The winter sunshine poured down, casting a golden glow on the ancient loess land of Weinan, Shaanxi. Recently, reporters visited Yaotouyao Village in Chengcheng County, Weinan City. From a high vantage point, they saw brick hoop kilns built along cliffs, stacked and orderly box walls, and roads paved with broken porcelain... The entire village felt like an open-air ceramic museum. This ancient village with a thousand year history of ceramics production was once the largest ceramic production and trading hub in the eastern part of Guanzhong, and also one of the few representatives of folk ceramics in the history of ceramics in China and even the world. Ceramic culture originated in the Tang Dynasty and reached its peak during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, with a history of over 1300 years. Adhering to the concept of "firing whatever the people need", the porcelain fired by Yaotou Kiln is mostly made from local materials, mainly black glazed porcelain, known as the "black pearl". It is mostly used as a daily utensil for the people, such as jars, pots, bowls, jars, and bottles. Its shape is simple and rough, the decoration is concise and solemn, the porcelain body is thick and solid, the glaze color is pure and fine, and it embodies the simplicity and magnificence of Chinese folk culture and traditional craftsmanship. In the workshop of Liu Zhongyang, the inheritor of the firing technique of Yaotou ceramics in Chengcheng, a national intangible cultural heritage site, he is carving a black glazed ceramic work. The ceramic firing process of Yaotou Kiln has 72 steps, each of which embodies the hard work of craftsmen. Our ancestors said 'three parts make, seven parts burn', and the most difficult part is firing. Liu Zhongyang said that while adhering to traditional techniques and ensuring quality, we must constantly innovate and integrate modern design concepts into our works, so that ancient porcelain art can be revitalized. Picking up the kiln bowl, life is going well! ”Villager Li Zhengcang sighed, "In the past, every household relied on kilns to eat, but now the kiln site has become a treasure in the village, attracting many overseas tourists and improving their lives." It is understood that Yaotou black porcelain is deeply loved by foreign consumers, especially those from Japan, South Korea, Italy, Malaysia and other places. The protection and development of Yaotou Kiln is a microcosm of Chengcheng County's promotion of traditional village protection and the integration of town and landscape development. Lu Heng, Secretary of the Party Committee of Yaotou Town, stated that in recent years, Yaotou Kiln has adhered to the protection concept of "repairing the old as old" and invested 33.5 million yuan to promote the integration of town scenery and traditional ancient village protection and repair projects. A total of 33 historical buildings have been restored and repaired, and more than 1200 residential caves, over 100 ancient dwellings, and 17 ancient temples and shrines from the Yuan, Ming, Qing, and Republic of China periods have been fully preserved. Walking into Ganbei Village, Sun Town, Pucheng County, on the Weibei Plain, the houses with blue bricks and grey tiles are arranged in a staggered manner, and the ancient streets and alleys exude a strong sense of time. In 2023, the village was included in the sixth batch of the list of traditional Chinese villages. The historical significance of Ganbei Village lies not only in its status as the hometown of General Yang Hucheng, but also in its preservation of the typical traditional architectural style of the Weinan region. ”Wang Liang, the head of the village and town stock department of Pucheng County Housing and Urban Rural Development Bureau, introduced that Ganbei Village, with Yang Hucheng's former residence as the core, is systematically promoting the upgrading and renovation of the red tourism scenic area of the former residence and the protective restoration of surrounding traditional dwellings. We always adhere to the principle of 'repairing the old as it is' in the process of protection, while encouraging villagers to participate in the protection work through labor and other means, making them the true subjects and beneficiaries of traditional village protection, "said Wang Liang. Not far from the former residence, there is Peimin Elementary School, which was built with donations from General Yang Hucheng. "Every brick and tile here records the stories of our ancestors!" exclaimed the villager during the day. Nowadays, not only has the original architectural style been preserved here, but multiple exhibition halls have also been added to showcase the life stories of General Yang Hucheng, becoming an important place for inheriting red culture. Walking among the traditional villages in Weinan, what we see is not only traditional skills and well preserved ancient buildings, but also a cultural gene rooted in the local land and thriving. (New Society)