Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Wang Jingjing) news: On June 27, 2025, at the Milasi Pottery Handicraft Professional Cooperative in Baren Township, Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, artisans were using a unique method to draw simple lines on pottery bowls. They used stone powder from the Kushan River, mixed it in a special way, and put it into a mineral water bottle to make paint. One end of an intravenous (IV) tube was connected to the bottle, and the other end was cut at an angle to form a brush tip. "The knob on the tube controls the flow of the paint. Before, we could only paint 15 bowls a day with a brush. Now, we can paint at least 80 bowls a day," said Ablitalip Aji, the 7th generation inheritor of the pottery-making craft and the head of the cooperative.

Photo taken on June 27, 2025 shows Ablitalip Aji displays the earthenware works made by his apprentices at the employment training base in Baren Township, Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/Wang Jingjing)

Ablitalip Aji, who often travels between Akto and Jingdezhen, has combined the pottery making techniques from Jingdezhen with those of his hometown, bringing new life to the ancient craft. In 2011, he upgraded his family workshop into a cooperative and registered the "Milasi" trademark, which has helped the villagers develop the pottery industry together.

The idea of using an IV tube as a brush came from a visit to the hospital. "One of my apprentices came back from the hospital after having an IV drip and suggested we improve the tool for drawing patterns. I fully supported the idea, and we quickly made it work," Ablitalip Aji said. He also thanked the teachers from Jingdezhen, south China’s Jiangxi Province, for their great help.

In the past, when making pottery in old kilns, the success rate was low and it took a lot of time and effort. In 2016, with the support of Jiangxi's pairing assistance to Xinjiang, Ablitalip Aji introduced a set of equipment, which greatly improved production efficiency and raised the firing success rate from 50 percent to over 80 percent.

Photo taken on June 27, 2025 shows young craftsmen make pottery products at the employment training base in Baren Township, Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/Wang Jingjing)

After six trips to Jingdezhen to learn, Ablitalip Aji said he gained a lot, especially in making hollow-carved pottery bottles and white pottery bottles. "In the past, our pottery bottles had simple colors and carvings, and we rarely glazed them. We also never tried hollow carving because of technical limits," he said.

Inspired by the market value of hollow-carved vases in Jingdezhen, he and his father and apprentices studied and combined patterns like the Atlas pattern, peony flowers, and pomegranate patterns. They made hollow carvings on pottery bottles and then carved out the patterns.

"A pottery bowl used to sell for just a few dollars, but a hollow-carved vase can now sell for hundreds of dollars. The added value is much higher," he said. So far, the cooperative has developed more than 110 kinds of pottery handicrafts with collection and cultural value.

Photo taken on June 27, 2025 shows craftsmen make pottery products in a unique way at the employment training base in Baren Township, Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/Wang Jingjing)

In the cooperative, there was a pottery vase with the expressions of Nezha, a Chinese mythological figure, which was made by Ablitalip Aji's young apprentice. "When I heard that there were students who studied fine arts in nearby villages and wanted to find jobs back home, I contacted them and invited them to join us," he said. "Encouraging young people to be creative is the key to passing on the craft."

With the increasing variety of vase shapes and the deepening of the "online + offline" sales model, the cooperative sold 13,000 pieces of pottery products in the first half of this year and earned about 70 thousand yuan (about 97,720 U.S. dollars). Ablitalip Aji picked up a pottery bottle that local people often use for washing their hands and said, "This is the oldest design. All my apprentices have to learn how to make it first. No matter how much we innovate, we must not forget our roots."

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