Suiseki collection, a new trade along the Yangtze River

The Yangtze River is reputed as a provider of abundant resources, but more recently, it has also become the source of a new trade: its rare natural and collectible suiseki.
An association of rare stones in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality reports that currently over 1,000 stone rushers are found busy working along the banks of the Yangtze River in search of pebble stones with rare textures and patterns.

Chongqing Evening News reports the rush for stone collection was boosted since the price of peculiar suiseki kept growing since last year.

An association member who found a Yangtze River suiseki(or viewing stones) that looks like a jade Buddha told the paper that someone wanted to buy it at a price of 100,000 yuan (US$13,000), yet he still refused to sell it. Another rare stone with a pattern of a galloping lion has been even price-labled for three million yuan.

Besides those who dream of becoming millionaires overnight, some collectors gather stones purely for their own interests.

Statistics show the business volume of peculiar stones in Chongqing was about 800,000 yuan from January to September, ten times of the figure in the same period last year.



(CRI.cn October 23, 2007)