After everyone rested, they set off again, Zhang Tianyuan took out his mobile phone and looked at the time, it was half past five in the afternoon, the sky was still bright at this time, it would be easier to bypass Death Valley, and everyone did not dare to delay.

Zhang Tianyuan didn't bring a smart phone, because it consumed too much power, he brought an old brand of Nokia, and the standby time was much longer than that of a smart phone, but at this time, because he was in the mountains, the mobile phone had no signal at all, so he could only use it as a watch.

However, even this old brand of Nokia machine that is not a smart phone can read e-books and check maps, which can come in handy at critical times.

Since the discovery of Kunlun jade, there are three main production areas of a certain scale: Sanchahe jade mine, Torahai jade mine, and Xiaozao fire jade mine.

Because of the large amount of white jade output, the Sanchahe jade mine is known as the largest white jade producing area in China, and the white jade and green jade produced here are selected as gold and silver medals for the Beijing Olympic Games and are famous all over the world;

Tora Sea Jade Mine, people are more accustomed to call it Yeniugou Jade Mine, the high-quality white jade produced here, often wrapped in a thicker leather shell, can not identify its inner jade quality and is very gambling, so it is also called "gambling stone", many people in the industry are proud to have a piece of white jade of Bison Valley.

Xiaozao Fire Jade Mine, a fine variety of green jade produced here, was selected as a bronze medal jade for the Beijing Olympic Games. Xiaozao fire jade mine also produces sugar-coated green jade and yellow mouth material (topaz).

The quality of Kunlun jade has won the praise of many experts, because Hetian jade has long been out of producing large pieces of jade, so that Zhouyang jade workers have reached the point of "no way to live without Kunlun jade". The fine green jade in Kunlun jade is famous at home because it can process thin-tired jade.

Zhang Tianyuan: The place they are going to this time is not any of these three. Because these three famous mining areas have been excavated to the point where the state wants to prevent geological changes. Therefore, it is strictly stipulated that large excavation machinery cannot be used in some places.

In recent years, due to the prominent contradiction between supply and demand of Hetian jade. Market prices have skyrocketed, causing hundreds of thousands of people to converge in the two river basins. In particular, more than 5,000 heavy excavators once dug the riverbed and both banks of the Yulong Kashi River, digging the good end of the Baiyu River to the ground.

The Los Angeles Times of the United States attacked this shocking phenomenon under the headline "The Jade Trade Has Created a Gap in the Hearts and Minds of the Chinese People." Although the number quoted in the article is not exact, it is enough to illustrate the disaster caused by the depletion of resources to the local ecology.

Now it seems to be much better, with only a few hundred excavators working slowly on both sides of the Yulongka River. However, the collapsed riverbanks and the endless "mounds" still tell the people of the incurable wounds caused by predatory mining.

Zhang Tianyuan: When they passed by the Yulong Kashi mining area. He once stood on a pile of abandoned pebbles and looked out into the distance: the endless riverbed was turned over and crumbled and skinless. The deepest pit was dug more than ten meters down. Today, some of the pits are covered in surface water, with an uneven layer of dust and oil floating on them, and a plastic bottle swirling around the pond under the influence of the wind, dirty. Especially in the afterglow of the setting sun, the entire riverbed is even more dry, dilapidated and desolate. Even so, farmers can still be seen holding high-pressure water cannons and scouring the edge of the riverbed. Hope washes away the sand and leaves the seed jade. This is the lower riverbed in the middle reaches of the Yulongka Shi River.

At that time, One-Eye said: "Now there are many mine owners from other places. They don't care about this land at all, they only regard this place as a gold mine for their own wealth, and they don't feel distressed no matter how bad they are, anyway, they can't see it and don't worry about it. Their big bosses aren't going to take a second look here. ”

Gulzana also said to Zhang Tianyuan: "Brother Zhang, if you want to mine in the future, I think it's better not to use machinery." Let's use the traditional manual way, otherwise the environmental damage will be too strict. You'll be scolded. ”

The upper reaches of the Yulongka River and the Hetian section are also the jade mining areas of Kurban. Since the mining area is on the opposite bank of the river. Zhang Tianyuan and the others couldn't go over at all. The only thing that connects the two sides is a steel cable and two pulleys, and people squat in special iron frames to cross the river by traction. Beneath the steep cliffs is a rushing river. Looking at the opposite bank, I saw the yellow excavator drooping its head, and the simple shed was lying lazily at the foot of Kunlun.

One-eyed opened his throat and shouted violently, Uyghur, I didn't understand. Suddenly, a man in the shape of a foreman brought a bag of jade from the other side. It is a pile of small pebbles that have been sleeping for hundreds of millions of years, just separated from many ores, sleepy-eyed, unpretentious, and frosted. However, who would have believed that hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the banks of the Yulong Kashi River, frantically digging for these inconspicuous pebbles.

Originally, Zhang Tianyuan also intended to go downstream to have a look, but I heard that there was a road of more than 70 kilometers from here, and it was okay to take a car, so don't think about it while walking, not to mention that the place they were going to was not the Yulong Kashi mining area, and they passed by here just to see more.

So we have to move on.

However, Zhang Tianyuan, who said that there were no more large machinery in the downstream mining area, said: "The quality of jade produced there is the best, and a lot of mutton fat white jade is found in that section of the riverbed." It was turned over two years ago, but now the government won't let it be dug up. But people are allowed to go down to the river to step on jade and pick jade. At present, there are not many people who go to the river to pan for jade. There, jade is dug in the traditional way, with a special shovel, a cross pickaxe, and a small rake. In groups of threes and twos, or in partnerships, or alone. Therefore, there will be no damage to the riverbed. ”

Gulzana also smiled: "There, you can simply remove the shoes and socks full of mud and sand, and pick up a clear spring, which is sweet, soft and refreshing." That is the real land of melons and fruits, the land of beautiful jade. And it's not like the scene we just saw, it's just terrible. ”

After listening to the words of these two people, Zhang Tianyuan felt that if he had time, he must go downstream to have a look to see what the picturesque place was like.

