The 14th China (Hunan) International Mineral & Gem Expo (CMGE) concluded in Chenzhou on May 19. The five-day exhibition has achieved fruitful outcomes. It was participated by 612 exhibitors from more than 20 countries and regions, including 72 overseas exhibitors; achieved a total transaction value of 2.415 billion CNY; and, received 260,000 visits.

CMGE has been permanently located in Chenzhou since its third session in 2015, attracting a cumulative total of over 1,200 companies from more than 60 countries and regions to participate. How can an inland city host a large-scale international exhibition for 12 consecutive years and keep it increasingly popular? The answer could be found at the expo site.

Confidence Originates from Abundant Treasures Buried Deep in the Earth

In this year's 60,000-square-meter exhibition hall, there are four major exhibition areas for mineral crystal fossils and meteorites, colored gemstones, handicrafts, and ornamental stones, with 1,200 international standard booths. Several globally renowned collectors brought out their prized treasures, such as a 1,986-gram native gold in the shape of an "Empress", tourmaline from Russia, emeralds from Zambia, aquamarine from Pakistan, and vanadinite from Morocco. Various mineral crystals sparkled with dazzling brilliance under the spotlight. Chenzhou residents crowded around the display cases, taking photos and expressing their pride — "So proud to visit this grand event at my doorstep."
 
This pride comes from the treasure troves buried deep in the earth. Chenzhou has 112 identified mineral types, and its reserves of tungsten, bismuth, tin, fluorite, and other minerals rank among the top globally, earning it the title "World Museum of Non-ferrous Metals." This irreplaceable resource endowment allows Chenzhou to secure a permanent seat as the host of such a world-class mineral event.

Simply moving stones from the mine to the display case would exhaust people's interest within twelve years. Yet, over the years, gradual change has occurred quietly as people have come to see the exhibitions year after year.

The world's top mineral crystal specimens, the most cutting-edge carving techniques, and the most creative exhibition methods gathered at the expo, allowing local Chenzhou enterprises to "see" up close that the value of an ore can multiply dozens or even hundreds of times after scientific extraction, meticulous restoration, and artistic presentation. The expo is a mirror, reflecting the gaps and pointing out the direction which should shift from selling raw materials to promoting products, experience, and brands.

Today, Chenzhou has more than 330 mineral and gem-related enterprises, with 100,000 people working in the industry. A complete chain extending from extraction, processing, and design to sales and display has taken shape.

Vitality Stems from Enjoyable and Adventurous Innovations

If the resource endowment is the "root" of CMGE, the continuous stream of enjoyable innovation provides "nutrient" for its flourishing growth.

The most "eye-catching" exhibition area this year was the dinosaur-themed area in Hall A on the second floor, where a number of rare exhibits were displayed, including a 39.8-meter-long and 15.9-meter-high dinosaur skeleton, the world's only fossil of an amber-preserved enantiornithine bird, and amber ammonite fossils. This year's exhibition theme—"Dinosaurs Soaring into the Blue Sky"—originates from a fourth-grade Chinese textbook passage published by the People's Education Press, authored by Xu Xing, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. During the exhibition, academicians Xu Xing and Zhou Zhonghe gave science popularization lectures on campus, and held a seminar on the integrated development of fossil preservation and cultural tourism industries. In addition, a "Little Geologists" educational experience activity was also organized for youth and children.

Lu Jianhua, deputy director of the China Fossil Preservation Foundation (CFPF) noted that professionalism is the foundation for CMGE's continuous operation. However, how to make science popularization truly reach the public is a question the team has been mulling over repeatedly.

Therefore, the dinosaur-themed exhibition area did not use the traditional fossil display model. Instead, it centered on the dragon-to-bird evolution, linking dinosaur skeletons, amber fossils, and mineral specimens into a complete storyline. Visitors no longer just glanced at "stones" in a cursory manner, but "read nature" along the evolutionary sequence in an immersive manner.

Just as the themes of the past sessions—from the third session's "Year of the Mineral Crystal Capital" to the thirteenth session's "Pick a Star for You," various old photos and representative specimens have been carefully arranged into a "Time Corridor." This solemn retrospection on history conveys a clear signal: Chenzhou is not merely running an exhibition but managing a brand and a cause, crafting a "hot economy" from "cold stones."

Openness Based on Precise Shaping of a "City Calling Card"

This year's expo introduced three innovative service models—"Expo + Warehousing," "Expo + Logistics," and "Expo + Finance," smoothing the "last mile" from transportation to transactions and making it more convenient and worry‑free for overseas exhibitors to participate. A gemstone merchant from Pakistan said in fluent Chinese, "This is my 14th time attending the CMGE. Chenzhou's platform is becoming increasingly mature, and its customer base is growing wider."

From participation to cooperation, Chenzhou's international "circle of friends" is expanding, with interactions growing deeper by the day. An exhibitor from Tanzania came to the CMGE for the first time and set up just one booth to give a shot. Just a few days after the expo opening, most of her exhibits had been preordered. She smiled and said, "I will come again next year, and I'll expand to three booths"!

Over the past 12 years, Chenzhou has gradually transformed CMGE from an introduced exhibition into its own city brand, placing it alongside the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show in the U.S. and the Munich Show in Germany as one of the world's top three mineral and gem exhibitions. Using the expo as a bridge, Chenzhou has also established friendship-city relations with several major mineral and gem hubs, including Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines in France and Tucson in the U.S.

Global resources are converging here at an accelerated pace. During this year's expo, an Omani investment company and the CMGE organizing committee, as well as an Omani business services company and a Hunan mineral and gem art gallery, reached cooperation memoranda, expressing intentions to deepen collaboration in areas such as meteorite research and cultural tourism development. Meanwhile, an overseas Chinese business delegation conducted indepth visits to Zixing, Guiyang, and other areas, to connect and mobilize resources both at home and abroad. The CMGE organizing committee also planned and launched several themed cultural tourism routes, linking together the Danxia landform of Feitian Mountain, the lucid waters and lush mountains at the Dongjiang Lake, the industrial and mining heritage of Baoshan Mine Park, and the Shizhuyuan nonferrous metal mines, offering a combined package of "Visit CMGE, admire mineral crystals, and tour Chenzhou."

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.  

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn