FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[Greg Lilly]

CIMGE
China Nanjing International Mineral Gemstone & Fossil Expo

I decided it was time to experience a mineral show in China and I was joined by my friend Ian Mason. Neither of us had been to China before so we weren’t sure what to expect however we found it very easy getting around and the trip went very smoothly.
We arrived into Shanghai early morning and caught a subway to the bullet train station. I had made an error when I booked the bullet train tickets but this was quickly sorted out at the ticket office and we were on our way. Then a taxi to our hotel which was only 10 minutes walk from the show.
The majority of people speak very little to no English at all but this was easily overcome with a translation app on our phones. My translation app also had a camera option for translating signs & menus etc, it was invaluable.
The show has around 300 dealers, about half being mineral dealers the balance selling fossils, meteorites, jade, jewelry, stone carvings etc. it was a good mix and kept us well entertained for the 4 days we attended. From what we were told by the dealers it is the largest show in China and although there were some wholesalers in the mix it is a retail show.
There were lectures, an auction, displays, activity zone, fossil dinosaur exhibit, plenty of things going on. Attendance seamed good on the week days and the hall was absolutely packed on the weekend, busiest I have ever seen a mineral show. Looks like there is a rapidly growing interest in mineral collecting in China.
The mineral dealers had a good mix of local and international minerals on offer covering all size and price ranges. There were a handful of high profile international dealers set up plus local dealers with high end specimens. Thumbnails seam to be popular but there were also a lot of oversized large cabinet pieces largely of excellent quality on offer as well. Alipay and WeChat are widely used for payment over cash, we signed up to Alipay before leaving home and found it easy to use.
Following are a few photos which will hopefully give you a feel for the show. The individual specimens shown below are all approximately 25cm across or larger. You may notice I have a soft spot for pink calcite!
Nanjing is a culturally important city in China with many places of interest to visit. Many things like the city wall, Xuanwu Lake, Jiming Temple, and beautiful parklands are within walking distance of the show and well worth exploring.
If you have any questions just ask and I will help if I can
Greg

[Greg Lilly]

Some more images

[Jordi Fabre]

Some reflections from Xiaojun Chen on this Show:

[BlueCapProductions]

Greg,

Great post. If you don't mind, I'd like to add a post highlighting the 60+ videos I produced at the show.

I broke the videos down into 12 different categories to help people get a really good sense of both the show AND Nanjing in general.

Our 2024 trip to Nanjing was a HUGE success. We not only had an absolutely wonderful time, we also learned a lot about the quickly growing fine mineral collecting world in China. We eagerly look forward to our return in 2025 but, until then, here is a recap of the film clips we produced on our trip organized by the 12 Categories we identified before we left. The URL listed below will take you to a YouTube Playlist that has all the videos posted in sequence according to when they were filmed. Enjoy!!!

The complete YouTube Playlist:
https://MineralFilms.com/Nanjing2024

ANNOUNCEMENTS - 2
First Announcement
Categories

TRAVEL - 3
Enroute to Nanjing
Arriving in Nanjing
Departing at the Airport

LODGINGS - 2
First Look at Hotel
Electricity at Hotel

FOOD - 10
First Dinner
Onsite Cafe
Breakfast Buffet
Lunch near the Expo Center
Hot Pot Dinner
Lunch at Impressions in 1912 area
Duck Blood Soup
Chicken Pot
Dumplings for Breakfast
Airport Snacks

ENVIRONMENT - 2
On the Streets
Environment Comments

CULTURE - 7
Porcelain Tower
Outdoor Signage
Nanjing Massacre Museum
Rain Flower Pavillon
The Nanjing Museum
Nanjing City Walls
Nanjing Yangtze Bridge

ACTIVITIES - 3
Shopping Center near the Expo
1912 Street
Confucius Temple

TRANSPORTATION - 1
Taking the Nanjing Subway

VENUE - 8
Set-Up Day
Enter Exhibit Center - Opening Day
Opening Ceremonies
Presentations
WeChat
Saturday Crowd
Children's Activities
Expo Hall Bathrooms

DEALERS/MINERALS - 19
Rain Flower
Chaos Art
Malachites and more
Large Jade Carvings
Angsi Culture
Art Mediums
Wandering through the booths
Volcanic Dacite Pots
Quartz Carvings
Earth Memory
Zheng Jianrong Mining Crystal Art Museum
Carved Mammoth Ivory
The Arkenstone
Dinosaurs
Chinese National Geography
Crystal World
Shin Ging Wa Shoo
Meieranite
Carved Jade Dealer

SPECIAL EXHIBITS - 1
Special Exhibit

IMPRESSIONS - 3
Fine Art Minerals - Part 1
Fine Minerals International
Collector's Edge

MINERAL TRIPS - 0

[Greg Lilly]

Thanks Bryan,
We really enjoyed our time at the show and exploring Nanjing, I’m also enjoying re living it through your videos,
Regards Greg