Porcelain House
Photo: Own work — CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Porcelain House is a French-style building in Tianjin, China, adorned with ancient Chinese porcelain pieces, showcasing a blend of Chinese and Western architectural styles.
Planning your visit
Zhang Lianzhi, a Tianjin businessman and collector, bought a French-concession villa and covered it — walls, roof, columns, floors, the surrounding fence — in broken porcelain. The finished work uses over 700 million fragments, 13,000 pieces of ancient china, more than 300 stone lions and around 20 tonnes of crystal and agate.
Opinion divides sharply. Some of the porcelain used was reportedly of genuine antique value, which appals conservators; others regard the house as an obsessive folk masterpiece in the tradition of visionary architecture.
Either way it is unlike anything else, and the dragon of ceramic shards running along the perimeter wall is over 700 metres long.
Interior rooms display the collector's holdings.
It stands on Chifeng Road in the former concession district, which is itself full of European-era architecture. Allow forty-five minutes. The main booking is a self-guided ticket. Current availability is shown below.
Before you book
Where is Porcelain House?
Porcelain House is in Tianjin, China. The map on this page marks its exact location.
How long should I allow for Porcelain House?
Allow forty-five minutes. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
Do I need to book Porcelain House in advance?
Guided tours run to a fixed schedule and small group sizes, so they are usually booked ahead.
