Surrounded by paddy fields and tea terraces, Jingdezhen is a thoroughly scruffy city whose streets labour under the effects of severe pollution caused by the numerous porcelain factories dotted throughout the centre. The town is concentrated on the east bank of the Chang Jiang (not the actual Yangzi, but a lesser river of the same name). Zhushan Lu runs away from the river for a kilometre through the city centre to where roads converge at a small, grassless park, notable for its daytime croquet sessions and the sociable crowds that gather for a chat and a stroll every evening.

The only available vistas of Jingdezhen are from the three-storey Longzhu Ge (Dragon Pearl Pavilion), overlooking the river on Jiang Dong Lu. This is a pleasant construction in wood and orange tile along the lines of Hunan's Yueyang Tower. From the top, the town's smoggy horizon is liberally pierced by smokestacks of varying sizes, which fire up by late afternoon.

But porcelain, not views, is the reason Jingdezhen figures on tourist itineraries, and the town is geared towards selling. Shops around Zhushan Lu and adjoining streets are the best place to browse for a quick souvenir among an incredible amount of brightly coloured tack, from metre-high vases and ugly moulded statuettes of Buddhist and historical figures, down to porcelain pandas for the mantelpiece. The night market , which fills the park end of Zhushan Lu and Xincun Xi Lu with snack stalls and private sellers hawking factory rejects and the occasional older piece, is the place to pick up bargain-priced crockery, some of which is quite good. Serious buyers after bulk purchases should head over the river and catch bus #4 north to the city limits, where there's a kilometre of shops overflowing with stacks of giant urns, statues and teapots - it's a surreal sight, as are the Chinese visitors buying by the cartload.