The Jade Factory

 Jade is one of those things considered typically Chinese... like silk and kites and fireworks.  And the Chinese do seem to be truly crazy about jade.  Jade has an ancient tradition and a modern addiction.  Along with gold, jade is a favorite purchase for the nouveau riche and the upper-middle-class.  It is a mark of status, a badge of success.  Every Chinese department store dedicates half of the ground floor to jade and gold jewelry.

 Tourists love jade too.  So every major tourist spot has a jade factory nearby to lure the tourists.  The jade factories all have plenty of parking spaces for buses.  It seems that every tour bus is is obligated to stop at a jade factory at least once.   I suspect that is because every tour guide gets an incentive from the jade factory.  Profit sharing, I suspect.

 Our tour bus stopped at a jade factory in Xi'an.  It was a very good one.  The manager gave everyone a tutorial on jade...how to tell the good stuff from the cheap stuff.  Then he showed us the artisans at work....hunched over grinders to carve the stone into intricate works of art.  Then he took us to the showroom, where everything is on display and everything has a price tag.  The showroom was at least 10,000 square feet of display cases.   The photo above shows the jewelry case with its assortment of jade bracelets.  Above that is a display case for shelf pieces - little pieces and big pieces intended for prominent display in ones home.

The piece shown above is rather large....probably 18 inches long by 14 inches high.  The price tag on display was just a shade under 3 million RMB.    The exchange rate is 6.5 RMB per dollar.  That means that you could carry this piece out to the tour bus for a cash payment of approximately $450,000.   I suspect the tour guide would be more than happy to help you carry it....but only after he's settled up for his percentage on the deal.