TOUGH DRIFTING LIFE

Leading the life of a drifter is not easy, however. Whether they come to seek artistic breakthroughs or to make it in the porcelain business, they must survive by starting from scratch. Most choose to make and sell porcelain products to earn living expenses.

To save money, many Jingpiao choose to live in Laochang and Laoyatan, two of Jingdezhen's cheap rural-urban fringe zones, to craft porcelain products.

Yu Jingfeng, a painter from Anhui Province, said his studio in Laochang, a suburb area with poor housing facilities, costs less than 1,000 yuan ($154) a month. His neighborhood is full of garbage and deserted houses. Yu's studio is filled with peeling paint, mud and clay.

"I once posted a picture of me making a porcelain vase on the Internet," Yu said. "Many of my friends asked if I were working at the site of an earthquake."

Porcelain prices are also quite low, unless "you have become a well-known porcelain master" in Jingdezhen, Yu said.

A famous craftsman's work can fetch as high as one million yuan, while the work of a non-famous craftsman is only a few thousand.

"It's not that their work is insanely amazing, it's purely celebrity effect," said Yu.

Even on good days, Yu's average daily income is less than 100 yuan.

"If you don't sell your work cheap, people will buy from other artists who do," Yu said.

Many Jingpiao have to work for the "famous masters" free of charge to "accumulate experience" before they can start on their own, Yu added.

"TOMORROW WILL BE BETTER"

Despite all the hardships, many young drifters seem optimistic about their transient lives.

Xiao Ye, 25, came to Jingdezhen to start her own porcelain business after graduating from the Hubei Academy of Governance four years ago. Her current monthly salary ranges from 2,000 yuan to a few thousand more, depending on the business of selling porcelain souvenirs on weekend markets. She also rents a shabby studio of a few hundred yuan to make the souvenirs.

"I came here because I am interested in porcelain," she said. "I don't think I am drifting, because I have a place to live, and I am doing exactly what I want to do," she smiled.

Since coming to Jingdezhen, Xiao Ye has already sent much of her savings to her poverty-stricken family in Hubei.

"It's not so bad here," she said. "My friends often tell me 'tomorrow will be better,' and I always believe in that."

To help Jingpiao develop businesses, the city government has rolled out a series of preferential policies in recent years, including giving out low-interest microcredit and subsidies, and establishing "entrepreneurship incubators" to encourage entrepreneurship. So far, 7,909 Jingpiao have benefited from the microloans, according to the government.

"Today's Jingdezhen is a huge magnet, attracting countless Jingpiao from across the country," said Li Wei, the associate professor. "They choose to stay because they have hope in their dreams, their career and their future."