Activate jade culture, rise of jade industry in Xinjiang

The mountains of Kunlun Mountain are vast and vast; the Yulong River and the Meteorites have no light; the millennia have been tempered and the earth is warm and well-kept. Xinjiang, known as the hometown of jade, is famous for Hetian Suzhiyu as early as before the “Silk Road” was formed. There are thousands of hardships and thousands of dangers for the road to seek treasures. However, in history, there are jade-free carvings in Xinjiang, and the output of raw materials is the main one. The jade culture industry is not developed. And now this situation is rapidly changing.

From "Yuewuwu" to the 36-year-old Uygur jade carving teacher Abu Likmu seriously sat in the classroom listening to the masters lectures, and still remember something in the notebook from time to time. “I want to be the first Uygur jade carving master in Xinjiang.” From Aborigin, he came to Urumqi to participate in Hetian jade jade carving and appreciation of advanced seminars, Abu Likmu is about to declare jade carving division intermediate title.

“Everybody thought we only had jade in Xinjiang. Everybody just sold the original stone. In fact, we also have a very good jade carving process!” Alibokmu, who has been engaged in jade carving for nine years, opened a personal studio in Hotan five years ago. Today, his studio has 17 employees, of whom 11 are from Guangdong and other places, and the other 6 are local Uighur youth.

Afrok wood originally studied jade only to make a living, but now he has ideals. He hopes to go further and more exciting on the road of jade carving and become the first Uygur jade carving master in the history of Xinjiang. "After listening to the lectures of jade carving masters and jade experts, I have a deeper understanding of the Hetian jade culture and jade materials. I will redouble my efforts to achieve my dream."

In the autumn of 2015, in the sixth “Chinese jade carving masters” selection activity, two jade carving masters in Xinjiang were awarded the title of national jade carving masters. So far, Xinjiang has 11 national jade carving masters, 41 Xinjiang jade carving masters and nearly 100 jade carving craftsmen. In the past, Xinjiang, with jade and no carving, became a new force in the domestic jade carving industry.

Li Zechang, executive vice president of the Xinjiang Jewelry & Jewellery Industry Association, said that in recent years, a group of outstanding local youth jade carving masters have emerged in Xinjiang and have repeatedly won awards at major domestic events and have been awarded various honorary titles. Under the efforts of the old and middle-aged generation of jade carving people, Xinjiang jade carving industry has gradually formed a team of professional jade carving talents, which has a place in the national jade carving industry.

In fact, since the “Chinese jade carving masters” of the China Jewellery and Gemstone Jewelry Industry Association opened in 2004, each selection will include Xinjiang jade carving masters among the ranks of national masters, and jade carving masters will become national judges. On the basis of inheriting traditions, the Xinjiang jade carving industry has gradually established and cultivated schools of jade carving with distinctive local characteristics and rich ethnic style.

Today, Xinjiang has gradually become the raw material supply base for Hetian jade, and is the Hetian jade processing base and product distribution center. The jade carving industry has developed by leaps and bounds into a vibrant industry with a certain strength. Jade carving products have become a famous tourist souvenir in Xinjiang. Xinjiang also developed from pure jade raw material production base into jade raw material processing base and jade trading center.

Jade into Xinjiang E-commerce sales "protagonist"

At the beginning of 2015, the 2014 Xinjiang Internet Business Development Research Report jointly completed by the Xinjiang University and the Alibaba Research Institute was released. The annual sales of the Xinjiang internet business in 2014 is expected to exceed 3 billion yuan, an increase of over 1 billion yuan over the previous year. For the first time, jade has exceeded red dates and walnuts to become the most popular Xinjiang product on the Internet.

The report’s moderator and professor Chen Bing of Xinjiang University’s School of Economics and Management said that the rapid increase in sales of jade is mainly due to Xinjiang’s Hetian’s higher status in the hearts of consumers in the Mainland, and the relatively high price of jade, which drives overall sales. After years of development, jade network operators have accumulated a certain customer base.

After 85, the young man Fan Jian was such a mature jade network operator. In May 2014, he moved his physical jade shop to Taobao and set up an experience shop online. Fan Yu’s company website also has columns such as Yuyou Prefecture, Meiyu Forum, jade culture, and jade collection to communicate with consumers at any time.

“Many of the old customers who used to visit the store to shop are now ordering our jade through the Internet. The jade friends can also exchange ideas and discussions. In the “Internet+” era, the number of Hetian jade stores is no longer the key. Supply is the key.” Fan said that he cooperated with several jade mines to expand the source of jade wholesale, and established a partnership with dozens of Chinese arts and crafts masters and Chinese jade carving masters to design and produce. Chain complete new marketing model.

