Yixing zisha teapot (half-handmade, certified) + porcelain gaiwan

The teapot that tea people cross the world for — buy it in Dingshu from the person who made it, and know the honest floor price for the real thing.

Price: 680 CNY (Half-handmade genuine zisha clay pot from a certified Dingshu artisan (¥400-1,500 realistic range) plus an everyday gaiwan ¥30-80)

Where to buy: Dingshu town (Yixing, Jiangsu) studios and the China Yixing Ceramics Museum shops; reputable teaware stores in Shanghai carry certified pots

Price checked 2026-07-03

• Real-vs-fake warning: ¥30-100 'zisha' pots everywhere in tourist areas are slip-cast from dyed ordinary clay, sometimes with chemical colorants. Genuine ore-clay half-handmade pots start ~¥300-400 from the maker, fully handmade ¥1,500+
• Ask for the artisan's certificate card and check the interior tool marks; a matched seal on pot base, lid and certificate is standard
• If you just want to brew well for cheap, a ¥40 porcelain gaiwan outperforms a fake yixing every time