As early as four thousands years ago, Chinese people found a kind of delicate gem which is soft and brilliant when searching for food in ocean. This delicate gem is pearl. From then on, countless pearl jewelries and artworks have been created by Chinese people. And gradually pearl became one of the important parts in Chinese culture. Here we list four most famous pearl origins in China to help you know more about Chinese pearls.
Leizhou, Guangdong Province
Leizhou is situated in the middle of the Leizhou Peninsula of Guangdong Province. It has abundance of the ocean resource, which has many different varieties of fish, snails, shells, clam shells and so on. Pearl is one of the ocean special products.
Leizhou is an important producing area for Chinese “South Sea Pearl” with a long history and far and wide known reputation. The development of Southern pearl can be traced back to the Han Dynasty. With the advance of technology and the social development Leizhou people began to culture pearls in new ways, including sea pearls, freshwater pearls. The “pearl village” Liusa Village boasts 2541 pearl farms covering an area of 2300 mu. The pearl output in this village accounts for 1/2 of the total pearl output of China. And it is the richest village in Leizhou City.
Hepu, Guangxi Province
Hepu is situated in the south part of Guangxi Province as a coastal city. From ancient times, Hepu pearl has been very famous. Hepu pearl fishing started in Zhou Dynasty. Before Hang Dynasty, Hepu pearl fishing had been very prosperous.
Hepu owns three treasures: pearl, manatee and Dongyuan Wine. The first treasure is pearl. The pearls you find in the Palace Museum in Beijing are mainly Hepu pearls. The thousands pearls inlayed in the crown of Empress Dowager Cixi are also Hepu pearls.
Hepu pearl and Hepu ecological pearl are also named south sea peal, white dragon pearl. These pearls are fine, round, bright and clear with long last sheen. Ocean pearls can be found in many places, but the pearls in Baihai and Hepu are of the highest grade.
Shanxiahu in Zhuji City, Zhejiang Province
Shanxiahu, well-known as the “Capital of Chinese Pearl”, is located in the northwestern part of Zhuji City in Zhejiang Province. It boasts the largest pearl distributing center, pearl trading market, and pearl fishing base.
The leading products in Shanxiahu are fresh water pearl, south sea pearl, black pearl and so on.
Wetang Township in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province
Weitang, the hometown of pearl, is located in Suzhou city of Jiangsu Province. It is the birthplace of the fresh water pearls in China and established the first pearl trading market.
Weitang has network of water ways with limpid water. It is very fit for pearl fishing. In 1965, artificial culture pearl achieved success in Weitang and wild speared in the town. Since then, Weitang is regarded as the birthplace of fresh water pearl. In 1984, Wetang established the first pearl trading market in China---He Jia Wan Pearl Market. Later in 1995, the market changed into “Chinese Pearl City” which attracted Jewelry merchants from both domestic and aboard. And later it became the pearl and jewelry city. In recent years, Weitang extends its business in pearl travel industry. The Pearl Lake Park is very beautiful and draws many visitors every year.
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