A dragon kiln (Chinese: 龍窯; pinyin: lóng yáo; Wade–Giles: lung-yao) or "climbing kiln", is a traditional Chinese form of kiln, used for Chinese ceramics, especially in southern China. It is long and thin, and relies on having a fairly steep slope, typically between 10° and 16°,[1] up which the kiln runs. The kiln could achieve the very high temperatures, sometimes as high as 1400 °C,[2] necessary for high-fired wares including stoneware and porcelain, which long challenged European potters, and some examples were very large, up to 60 metres long,[3] allowing up to 25,000 pieces to be fired at a time.[4] By the early 12th century CE they might be over 135 metres long, allowing still larger quantities to be fired; more than 100,000 have been claimed.[5]