"If we were to simply mine jade, we would actually go downstream of Yulong Kashi, but this time we had to go far away because we were looking for new ore veins. None of the familiar places can go, or they are occupied by others. Either that or the state does not allow mining in large quantities. One-Eye explained.

In the end, Zhang Tianyuan came late. Missed the best opportunity.

"Consultant Zhang, I follow Master Kurban, so I heard him say that before 2003, the price of Hetian jade was not as high as it is now, and the price of jade has risen hundreds of times in just over ten years. Some of the boutiques have soared hundreds of times. Nowadays, the high-grade seed jade is sold for hundreds of thousands of yuan a kilogram, and the price of mutton fat white jade exceeds several million yuan a kilogram. There are factors such as increased market demand, as well as elements of artificial hype. At the house of the old man Kurban. You also saw that high-grade mutton fat white jade, weighing more than 60 kilograms, jujube red skin color, condensed like cream, I heard that someone offered more than 200 million, and Master Kurban didn't sell it......" One-eyed said to Zhang Tianyuan what he held in his heart while walking.

He didn't dare to say this to Kurban, because Kurban was really harsh, but Zhang Tianyuan was very approachable.

"I know that, more than ten years ago. People don't know much about Hetian jade. Since 2003, the national television broadcast "Kunlun Jade Pickers", and the subsequent hits "Jade Road", "Treasure Appreciation", "Forbidden City", "New Silk Road", etc., have all promoted Hetian jade as the king of jade, thus arousing people's interest. It has driven the demand of the market. In particular, the jade seal of the Beijing Olympic Games is carved with Hetian jade, and the statue of the Yellow Emperor in the mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor, the ancestor of the Chinese nation, is also carved with Hetian jade, which further enhances the cultural content and natural attributes of Hetian jade. made Hetian Yu sound all over the country. Zhang Tianyuan sighed: "Now it's really talking." I don't know if this kind of propaganda was good or bad at the beginning, alas. ”

At that time, the price of Hetian jade rose wildly. The natural ecology of the Yulong Ka Shi River has deteriorated. At such a heavy price, how much will Hetian Yu contribute to the region's finances? Experts and scholars are generally worried. The depletion of resources and predatory mining will exhaust the resources of Hetian jade! and the media have accused the Hotan regional government of inaction!

At that time, a leader came forward and said: "Hetian Yu's contribution to economic development is indirect. At least it brings the flow of people, logistics, and money. Its ability to increase peasants' incomes and pull related industries should not be underestimated. And Hetian jade should be a business card of Hejiang, and this business card cannot be effective immediately. However, there are many potential business opportunities behind this business card. ”

Of course, this leader's words are not unreasonable, but who is responsible for the deterioration of the natural ecology caused by this? Who will buy it?

Of course, Zhang Tianyuan couldn't afford this account, in fact, if he had joined the ranks of this jade mining at the beginning, he would definitely not have shown mercy, so he really didn't know if this kind of thing was right or wrong.

"Consultant Zhang, if you dig like this, will our Hetian jade be dug up directly?" asked One-Eye with some concern.

"Not really. Zhang Tianyuan really had some research on this, and he said with a smile: "The myth of Nuwa mending the sky in the first recorded in Huainanzi and "Lan Yin Xun" is as follows: In ancient times, 'the four poles were wasted, Kyushu was split, the heavens were not covered, and the earth was not circumferential; According to legend, when the human race multiplied, suddenly the water god Gonggong and the fire god Zhurong fought, and the Gonggong was angry and hit his head against Buzhou Mountain, which is now Kunlun Mountain. Nuwa felt extremely sad to see the heavens and the earth shatter and never recover. So the sand and gravel were mined from the east mountain, and the white jade was extracted from the west mountain, and the five-colored stones were melted into a pulp to make up for the sky. After the rectification, people are back to living happily ever after. ”

"I've heard these myths and stories, but does it have anything to do with the mining of jade mines?"

Of course, it is related, perhaps it is the ancient mythology that fulfills the Himalayan orogeny. In fact, throughout the ages, studies on the myth of Nuwa mending the heavens have also emerged, and although the results of the research are different, one thing is common, that is, the origin of the myth should be a far-reaching astronomical and geological disaster in ancient times. There are hypotheses that prehistoric comets hit the Earth, and there are also inferences that orogenies were tragic. According to historical records, the Kunlun Mountains did undergo three large-scale river diversions during the orogeny movement millions of years ago. One of them passes through Yutian, which is more than 170 kilometers away from Hotan. The other two paleochannels were diverted even further. Experts believe that there must be more jade on the paleoriver channel than in the Cenozoic river. ”

"Ah, I see, that means we haven't actually found the jade on the ancient river channel at all, right?" asked Gulzana excitedly.

Zhang Tianyuan nodded and said, "You probably know very well that there is only one jade mine vehicle in the Hotan area that can barely reach it. The other jade mines can only be accessed by walking for several days. How much white jade is in these mines, no one can figure out. Moreover, all the seed jade in the Hotan area was washed down from the mountain, and it turned out that these Hetian jades were all mountain materials, and after tens of millions of years of water erosion and collision, they formed the current cobble-egg shape. I think that where there is seed jade, there must be primary ore, and without primary ore, there is no source of seed jade. However, it is not clear exactly where the primary mine is. Therefore, the fear that Hetian jade resources will be depleted is unfounded!" (To be continued......