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On the route to the jade showroom there is a bit of excitement when we thought we recognized the famous "pants building." We were disappointed to learn that this one was only a "pants wannabe." Nevertheless, an impressive structure. |
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is another example of the amazing number of apartments needed for the people of Beijing. This is just one "row". There are several more behind these. There are literally thousands of similar buildings in the area. |
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All the stops on our "shopping tour" are supposedly controlled by the government. The prices are "fixed" but there is ALWAYS room for bartering ;-) |
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A beautiful mural oversees display cases of exquisite jade carvings. |
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The owner (artist in residence) designs the sculptures, and these carvers produce the pieces. |
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has hundreds of large and small items on display, some in glass cases, some of the mass produced items are on shelves at the far end of the room. |
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but there are so many different colours and kinds: jadite, jade stone, etc |
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or perhaps a pair of cranes? |
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a baby dragon just hatching from its shell. |
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Yes, no photos, but no one seems to take notice. |
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Could it be a model of the ones that sailed forth to explore the world in Gavin Menzies' controversial book "1421: The Year China Discovered the World", in which he asserts that the fleets of Chinese Admiral Zheng visited the Americas prior to European explorer Christopher Columbus. |
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there is a bronze tableau of craftsmen, each working at different stages of the production for these jade sculptures. |
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Not only did we learn about jade, but we also got a lesson in Chinese salesmanship by the whole staff! |
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