CHINA MINERAL HUB
China's Mineral Renaissance
How Chinese crystals went from mine waste to museum treasures in forty years — the story of China's rise as the world's most exciting mineral source.
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Page 6 of 7 · 63 guides total.
GEOLOGY
Why China Produces So Many World-Class Mineral Specimens: The Geology
Colliding plates, ancient magmas and hydrothermal veins — the geological reasons China yields more fine mineral specimens than almost anywhere on Earth.
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MINING HISTORY
Five Thousand Years Underground: A Short History of Mining in China
From Neolithic coal carvings and Bronze Age copper mines to the specimen boom of today — the remarkable story of Chinese mining across five millennia.
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CULTURE
Viewing Stones and Crystal Treasures: Two Ways of Loving Stone
China's 2,000-year viewing-stone tradition meets Western crystal collecting. How two cultures learned to appreciate each other's way of seeing stone.
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BUYING GUIDE
What Makes a Mineral Specimen Great? A Collector's Guide to Quality
Color, luster, form, damage, treatments — the criteria collectors and museums actually use to judge mineral specimen quality, explained in plain language.
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PROVINCE GUIDE
Hunan Province: The Beating Heart of Chinese Mineral Collecting
Hunan is China's mineral heartland: Yaogangxian and Shangbao fluorite, Xikuangshan stibnite, Shimen realgar. The complete collector's guide to Hunan localities.
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PROVINCE GUIDE
Inner Mongolia and the Huanggang Phenomenon
The Huanggang mines of Inner Mongolia produce pink fluorite, ilvaite, arsenopyrite and gem sphalerite — the first 'Internet-age' Chinese locality, explained.
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PROVINCE GUIDE
Sichuan Province: Scheelite Orange and Aquamarine Blue
Mount Xuebaoding's orange scheelite, aquamarine and cassiterite made Sichuan famous. A collector's guide to Pingwu, Ganzizhou gold and more.
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PROVINCE GUIDE
Guangxi: Green Fire in the Karst Country
Guangxi's karst country produces the world's best pyromorphite at Daoping, plus Wutong rhodochrosite and famous calcite heart twins. Full collector's guide.
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