万山汞矿
Guizhou, China
贵州万山汞矿历史上被称为『中国汞都』,是全国最大的汞(辰砂)矿区之一,也是白云石基质上鲜红辰砂晶体的经典产地。
The "Mercury Capital of China"
The Wanshan district near Tongren in eastern Guizhou is one of the largest mercury deposits in China, worked since antiquity for cinnabar (mercury sulfide). Mining at scale has long since wound down — the district is now preserved in part as a national mine park — but Wanshan remains a classic name for collectable cinnabar.
What Wanshan is known for
- Cinnabar — bright red crystals, twins, and crusts
- Cinnabar on white dolomite and quartz matrix
- Associated dolomite and quartz
Collector value
Sharp, deeply coloured cinnabar crystals — particularly twinned crystals and well-contrasted pieces on pale dolomite — are the most desirable. As the historic workings are no longer producing at scale, fine older specimens with documented provenance are valued accordingly.