, Nyishar black pottery is gradually being exported to different parts of the world.