The pearl of the bright moon, from the river and sea, is hidden in the mussels
Recently
A pearl market with "pearl glory"
Prices are climbing and skyrocketing
Located in the northeast of Zhuji, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, Shanxia Lake Town is the world's largest freshwater pearl production and marketing center.
Since the beginning of this year, the local East China International Jewelry City, the average daily number of tourists reached 20,000, full of young people queuing for purchasing, express delivery of 450,000 orders a day, even nearby hotels, restaurants are full every day....
East China International Jewelry City is full of tourists. Photo courtesy of Yamashita Lake Town
In the first half of this year, the sales of East China International Jewelry City have exceeded 25 billion, exceeding 60% of last year's annual sales.
Many stall owners said: "Pearls have been too hot recently, the price is stronger than gold" and "you can't grab it slowly".
Pearl "King Pearl" display. Photo courtesy of Yamashita Lake Town
The history of pearls in China began in the Dayu era, as early as more than 4,000 years ago, there were records in the "Shangshu Yugong" that river mussels could produce pearls, and beads could decorate people. During the Yellow Emperor period, black mussel pearls appeared; During the Xia Yu period, South Sea pearls began to appear in tribute tributes; During the Han Dynasty, Hainan was called "Zhuya County", with Nanzhu and Dongzhu as honor.
Freshwater pearls in Lake Yamashita today
The annual output accounts for 80% of the country's total output
70% of the world's total production
Why does it work so wonderfully?
Tracing back to the roots, it all started 50 years ago...
For Yamashita Lake, pearls are a windfall.
In the sixties and seventies of the last century, businessmen from Jiangsu came to Zhuji to look for mussels that could produce pearls, and the two villagers of Shanxia Lake who led the way became the first local pearl cultivators, and were called the "first generation of pearl kings" by the villagers.
Pearl jewelry. Photo courtesy of Yamashita Lake Town
At that time, a pig out of the slaughter was three hundred catties, and one and a half catties of pearls could be worth three thousand catties of real pigs.
The secret of wealth cannot be hidden. As a result, Yamashita Lake began to set off a boom of "raising mussels and breeding pearls for all", and farmers have opened up fields and ponds for pearl farming, and almost every household has its own water surface.
By 1986, the pearl farming industry reached its first peak, with an annual output of more than 20 tons, and many villages became wealthy villages in the county with pearl farming, with an annual output of more than 1,500 kilograms of pearls and an annual output value of more than 2.5 million yuan.
East China International Jewelry City is full of tourists. Courtesy of Yamashita Lake Town
In the current Yamashita Lake, we can see consumers, sellers, and daigou from all over the country, shuttling through various shops in East China International Jewelry City every day, selecting the most popular styles and goods of the season, and even losing mobile phone signals. According to data from the Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Market Regulation, the turnover of East China International Jewelry City in the first quarter was 3.079 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 119.93%.
Exported to all continents and seas, "crazy pearls" create world coordinates
In the villages and villages of Yamashita Lake Town, the scene of pearl live selling goods is staged every day.
"Now I drive a rock sugar minibus, a group of 10 mussels for 498 yuan, and then a group will open two more mussels for you!" Facing the message on the mobile phone screen, He Zhengang, a 28-year-old villager in Xinchangle Village, replied while holding a knife to open mussels and take beads.
Villagers are doing a live broadcast of pearl mussel opening. Photo courtesy of Yamashita Lake Town
Just in February, nine young Mexicans appeared in New Changle Village, crossing halfway around the world to learn from Chinese farmers.
The pearl people in Fengjiang Village have moved their pearl cultivation bases to the Philippines, Thailand and other places to achieve global live sales.
At present, the highest daily sales of the Jewelry City live broadcast base reached 50 million yuan, the highest monthly sales exceeded 150 million yuan, and from January to May this year, the total sales of Zhuji Pearl Online reached 10.72 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.3%.
