Inside China’s Crystal City

Greetings from Crystal City, in Jiangsu Province, close to China’s Yellow Sea coast…

It’s been a heck of a journey just getting here. Last week I was telling you about my journey from Kathmandu to Yiwu—and, of course, our Nepal Appeal. If you missed it, you can catch up here.

So… Coco, Twan-Twan the dog and I drove from Yiwu to Nanjing. Five hours through beautiful tea-growing country, along spectacular roads and through more tunnels than I could possibly count.

We stayed overnight in Nanjing, where Tomas joined us after flying from London—just escaping the chaos there—via Hong Kong and arriving sometime late in the night.

We eventually found him the following morning in the hotel breakfast room. That day, we actually managed to become tourists for a few hours and visited the Confucius Temple.

It doesn’t get much more Ancient Wisdom than that.

But that is another story…

From Nanjing, the four of us—including Twan-twan the dog—set off for Donghai County. Another long drive, but as soon as you arrive, you know you are in Crystal City.

The red mandarin says: WORLD CRYSTAL CAPITAL - see the crystal statues.

The first thing I noticed was the extraordinary number of tiny electric cars. They’re everywhere—little cars, little pick-ups and strange miniature delivery trucks buzzing quietly around the streets.

Our supplier met us at our small hotel. He is a rather quiet, shy chap, so for the purposes of this story, we shall call him Jon. Jon told us we had arrived at exactly the right time.

“If we hurry,” he said, “we can still catch the Lunar Market.” So, naturally, we hurried. The Lunar Market is an open-air gathering where local gemstone artisans and traders come to show off their latest finds and creations. Imagine a huge open space filled with simple bench stalls beneath long sheets of canvas, edged by tiny electric pick-ups and miniature cars. On the tables—everywhere you look—are crystals, gemstones, carvings and jewellery. 

Around 300,000 people are said to make their living from the crystal industry in Donghai. Artisans, cutters, polishers, jewellery makers, traders, livestreamers… practically an entire city built around beautiful stones.

Jon explained that his grandfather used to mine amethyst in the surrounding hills. Rock crystal was also found here, although not in such large quantities. The local deposits were more or less exhausted a generation ago, but by then Donghai’s reputation—and its army of skilled artisans—was already firmly established.

Raw stones began arriving from across China and through the nearby port from Africa, South America and many other parts of the world. Brazil, Zanzibar and places I have probably never even heard of.

And the artisans of Donghai continued to thrive. What we found on those stalls was quite stunning. Intricate gemstone jewellery, spectacular natural formations and some of the finest-quality pieces I have ever seen—and so much of it gathered together in one place.

Amazing…

But was it commercial enough for Ancient Wisdom?

Probably not.

Many of these pieces will eventually retail in high-end shops—probably here in China—for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pounds.

The artisans shine small laser lights and powerful torches through the stones, revealing tiny landscapes, rainbows and mysterious details hidden inside. Much of it is sold according to its weight, with the price calculated by the gram. All around the market, TikTok-style traders were sitting on little stools in front of the stalls, livestreaming to their followers and selling pieces instantly.

Artisan to livestreamer. Livestreamer to collector. