Jingdezhen is situated in the north-east of Jiangxi Province of China and neighbours Anhui; the city center area (5,256 km²) is located in the north-east of the Poyang Lake Plain.

    Jingdezhen is known as the "Porcelain Capital" because it has been producing quality pottery for 1,700 years. The city has a well-documented history that stretches back over 2,000 years. During the Han Dynasty, Jingdezhen was known as Xinpin. Historical records show that it was during time that it began to make porcelain. Xinpin then was renamed Changnanzhen (Changnan Town) during the Northern Song Dynasty. It took the era name of the emperor during whose reign its porcelain production first rose to fame. In 1004 CE, during the North Song Dynasty, Changnanzhen became Jingdezhen. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, Jingdezhen was named one of four famous towns in Chinese history, along with Foshan (Guangdong Province), Hankou (Hubei Province) and Zhuxianzhen (Henan Province).

    Jingdezhen's natural resources include kaolin, coal, manganese, and lime, but it is the kaolin that has made the city famous in China and the world. For over a millennium, its unique kaolin has enabled Jingdezhen to make high-quality porcelain. (The word "Kaolin" came from "Gaoling" or "Kaoling", a village located in Ehu Town, Fuliang County, Jingdezhen City.)

    Most of the city's tourist attractions have a link to the ceramics for which it is famous. The city also provides access to nearby popular tourist areas such as Lushan, Huangshan, and Wuyuan. Those are all famous mountain and landscape areas in central China.