Li Zhongzhi, Secretary-General of the Xinjiang Jade Jewelry Industry Association, told reporters that although in the past two years, Xinjiang jade market physical store business is relatively deserted, online shopping is booming. Currently, only Urumqi City has a large number of jade e-commerce companies, some of them E-commerce sales have passed 100 million yuan. With the popularization of Hetian jade culture and the popularity of the Internet, it has become a mainstream trend for young people to understand and purchase Hetian jade through the e-commerce platform.

At the same time, in order to change the phenomenon of jade in the network sales, the “Hinton Hetian Jade Museum”, a Taobao shop supported by “Member Merchants” of the Xinjiang Jewellery & Gemstone Jewelry Association, has opened its doors and all merchants have been audited. , On-line products also have strict quality inspection, each product has an above provincial-level identification certificate. "In order to maintain the brand of jade on the network in Xinjiang, it is a general trend for jade merchants to enter into the e-commerce market," said Li Zhongzhi.

Activate jade culture, strengthen the jade industry Xinjiang Hetian jade jade culture has a long history, has thousands of years of history, the Imperial Palace collection of jade, more than 90% are Xinjiang Hetian jade. The profound Xinjiang jade culture has gradually become industrialized in recent years. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently more than 8,000 enterprises engaged in jade production, processing, and sales in Xinjiang; among them, jade carving processing enterprises have reached more than 400.

In 2004, the Hetian Jade Cultural Tourism Festival was founded in Hetian, Xinjiang. In this year's Hetian Jade Culture and Tourism Festival, Hetian Prefectural Party Committee Yan Guocan said that Hetian jade has become an important carrier for promoting local social and economic development.

It is understood that Hetian will vigorously tap the Hetian jade cultural resources, enhance the Hetian jade cultural brand, build a jade park mainly with “Hetian jade”, and provide a Hetian jade seed material excavation experience area on the Yulong Kash River to allow visitors to experience digging Jade fun; Planning jade mines to explore tourism routes, so that the adventurous spirit of Hetian jade lovers personally to the elevation of four or five kilometers in the mining point to observe Hetian jade mining process.

In 2004, in order to promote the development of the jade carving industry in Xinjiang, a “National Stone Cup” jade carving boutique exhibition for the communication of jade carving artists emerged at the historic moment. This is the only special award event in China that focuses on Hetian jade carvings. .

Ma Jingui, a national jade sculpture master who has been serving as the judging panel, told reporters that he has held 12 sessions of the “National Stone Cup” exhibition. He not only reviewed the overall level of jade carving artists in Xinjiang, but also displayed the exquisite jade carving skills in Xinjiang, and also attracted the people all over the country. Jade carving artists participate in the competition. Among them, the outstanding works were also directly recommended for the selection of the highest award of Chinese jade carving, the Tiangong Award.

In 2014, Xinjiang Hetian Jade Cultural and Creative Industrial Park officially opened. The 8,000-square-meter industrial park includes the Xinjiang Vocational University Hetian Jade Sculpture Cultural Institute, the National Jade Master Studio, the Baigongfang, the Industrial Processing Center, and the Art Exhibition Hall. It is a multicultural business that integrates cultural innovation, education and training, cultural exhibitions, and Hetian. Jade processing, tourism and shopping as one of the Hetian jade culture, education, jade carving industrial park.

After more than one year of operation, Xinjiang Hetian jade cultural and creative industrial park has become the industrial highland of Hetian jade talent training training, cultural heritage research, brand innovation and development.

According to Qian Zhenfeng, the secretary-general of China Hottie Market Information Association and the vice president of the Shanghai Baoyu Stone Industry Association, at present, in order to make the Hetian jade industry a cultural business card of Xinjiang, it is necessary to create tourism activities with the theme of jade culture and build China. Hetian Jade Museum, established a comprehensive supporting industrial chain of Hetian jade brand, raw materials, processing, customization, display, sales, appraisal, evaluation, trading, auction, pawn, insurance, crowdfunding, and art finance, and comprehensively upgraded jade culture. industry.

“The most difficult thing to do is to take jade, the three rivers and five lakes, to the mountains of the Kunlun Mountains, thousands of people to return, one hundred people back ...” The resource advantages of the rare Xinjiang Hetian jade are gradually transformed into economic advantages and cultural advantages, become the Xinjiang economy, people’s livelihood, and culture The construction of an important carrier and grasping hand.