China Pearls and Jewellery City opens in Zhuji

[jshepherd]

23/04/2008

The Man Sang Group in Hong Kong has officially opened Phase one of China Pearls and Jewellery City (CP&J City) in Zhuji in Zhejiang Province - the centre for freshwater pearl trading in China.

A 55-percent owned investment and development project of the company, CP&J Cityis expected to become a multi-functional platform for pearl and jewellery trading and the largest pearl and jewellery tourist attraction in the country, stated Man Sang.

"The Group expects to leverage Zhuji's position in the world's freshwater pearl manufacturing and trading industry to build the CP&J City brand and to develop the project into a leading global pearl and jewellery trading platform, thereby strengthening China's status in the international pearl and jewellery market," said Ricky Cheng, chairman of Man Sang at the opening ceremony.

After the ceremony, CP&J City signed a strategic partnership cooperative memorandum of understanding with the Gemological Institute of America to strengthen cooperation between the two parties and to foster the development of CP&J City and China's jewellery industry.

Jointly developed by Man Sang, the Zhuji Municipal Government and six pearl companies in the mainland, Phase one of the CP&J City houses around 2,380 shops and booths in an area of 160,000 square metres. The whole project is expected to accommodate over 5,000 shops and booths to become a platform offering one-stop service including manufacturing, processing, exhibition and sales solutions to the trading of pearls, gemstones, jewellery, manufacturing equipment et al. Plans for an e-business platform and a supportive platform offering import and export services, international finance and professional insurance services and logistic services are underway, while training courses on gems and jewellery certification, pearl cultivation and jewellery design will be introduced at a later stage, the company said.

 

[pearlescence]

Are they planning package holidays?
Would I ever want to leave?

 

[Caitlin]

Think they will sell to individuals online? That would answer a crying need.

 

[Heidi]

This is very interesting - and positive.

 

[Raisondetre]

Oh man, if they had pearls and gemstones including jadeite I'm going to bypass Guangzhou altogether ... Shanghai and Zhejiang will take care of all my clothing and jewellery needs ...

 

[Nerida]

Might just get there next week...

 

[sspearl]

welcome to all the people who want come to visited zhuji city ,pearl marketing.
thry are the ideal place purchaseing fw pearl.

 

[Amrita]

Hi all! Just thought I'd add a few pictures of the Zhuji Pearls City here. It is HUGE! Right now, there are many shops that are not open yet. But there are quite a few that are already open. I actually quite liked the "old" market with the open atrium pavillion on the ground floor. This one is really impressive with it's huge area and shiny wide floor space plus hundreds of shops, dealing with pearls and pearl jewelry. Still, the feel is of a market place still quite new and unused. Some shops were being readied for business, while many were shuttered.
Anyway, here are some pictures Enjoy!

 

[Amrita]

Just one more of one of the entrances, to give you an idea of the length of the corridor. The gentleman cleaning the floor politely moved to the side to let me have a clear view!

 

[Nerida]

I love the Chinese! (the man moving aside). Amrita, I am still "tossing up" whether to visit after the HK show - what do you think? I hadn't ever visited the old market, just Weitang.. do you think it is worth it?
Thanks for your thoughts!

PS - did you buy much?

 

[pearlescence]

Not many people shopping there...? Why has this huge mall/market been made? Is it for Chinese to buy pearls or just for tourists? Or what? It is okay if you don't know, but I am curious

 

[jerin]

Amria,

thanks for the pics, very interesting but I also would like to know for what clientele this huge center has been made. Could you see the cost for high quality pearls?

 

[Amrita]

Not many people shopping there...? Why has this huge mall/market been made? Is it for Chinese to buy pearls or just for tourists? Or what? It is okay if you don't know, but I am curious

Yes, there didn't seem to be many outsiders there other than us (me and my dear husband). It was curiosly quite empty, which partly may be due to the fact that our visit timing coincided with the preparatory fortnight before the HK Expo. Some factory owners are operating from their factory premises rather than opening a shop in this market as I think the rentals are rather steep.

I think the idea behind this market is to bring as many pearl people here as possible (both local and overseas) - a sort of one stop selling-buying center near the source, rather than going to HK etc. I did feel that the development of this idea will take some time yet. Mostly it is the connectivity of this place that still needs to be improved as also the infrastructure viz., hotels, restaurants, transportation etc.

Zhuji also serves as the wholesale source for other FW pearl markets in China viz., Shanghai and Beijing, and one can usually find the pearl business people from these parts here too.

Not sure if this answer helps, but here it is for it is worth, Wendy!

