Chenzhou's hidden gem reveals riches to world

Editor:李莎宁
Source:红网综合
Updated:2016-05-18 10:58:14

　　Mineral expo provides a showcase for local and international brands

　　Located in the south of Hunan province, the city of Chenzhou is renowned for its rich gemstone, mineral and nonferrous metal resources. The city's has been called "the land of nonferrous metals in China", "China's silver city", and the "city of ornamental stones" because of its abundant natural resources.

　　From Thursday to Monday, Chenzhou will exhibit a dazzling array of minerals and gems from more than 40 countries and regions at the fourth China (Hunan) Mineral &Gem Show.

　　The event is held annually in Chenzhou and is the largest of its kind in Asia. It is jointly organized by the Hunan provincial government and the Ministry of Land and Resources.

　　As an important communication platform between China and the rest of the world, the event offers greater exposure for international brands and aims to promote international cooperation and exchanges.

　　Local officials also hope that the event will inject new life into Chenzhou's economic development and put the city in the global spotlight.

　　Permanent venue

　　Chenzhou's location at the intersection of the middle range of the Nanling Mountains and the southern range of the Luoxiao Mountains has led to the event being labeled "the expo at the mine's entrance".

　　The region has experienced four important periods of tectonic deformation and four corresponding periods of magmatic activity, which have contributed to Chenzhou's rich mineral resources.

　　Last year's China (Hunan) Mineral &Gem Show was an unprecedented success.

　　The five-day event attracted more than 300 international exhibitors from 85 countries and regions. The number of visitors reached 380,000 and transactions totaled about 1.6 billion yuan ($245 million).

　　Both the financial success of the expo and widespread praise from exhibitors, buyers and visitors led to the Hunan provincial government's decision to make Chenzhou the permanent location of the event.

　　Yi Pengfei, Party chief of Chenzhou said that the global aspect of the event gives Chenzhou the perfect opportunity to showcase its charms to the world. "Chenzhou needs this kind of international platform if it is to transform its abundant natural resources into a driving force for local economic growth and sustainable industrial development," he said.

　　World-class treasures

　　This year, a number of worldclass treasures from both home and abroad will be displayed at the expo.

　　Among the stones on display will be tourmalines from Brazil, which are reputed to be the finest in the world. Roughly 65 percent of the world's colored gems, such as emeralds and sapphires, come from Brazil.

　　Brazil's flower-shaped flake tourmaline stone, a combination of grape-red tourmaline and white dolomite, will be displayed at this year's event.

　　Other world-class treasures on display will include the world's largest natural float copper specimen from the United States. The specimen weighs 26 tons and is shaped like the map of China. China's largest sapphire, which comes from the 5,000-meter-high Xuebaoding Mountain in Pingwu county, Sichuan province, will also feature at this year's event.

　　Qu Hai, mayor of Chenzhou, said the Chenzhou International Conference and Exhibition Center will be the expo's headquarters this year, and there will be a further three exhibition venues: the World Nonferrous Metals Museum in the high-tech industry park, Chenzhou Shizhuyuan Mineral Crystal Museum and Chenzhou Geological Resources Museum.

　　There will 2,300 standard booths in eight exhibition zones, which will include the fine mineral crystal zone, the fossil and meteorites zone and the fine gemstone zone.

　　According to the organizers, the success of last year's event meant that all booths for this year's expo were booked by March.

　　More than 80 international clients from over 40 countries booked more than 500 booths, an increase of nearly 300 booths from last year's event.

　　Clients from the Chinese mainland booked more than 800 booths while exhibitors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan booked more than 200 booths. An additional 800 booths will be used for displaying gemstones and minerals, as well as science education displays.

　　Economic pillar

　　The nonferrous metals industry is an important economic sector in Chenzhou. The city currently has more than 130 gem processing firms, and is home to a number of master craftsmen that are known both provincially and nationally.

　　There are now 240,000 people working in the mineral and gem-related fields. Sales revenue from the gemstone industry is now about 3 billion yuan a year, and it is estimated that the city now has mineral resources totaling more than 600 billion yuan.

　　Thanks to the recent discovery of large jade deposits - as well as the growing success of the China (Hunan) Mineral& Gem Show - Chenzhou is gradually beginning to reveal its mineral riches to the public.

　　The local government has prioritized the development of the gemstone industry and is almost ready to unveil an e-commerce platform, which will facilitate gem and mineral transactions at the expo. The online platform will formally open on Thursday.

　　"Based on our abundant natural resources and industrial foundation, we have introduced a series of detailed policies and measures to promote the transformation and further development of the nonferrous metals industry," said Chenzhou's Party chief Yi Pengfei.

　　Yi said the city aims to achieve sales revenue of 30 billion yuan for the gemstone industry by 2020.

　　Contact the writers through wanghongyi@chinadaily.com.cn

　　World Nonferrous Metals Museum

　　The World Nonferrous Metals Museum in Chenzhou is an underground high-tech museum located in an ecological park.

　　The museum covers 21,176 square meters and includes an underground section of 10,616 square meters.

　　The museum has a series of exhibition and entertainment venues, such as the Chenzhou Hall, halls for silver, bismuth and tungsten, as well as a 5-D cinema, and an entertainment venue called "Geocentric Adventure". Visitors can come to these venues to learn how nonferrous metals are formed, mined, smelted and processed through a range of displays and video presentations.