China plans to submit three ancient porcelain kiln ruins as candidates for the world cultural and natural heritage list of the United Nations Education, Culture and Science Organization (UNESCO), says a source with the Henan Provincial Archeological Findings.

The cultural relics administrative department in central Henan Province, where the three kiln ruins were located, told Xinhua Wednesday that they were Ruyao kiln in Baofeng, Junyao kiln in Yuzhou and a kiln in Gongyi that produced splendid Tang trio-color pottery.

"The three porcelain kiln ruins are well known as they had have been producing valuable porcelain items in Chinese history and their works are very rare now," said Chang Jianchuan, director of the bureau.

Ruyao kiln is prestigious worldwide as the site where rare and beautiful celadon was made.

Built in early Song Dynasty (960-1279), Ruyao kiln made porcelain goods especially for the emperor and royal family. Few of its works and skills remained because of wars in ancient China. Merely about 70 porcelain items made in Ruyao kiln survived.

In the Ruyao kiln ruins, Chinese archeologists found a considerable number of porcelain pieces vital to the research on ancient porcelain industry.

Juyao kiln was another royal porcelain kiln in the North Song Dynasty (960-1127) where a special technique was developed to make porcelain colorful. Only 36 pottery items were made there every year for the needs of the royal family and civilians were banned from possessing any of them.

The kiln ruin in Gongyi was the first relic site spotted in China that produced famous Tang tri-color potteries, or Tang San Cai in Chinese, in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Chinese archeologists also unearthed pieces of "Qinghua" porcelains, one type of ancient Chinese porcelain featuring blue-and-white designs that were made in the Tang Dynasty.

The finding has settled a long-standing dispute about when Qinghua porcelains were first made, said Sun Xinmin, head of the Institute of Culture Relics and Archeology of Henan Province.   

(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2004)