Yingge: Discovering Joy in Pottery
Yingge is listed as one of the tourist spots in Taiwan, but it isn't as well-known as places like Yehliu or Jiu Fen. This is probably because it also takes a certain interest in pottery and ceramics to appreciate the culture found in this location. I myself don't remember much about Yingge Old Street. But Yingge has a place in my heart because it's where I discovered pottery.
THE PLACE
If I were to describe how Yingge strikes me in one word, it would be ... sleepy. It's an old town with typical old buildings (i.e. not much fancy architecture to look at and admire). The streets are relatively quiet and filled with low-rise buildings, small family-owned stores and the vibe of a small dusty town.
Most tourists head straight to Yingge Old Street, where most of the action is.
In Yingge Old Street, you can have your fill of anything ceramic. Name it and they have it --- vases, plates, cups, statues, pots. Quality of the ceramics differ depending on the store, so it's best to scout around first and compare quality and prices before buying. There are a few classy stores which sell wonderful statues and decorations, as well as plates and tea sets. For a fee, they can deliver to your address, even if this is an international one. You can also fill up a delivery box / crate with different items. As long as the weight of all items still fall under the limit, the delivery price remains the same. Great service, huh?
WHAT I DID
I arrived in Yingge nearing lunchtime, mainly because I spent about 30 minutes in Taipei Station trying to figure out which train to take (but that's the subject of another blog).
I was famished when I arrived, so I headed to Grandma's Sushi (阿婆壽司) which was recommended by other bloggers.
Grandma's Sushi has all sorts of sushi (or what we call here as maki). It's a small eatery where the sushi is displayed on the counter and you can tell the lady which types you want. It's no fancy Japanese restaurant but it does the job of filling up your hungry stomach for a very cheap price. I got myself an assortment of sushi and a bowl of miso soup -- comfort food!
Stomach filled and ready to go, I headed on to Old Street. Here, I spent time looking through the ceramics in the different stores. But hey, as much as I love ceramics, I can't spend more than one hour looking at them.
Feeling bored, I spotted several signs inviting people to learn pottery. I went into one store, where the sales people were younger and seemed friendlier, and "enrolled" in a class. Each pottery class took only 30 minutes. They seat you in front of the pottery wheel and a "teacher" is assigned to teach you some basics, like how to mold forms, how to make things bigger or smaller, how to add length. Then you're given about 10 minutes to play around with the clay as you wish. Afterwards, you tell your teacher what product you would like to create and the teacher guides you in making the final product.
I found making pottery so enjoyable! Aside from the wonder of creating something functional and beautiful out of plain muddy clay, it was also a joy to make designs to add to my finished product. I lost track of time and easily spent the next two hours designing my vase.
Once finished, I handed my vase over to the counter. The store took charge of burning/baking (whatever the pottery term is) and drying my design into the color I chose. Then it delivered the finished product to my address after two weeks. The fee included all charges -- pottery class, baking/drying the product, and delivery.
I highly recommend the pottery DIY classes. Even if you won't stay in Taiwan for two weeks to get your creation, the experience is still worth it. It was fun and memorable!
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| Yingge is the place to go for pottery and ceramic lovers. In this picture, an old kiln is preserved in Yingge. You can go inside that long tunnel to see how they make pottery in olden times. |
THE PLACE
If I were to describe how Yingge strikes me in one word, it would be ... sleepy. It's an old town with typical old buildings (i.e. not much fancy architecture to look at and admire). The streets are relatively quiet and filled with low-rise buildings, small family-owned stores and the vibe of a small dusty town.
 |
| Old building in Yingge |
Most tourists head straight to Yingge Old Street, where most of the action is.
 |
| You know you're in Old Street when you see this sign |
In Yingge Old Street, you can have your fill of anything ceramic. Name it and they have it --- vases, plates, cups, statues, pots. Quality of the ceramics differ depending on the store, so it's best to scout around first and compare quality and prices before buying. There are a few classy stores which sell wonderful statues and decorations, as well as plates and tea sets. For a fee, they can deliver to your address, even if this is an international one. You can also fill up a delivery box / crate with different items. As long as the weight of all items still fall under the limit, the delivery price remains the same. Great service, huh?
WHAT I DID
I arrived in Yingge nearing lunchtime, mainly because I spent about 30 minutes in Taipei Station trying to figure out which train to take (but that's the subject of another blog).
I was famished when I arrived, so I headed to Grandma's Sushi (阿婆壽司) which was recommended by other bloggers.
Grandma's Sushi has all sorts of sushi (or what we call here as maki). It's a small eatery where the sushi is displayed on the counter and you can tell the lady which types you want. It's no fancy Japanese restaurant but it does the job of filling up your hungry stomach for a very cheap price. I got myself an assortment of sushi and a bowl of miso soup -- comfort food!
 |
| Ask for a take-away or to-go packaging so that you can bring home some of the sushi you can't finish eating. |
Stomach filled and ready to go, I headed on to Old Street. Here, I spent time looking through the ceramics in the different stores. But hey, as much as I love ceramics, I can't spend more than one hour looking at them.
 |
| Earthen jars basking in the afternoon sun |
Feeling bored, I spotted several signs inviting people to learn pottery. I went into one store, where the sales people were younger and seemed friendlier, and "enrolled" in a class. Each pottery class took only 30 minutes. They seat you in front of the pottery wheel and a "teacher" is assigned to teach you some basics, like how to mold forms, how to make things bigger or smaller, how to add length. Then you're given about 10 minutes to play around with the clay as you wish. Afterwards, you tell your teacher what product you would like to create and the teacher guides you in making the final product.
 |
| My enthusiastic seatmate! |
I found making pottery so enjoyable! Aside from the wonder of creating something functional and beautiful out of plain muddy clay, it was also a joy to make designs to add to my finished product. I lost track of time and easily spent the next two hours designing my vase.
 |
| Designs for my vase |
Once finished, I handed my vase over to the counter. The store took charge of burning/baking (whatever the pottery term is) and drying my design into the color I chose. Then it delivered the finished product to my address after two weeks. The fee included all charges -- pottery class, baking/drying the product, and delivery.
I highly recommend the pottery DIY classes. Even if you won't stay in Taiwan for two weeks to get your creation, the experience is still worth it. It was fun and memorable!
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