 

[Amrita]

I love the Chinese! (the man moving aside). Amrita, I am still "tossing up" whether to visit after the HK show - what do you think? I hadn't ever visited the old market, just Weitang.. do you think it is worth it?
Thanks for your thoughts!

PS - did you buy much?

Hi Nerida! It depends on what the purpose of your visit is. If you are going to be in HK, then you would have got all the pearls that you need there, and the best quality ones too. However, it is good to visit if you want to get a feel of the place, visit a factory or two (to see the process if interested as in photos below), and see the major market which is being called the largest FW pearl wholesale market in the world. You might even find some good deals in Zhuji while you are at it!

I did buy some pearls but from the factory that we have set up a cooperation with. From the market, I just got a few little trinkets . A woman needs to have some pearls of her own

 

[Amrita]

Amria,

thanks for the pics, very interesting but I also would like to know for what clientele this huge center has been made. Could you see the cost for high quality pearls?

Hi Jerin! I answered the clientele question in my answer to Wendy above. But would just like to add that the stores of the big pearl companies like Tear of Angel were done up to definitely lure the moneyed foreign buyers (see photo below).

I saw many prices but I know for sure that they are all negotiable, so I am not going to list them here. Some of the listed prices were pretty preposterous actually! I like to go straight to the factory that we cooperate with and do a sit-down negotiation.

 

[Nerida]

Thanks Amrita - I'm still not sure if I will go up or not - I will probably go to Shanghai from HK, so it depends a bit on what I've already bought... I have a reasonable amount of time up my sleeve!

 

[Sueki]

That's one impressive shopping centre....
Thanks for the photos. Amrita.
Nerida, if you do decide to go, do please let us know how you fare.

 

[Raisondetre]

Looks like it's another of those huge wholesale malls China seems to have ... there are similar ones for clothes and jewellery especially in Guangzhou and Yiwu, not all of them with good business. I do agree with the comment about connectivity and infrastructure. It's kinda in the middle of nowhere since China is so huge. Yiwu had fantastic 5-star restaurants and hotels, but the traffic and city management was awful I wouldn't ever go back there. I'd be interested to see if they eventually sell even jadeite and other gemstones that are traditionally valued. I was only going to Weitang next April, might wait and see if this is worth going to since I'll be making a special trip. Gotta work out how to cart the luggage from Shanghai to Suzhou and then Zhuji though. Yiwu really put me off since I had blood blisters on my hands from transferring luggage on and off the train. The ramps at the train station were awful!

 

[Nerida]

Raisondetre - I often leave luggage in the larger hotel I've stayed in in big cities if I'm doing a side trip. They are usually happy to store it, even if you are not staying there on your return...

 

[Doug (Integrity Pearls)]

I agree with Amrita - it will take some time before this ambitious new market becomes a mecca for outsiders; though ultimately, it may significantly impact the global freshwater pearl trade. It has a LONG way to go to catch up to Yiwu (another awesome place, if you are sourcing large volumes of small manufactured goods). At the moment, the cavernous new building is relatively empty, and many of the vendors that are there are complaining about the increase in operational costs. The new mega-market is not in Zhuji City proper, but another half-hour drive to Shanxiahu - Pearl City - out in the middle of nowhere.

Shanxiahu has nothing but pearls, though a few vendors have brought in semi-precious stones and other items. Shopping definitely does NOT favor small purchases, like a strand of this and a strand of that. Be prepared to buy by hanks and kilos, though smaller quantities of higher-end pearls are possible. And the asking prices, if you walk in off the street, will leave you wondering if you came to the wrong place. The very best pearls, as I understand it, are usually shipped off to Hong Kong or wherever they fetch higher prices... so you may have a hard time finding them unless you go hunting around the town, with a fistful of cash. Many of the local vendors have generally not learned what foreigners expect, and still don't realize outrageous markups and outright rip-offs are not good for long-term business.

There is one excellent hotel - the Hailiang Garden Hotel - but it is way out of town also. The only hotels within walking distance of the market are not at all desirable for the average foreigner (though I'm sure this will change). Don't expect to find any Western food. And be sure to have a completely trustworthy translator/guide who also knows pearls. (Virtually nobody speaks English).

Other than that, it's an awesome place! I usually go there by flying into Hangzhou and hiring a car (or getting picked up) to take me directly from the airport to Shanxiahu (about 90 minutes). You might want to visit just for the day. You may come away with just a few good deals (and you may not), but you will see pearls and pearl businesses from one horizon to the other, and that in itself makes the trip worthwhile!

Or wait just a few more years. The Chinese have a way of transforming situations (even entire cities) fast, when there is lots of money to be made!