After the Jade rush: China's imperiled soul

HOTAN, China — Prospectors line the banks of the Yulong Kashgar River overturning boulders, boring into banks and panning pebbles in a scene out of the California Gold Rush.

The object of their desire on this arid outpost in far western China is not gold, however, but jade, which holds a near-mystical grip on the world's oldest civilization.

"Gold is valuable," goes a Chinese proverb. "Jade is invaluable."

And these treasure-hunters aren't looking for just any jade. Hotan has gained a centuries-long reputation for producing some of China's highest-quality stones.

But as growing numbers of jade hunters comb this washed-out riverbed and surrounding mountains, some experts worry that China is losing a piece of its soul.

The problem isn't so much with small-time freelancers such as Umerjan, 33, who said he has worked his homemade pick and sieve every day for the past two years without a major find. "I really want to hit that lucky strike," said Umerjan, who gave only his first name. "So far it's nothing but small pieces."

It's more the heavy-equipment users who tear scars in the earth, upsetting nature's balance and threatening to deplete a resource that has brought joy to generations. Earlier this year, authorities instituted rules that revoked all outstanding licenses and made commercial excavation along the river illegal.

But bulldozers and other excavators continue to work the terrain early in the morning or late in the evening, residents say, without much interference from local officials.

"Hotan jade isn't like coal or oil — it's a very special resource that's been with us for thousands of years," said Wang Shiqi, a geology professor and jade specialist at Beijing University. "If we continue unlimited exploitation, we're in danger of irreparably damaging Chinese culture."

According to state-run media, more than 80 percent of Hotan's jade has been exploited, with some reports suggesting the supply could be depleted within three to five years. As many as 20,000 treasure seekers and 2,000 pieces of heavy equipment are said to be working the area, they say, leaving gashes in the ground as deep as 30 feet.

The grip that these rocks have on the Chinese psyche, in all their shades of red, green, white, gray, topaz and black, is deep and dates to prehistoric times. Hotan jade is particularly famous for its large pieces and its white sheen.

One Hotan piece, a sort of Hope Diamond of the jade world, weighs 11,795 pounds and is carved to depict an ancient emperor leading flood-control efforts. It now resides in the Forbidden City.

Archaeologists have found jade items from 5,000 years ago, while written reference to Hotan's treasures go back at least 2,000 years. Some sources say the Jade Road has a far longer history than its more famous cousin, the Silk Road, with Hotan a crossroads for jade traders linking Mediterranean buyers with eastern Chinese sellers.

Generations of Chinese emperors received Hotan treasures as tribute, adding to its reputation as an embodiment of Chinese culture and civilization. For many Chinese, however, the mineral goes beyond a mere collectible. Confucius identified 11 jade virtues as a model for human behavior, while its famed purity is a metaphor for female virginity. "Remain as pure as jade," generations of Chinese mothers have cautioned their daughters.

China's Communist government set up several companies to exploit the riches after taking power in 1949.

As newfound wealth has transformed Chinese society in recent decades, imperial collectors have been supplanted by a new class of elites. At a high-end shop in Kashgar, jade dealer Ye Sanfei said demand is often driven by government officials, especially those from Beijing, along with a growing number of nouveau-riche entrepreneurs.

In a bribery-influenced economy, officials often prefer to receive presents rather than cash, experts say, and what better way to shower influence on gatekeepers than with a timeless gift of jade?

Hotan jade can sell for up to $120 a gram, accounting for 10 percent of the $1.2 billion annual jade trade, according to the China Precious Stone Association, a trade group.

The wares lining Ye's shop range from small pendants selling for well under $100 to a carved boulder priced at $35,000. Such amounts are the stuff of dreams for the poorly dressed diggers working along the Yulong Kashgar, or Jade Dragon, River. Many console themselves with stories of friends of friends who discovered pieces the size of fists, basketballs or watermelons.

"It's more about luck than skill," Musajan, 47, an ethnic Uighur who uses only one name, conceded as he unwrapped a plastic bag with several pieces of white, green and brown jade worth a few cents each.

Methods for these dreamers vary widely. One family of four armed with shovels and picks was digging horizontally into the riverbank, supervised by a fifth family member kibitzing from beneath a parasol. Farther along, several solo figures casually dug pits with their bare hands. Farther upstream, another team was repairing a portable diesel engine it was using to pump a gush of river water at the ground in hopes of unearthing treasure buried below.

"We small people trying our luck don't really hurt the land," said Han Ping, 63, partially submerged in a hole dug by hand. "But the big machines, which are often gone by the time I arrive in the morning, hurt the environment and even flood the village."

Behind the exploitation are skyrocketing prices over the past decade, with reports of 20-fold leaps in a few years. A white carved jade cup from the 18th century, scheduled for action by Christie's in Hong Kong in early November, is expected to fetch between $1.3 million and $1.9 million.

Dealers complain that growing demand also has inspired a trade in increasingly sophisticated counterfeits.

Then again, jade's extensive history and high value have meant an association with controversy, theft, deceit, avarice, questionable claims and ne'er-do-wells. Imperial tomb robbers have long targeted jade talismans, believed by some dynasties to ward off decomposition and ease passage to the afterlife. At various times, the mineral also has enjoyed a prominent role in witchcraft and traditional Chinese medicine.

"Jade is a cure for whatever medical problem befalls you," reads a sign in the Zhongjian Hotan Jade shop in Kashgar, a claim that customer Liu Xiaohu, 34, a supermarket owner, finds reasonable. "I believe it will cure everything," he said. "I've heard when jade touches your skin, it sucks out the poisons."

Back along the banks of the Yulong Kashgar River, the Jade God didn't seem to be blessing many treasure seekers on a recent afternoon. But some were taking it all in stride.

"Sure, I'd like to find a big strike," barefoot jade seeker Han said as she showed a few of the small stones unearthed in recent days. "But it's also just a nice way to enjoy the scenery."