According to the locals, the history of ceramics in Yingge began 200 years ago when Wu An (吳鞍) immigrated from Guangzhou to Yingge to become the first potter in the area. Later, Chen Kun (陳昆), a brick maker, moved to the area and the two strived to make Yingge into the center of Taiwan's ceramics industry.

Attractions:

• Yingge Pottery Street (also known as Yingge Old Street, in Chinese: 鶯歌老街) — a pedestrian shopping street specializing in ceramic arts, pottery, porcelain, and other related products.
• Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum — a large museum exhibiting ceramic culture in Taiwan.
• Yingge Rock — the eagle-shaped rock that gives Yingge its name.

It takes about 30 minutes to arrive by train from Taipei Main Station, and most attractions are located within a 10-minute walk of Yingge’s train station on Wenhua Road (文化路), including Yingge Old Street, the heart of the town’s tourist district. As you walk westwards down Wunhua Road (sidewalks are in distressingly short supply, even among the busiest of Yingge’s streets, so stay alert, especially at corners), look to your left for the elaborate facades of several brick buildings constructed during Japanese colonial rule. The slightly derelict condition of the old Wang Yang (汪洋居) and Cheng Fa (成發居) residences only add to their ghostly charm.

To get to Yingge Old Street, continue down Wenhua Road until it splits off into Guocing Street (國慶街). Keeping an eye out for vehicles, cross the street and make a right on the footpath under the railway overpass. Hang a left on Jianshanbu Road (尖山埔路, Yingge Old Street’s official name), and follow the cluster of tourists up the hill.

Yingge Old Street is lined with more than 80 shops selling ceramic objects at a wide variety of price points. Teacups can be had for as little as NT$20, but Peter Wang (王淳興), an art supply store and studio owner who has worked in Yingge’s ceramic industry for 30 years, cautions that many of the goods are cheap imports from China.

“Tourists come to Yingge and sometimes they don’t have a positive impression about the quality of the items here. They come just expecting to find cheap bargains,” says Wang. He advises quality-minded shoppers to bypass stores stuffed with a mishmash of knickknacks and dishware and instead look for places that specialize in a particular type or style of ceramics.

No trip to Yingge is complete without a visit to the exceedingly photogenic Yingge Ceramics Museum (臺北縣立鶯歌陶瓷博物館) at 200 Wunhua Rd (文化路200號), tel: (02) 8677-2727, a marvel of modern architecture that has done the city proud since it opened in 2000. Admission is NT$100 for adults or NT$70 for students. Start with an informative and surprisingly entertaining exhibit on the history of ceramics in Yingge, and then head upstairs to see the four galleries of the Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, which runs through Dec. 7 and features 114 pieces from artists around the world. The artistic and technical mastery in the sculpture, which range from literal interpretations of the human form to abstract installations, will please ceramic connoisseurs and serves as an eye-opening introduction to the versatility of pottery as a fine art medium for neophytes.

The expansive park behind Yingge Ceramics Museum is also home to one of the most impressive (and effective) ploys to get children into a fine arts museum that I have ever seen: a giant, multi-level wading pool complete with gumball-like spherical sculptures and sprinklers, through which several very giddy kids were running during our recent visit.

While ceramic dinnerware is obviously in no short supply at Yingge, the city’s food scene is somewhat less bountiful.

If a day spent looking at the work of master ceramic artisans leaves you feeling inspired, consider making a trip to Wang’s store, EZ Paint (輕鬆畫), at 207 Wunhua Rd (文化路207號), tel: (02) 2679-0486, near the train station. Wang originally ran a ceramics factory, but turned his business into a do-it-yourself studio and ceramics supply shop eight years ago. You can pick from a selection of 400 blank, unglazed ceramic pieces and paint them at home or at the studio. When your masterpiece is done, EZ Paint will coat your artwork in a chip-proof, non-toxic glaze and fire the piece for you, a process that takes about a week (the finished ceramic can be delivered to you).

Blank ceramics range in price from NT$35 for a simple teacup to NT$10,000 for a large, heavy vase attached to a rotating base. An additional, reasonable fee is charged for finishing. If you want to work on your piece at EZ Paint, NT$100 will buy you a full day at the shop’s comfortable cafe, with paints and brushes supplied.

The peaceful ambiance of the store is what attracted regular Stephanie Lai (賴秋吟) to it, and perhaps points to why Yingge continues to attract serious artists even as certain parts of it turn into tourist traps. Lai, who lives in nearby Sanxia and has been patronizing EZ Paint for two years, says that painting ceramics is a stress relief from her busy job as a corporate headhunter. On the day we visited, she was working on several pieces, including two mugs in a beautiful ombre rainbow pattern.

“Working on ceramics is very soothing and relaxing. I come away with a feeling of accomplishment,” says Lai.