Beijing Jade Article Factory Sale Hall — Attraction in Beijing

Chinese jade refers to the jade mined or carved in China from the Neolithic onward. It is the primary hardstone of Chinese sculpture. Although deep and bright green jadeite is better known in Europe, for most of China's history, jade has come in a variety of colors and white "mutton-fat" nephrite was the most highly praised and prized. Native sources in Henan and along the Yangtze were exploited since prehistoric times and have largely been exhausted; most Chinese jade today is extracted from the northwestern province of Xinjiang.

Jade was prized for its hardness, durability, musical qualities, and beauty.[1] In particular, its subtle, translucent colors and protective qualities[1] caused it to become associated with Chinese conceptions of the soul and immortality.[2] With gold, it was considered to be a symbol of heaven.[3] The most prominent early use was the crafting of the Six Ritual Jades, found since the 3rd-millennium bc Liangzhu culture:[4] the bi, the cong, the huang, the hu, the gui, and the zhang.[5] Since the meanings of these shapes were not mentioned prior to the eastern Zhou dynasty, by the time of the composition of the Rites of Zhou, they were thought to represent the sky, the earth, and the four directions.[6] By the Han dynasty, the royal family and prominent lords were buried entirely ensheathed in jade burial suits sewn in gold thread, on the idea that it would preserve the body and the souls attached to it. Jade was also thought to combat fatigue in the living.[1] The Han also greatly improved prior artistic treatment of jade.[7]

These uses gave way after the Three Kingdoms period to Buddhist practices and new developments in Taoism such as alchemy. Nonetheless, jade remained part of traditional Chinese medicine and an important artistic medium. Although its use never became widespread in Japan, jade became important to the art of Korea and...

Beijing Shopping Tours

Beijing is a fantastic shopping destination with some of the world’s lowest prices on high-quality items such as jade, silk, and cloisonne', as well as just about anything else that you can think of. Everything is made in China, after all! Many tour companies in China will take you on mandatory “shopping” stops to low-quality, overcrowded and dirty shopping shops, but Beijing Discovery Tours will only take you upon your request to the best traditional shopping venues that Beijing has to offer. Three of the most interesting places to visit are the jade carving exhibition, the silk manufacturing exhibition center, and the cloisonne’ art factory. But the price of jade is...

Huge amount of jade - jewellery, statues, vessels etc - at prices ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. The workmanship is good by modern standards, but if you're a jade snob... save your cash for the antiques markets in Beijing, where the articles are even more expensive but truly exquisite. Just listen carefully when your guide tells you how to...