The jade markets of China

Carvers and merchants are busy in the months following Spring Festival scouring the markets for pebbles, boulders and slabs of jade to carve. Thousands of tons of uncut nephrite and jadeite can be found for sale all over China.

The main markets for jadeite are in the south in the provinces of Guangdong and Yunnan. The main markets for nephrite are further north. There is some crossover. Both nephrite and jadeite can be found in the markets of Jieyang in Guangdong and also at the Temple of the Stone Buddha in Henan province.

Those who buy in bulk get a significant discount on the price. A merchant or jade factory owner who buys by the ton or in amounts above a hundred kilos will get stone at a third of the price of a humble carver such as myself who buys by the kilo. Learn more about jade at www.jadefiend.com