Pearl Live Sales. Photo courtesy of Yamashita Lake Town
Through offline + online digital platforms, the Shanxia Lake pearl market radiates to more than 60 countries and regions such as the United States, Japan, Russia and Southeast Asia, and the pearl "sweet potato" vine accelerates its global extension, increasingly highlighting the opening tension of the pearl market in Zhuji Shanxia Lake.
Since the beginning of this year, the total online and offline sales of Zhuji Pearl have reached 25 billion yuan, which has exceeded 60% of last year's total, truly realizing "born in a small lake in the countryside and exported to all continents and seas".
Tens of millions sold in 9 days, small pearls strung up the wealth chain
"From May 8 to May 16, in just nine days, a pearl farmer surnamed Chen in our village sold tens of millions of pearls, and there were more than 300 pearl farmers in the village, who not only raised pearls, but also sold pearls through the live broadcast room. Pearl farmers who do business in East China Jewelry City have an annual income of more than one million yuan. Speaking of the pearl business in the village, Chen Huifei, secretary of the general branch of the party in Fengjiang Village, could not hide his joy.
In recent years, farmers have continued to turn assets into resources and resources into funds. A set of data from Fengjiang Village shows the vivid practice of developing a "beautiful economy" in the local area. "Now Zhu farmers use techniques such as fish and mussel polyculture and drip irrigation to improve the quality of pearls, and also expand sales channels by opening branches and live streaming to promote common prosperity for villagers." Chen Huifei introduced, "In 2017, when I first came to become secretary, the collective assets of the village were 18.42 million yuan, and now the rough estimate is more than 80 million yuan. ”
Pearl divers. Photo courtesy of Yamashita Lake Town
It is understood that one-third of the villagers in Fengjiang Village are engaged in pearl farming, processing, live broadcast sales, design and packaging and other pearl industry chains, with a total sales value of 6.7 billion yuan in 2022.
In Shanxia Lake, not only the pearl farmers in Fengjiang Village, but also the pearl farmers in Xinchangle Village, Xinjucheng Village, Guangshan Village and other villages, with the continuous development of the pearl industry, more and more pearl farmers have gone out to the province and sea to build pearl breeding bases.
Photo courtesy of Yamashita Lake Town.
A pearl creates an industry; An industry makes a city.
Up to now, Zhuji has more than 9,000 pearl market entities of various types, including 1 listed enterprise and 2 national key leading enterprises, accounting for one-third of the top 50 innovative brands of Hurun Global Pearl Enterprises, forming a modern pearl industry cluster with ecological breeding, international commerce and trade, high-end design, biomedicine, etc. as the core.
Zhuji's pearl enterprises also play an important role in the formulation and innovation of industry standards, they have participated in the drafting of more than 10 national standards and industry standards, and have mastered dozens of national patents, and many enterprises and brands rank at the forefront of the global pearl industry.
Pearl jewelry. Photo courtesy of Yamashita Lake Town
Behind the data is the efforts of Zhuji pearl industry in innovating breeding models and extending product value, and this effort will also create new brilliance for the "Pearl Capital of the World".
From behind the scenes to the front of the stage, Little Pearl has a big future
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Zhejiang's implementation of the "Eight-Eight Strategy." The "Eighth Eight Strategy" mentioned that Zhejiang's advantages in coordinated urban and rural development should be further brought into play and the integration of urban and rural areas should be accelerated.
From behind the scenes to the front of the stage, Little Pearl has a big future. After years of development, Lake Yamashita has the capital that attracts worldwide attention. From an obscure small town to a famous overseas name, Yamashita Lake has finally turned from a spectator to the international stage.
Today's Zhuji is a visible "green and rich beauty", the scattered beautiful countryside, like pearls shining brightly, they are beautiful because of pearls, prosperous because of pearls, connected with each other, together connect people's new yearning for a better life, playing the prelude to the era of increasing income for the rich people.
Great view of the lake town under the mountain. Photo courtesy of Yamashita Lake Town
Now
Yamashita Lake, the "Pearl Town"
It is opening a new journey of opening up voyages in a new era
Towards a new stage of in-depth development
Let Zhuji Pearl step out of Zhejiang
Firm steps to go out of China and go to the world!
Author: Zhou Wei