Calm Spirit/Ying Yu Jade China 2008
We didn't waste any time going to the Sihui jade market. Within 10 hours of our arrival in Guangzhou, China, we met with our Chinese assistant, Angel, who arranged a car and driver, to go to the "Jade Capital of China". The Sihui jade market is large, several long streets on both sides of the highway. This is my favorite jade market because it is located at the source of the jade carvers, and this market has a higher quality of jade than the other jade markets. The jade stalls are on the street level, and each stall extends deep into the building where several sellers set up their counters. Above the street level you can see the buildings where the jade carvers work, carving and polishing jade, and often live there, too. In Sihui, the jade business is often a family business, while the carver's work above, a family member often sells it below. In Sihui, most of the jadeite is "A" grade, which means it hasn't been enhanced either by bleaching with acid to remove or change color, and no color is added.
Angel is a 26 year old Chinese woman who graduated from Guangzhou Foreign Studies University with her specialty being English. She is a professional assistant to business people who visit China, and often handles some of their business when they are absent. She likes jade, but never owned a jade bangle bracelet because she thought it was "too traditional" and didn't want a jade bangle like her mother's or grandmother's jade bangle.
The jade here is mostly "A" grade, but not all "A" grade is the same. There are different qualities of "A" grade jade, and some is pretty, but some is not. Since "A" grade means it's all natural, much of it is very light, uneven color, dark spots. In the past, much of this kind of jade was bleached to lighten or remove the darker colors, but now it is the trend to leave the dark colors natural, which gives jade bangle bracelets a very modern and interesting appearance. Angel and I found jade bangles with very deep, almost black, green pattern on light green, and we both fell in love with them. I bought five for the web site, and one for each of us. They were all very small, 51-55mm, and we both bought 51mm and used lotion to get them on. We might never get them off! Now we are "jade sisters". Angel was thrilled with her jade bangle, and kept looking at, saying she saw something different in it each time she played with it. This is Angel wearing her jade bangle
She's looking at jade bangles that are similar and tied into a "ring" of jade bangles that are untied so you can see each one. The seller expects to sell the entire "ring" of bangles, but they're all so similar in appearance and size, and I had to pay more to choose only a few. These are quite small, 54-56mm. The best quality of jade bangles are these smaller sizes because they use the highest quality of jade for a small bangle. When the size gets larger, so does the price.
I found a good selection of rare and cherished "lao pit" old mine jadeite that has extremely fine texture, icy cold, and high chime. They are probably the most expensive of the jadeite when the color is imperial green and translucent. However, with the jade trend being to not bleach and color enhance, I found and purchased a good quantity of the lighter color. I bought the kind that has small veins of color, and interesting subtle colorings. Almost every seller told Angel who interpreted for me that this is the kind of jade that will change as you wear it, the color will become more bright and even spread if your body qi is good. Jade qi and body qi are closely related, and if you wear jade for health and have the good fortune to purchase this kind of jade bangle, you will certainly have a treasure to wear.
We went to a "locals" restaurant for lunch, very basic food, but extremely delicious. It was quite dirty, and we asked for boiling water to wash our chopsticks, bowls, tea cup before putting food on them. There's a style of preparing meat on a hot steel plate which was our favorite, then a pork dish, rice and spinach dish. In the past, we have found the food in these non-tourist cities not very good, so we were pleasantly surprised at the quality, and no, we didn't get sick. And all for 50 rmb ($7)
Chinese schools and workers traditionally have a two hour break between 12-2 pm, and workers usually take a nap, which most were doing in their jade shops after lunch. Then the game tables came out, and snack sellers, and the streets were quite crowded with people playing games, cards, and eating during the afternoon.
We shopped and made more purchases. I found a new style of jade flowers bracelets, woven into a band that adjusts on the wrist. They were really pretty and I bought some to sell, some to keep for myself and give to the girlfriends.
Angel really enjoyed all the jade, and I was happy she purchased her first jade bangle with me, and had a good time in Sihui jade market. We talked a lot about our lives in our countries. She told me most Chinese kitchens have a propane burner, one pan for cooking, an electric rice maker and an electric water boiler. Tom laughed and commented on the three cupboards of cookware I have! Some day when I have all my kitchenware out for making a big meal, I'll take a photo and show her. She's as curious about how we live in America as I am about how Chinese people live.
Jade sisters
. Angel is so little I look big and fat next to her. The jade shops started closing because it started raining and it was the end of the day, so time to leave, but I didn't want to, and hoped to find "just one more thing".
The hotel we stayed in is Guangdong Victory Hotel, and we had a business suite in the remodeled west annex. The separate sitting area was perfect for organizing our purchases and making videos for Youtube. A Chinese and Western style breakfast was included, and they served the yogurt beverage that I think helps keep the stomach healthy when traveling. Last time we stayed at the White Swan Hotel, which cost almost twice as much, and breakfast is $30 per person, and dinner is $50 per person. But it's lovely and has a view of the Pearl River. Shamian Island is unique, it's cleaner and much quieter than Guangzhou city, and it's very "touristy" because foreigners who come to China to adopt children usually stay in either the White Swan or Guangdong Victory hotels. There's a lot of cute shops, not too overpriced, and shops to buy water/beer/snacks and other necessities. There is an "embassy row" and many foreign embassies are located on Shamian. An interesting restaurant is Lucy's American Restaurant, in the style of an American diner, that serves American favorites. They don't taste American. But they serve a delicious noodle and vegetable dish that is a favorite of mine. So noodles and a local Pearl River beer, then "shui" (sleep). Although the 12 hour time difference had us sleepy during the day, and awake at night.
Next: Guangzhou jade market, but first an ordeal at the Bank of China
Ying Yu Jade web site
Jade Bangle Bracelets web site
