A visit to the Jade Market
in Yau Ma Tai will provide an insight into something near and dear to the
heart's of Chinese people. Jade. The written character for jade means a
combination of beauty, nobility and purity. The green stone, in all its
many hues and colours is associated with long life and good health. It is
smooth and cooling to the touch. To this day some people wear a jade bracelet
- something next to the skin - to ward off all sorts of health hazards.
Grandmothers routinely buy a piece of jade for newborns.
 Located
on Kansu and Battery streets in Yau Ma Tai, the Jade Market is a collection
of around 400 stalls selling a wide range of jade pendants, rings, and
bracelets, carvings and ornaments. The market is also the main gathering
place for buyers of this fine stone who today still communicate with secret
hand signals when making a purchase.
Buying jade is really
an art. Jade is not just green but rather comes in a great variety of
colours and textures. The jade sold in Hong Kong is mostly jadeite from
Burma. In Hong Kong there are many kinds of jade from natural pieces to
ones which have been bleached and then impregnated polymers. There is
also jade which has been dyed to enhance its colour.
 Top quality jade is pure green and very expensive. Most pieces have a yellow tinge but no brown or grey should be in the finished piece. The best jadeite is semi-transparent. Opaque jadeite with cloudy patches typically has less value.
When shopping for jade, you should bring someone who knows jade.
You'll find the Jade
Market at the junction of Kansu and Battery streets. Take the MTR to Yau
Ma Tai, exit C.
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