A visit to the Jade Market in Yau Ma Tai will provide an insight into something near and dear to the heart's of Chinese people. The written character for jade means a combination of beauty, nobility and purity. The green stone, in all its many hues and colours is associated with long life and good health. It is smooth and cooling to the touch.
Grandmothers routinely buy a piece of jade for newborns.
Located on Kansu and Battery streets in Yau Ma Tai, the Jade Market is a collection of around 400 stalls selling a wide range of jade pendants, rings, and bracelets, carvings and ornaments. The market is also the main gathering place for buyers of this fine stone who today still communicate with secret hand signals when making a purchase. Buying jade is really an art. Jade is not just green but rather comes in a great variety of colours and textures. The jade sold in Hong Kong is mostly jadeite from Burma.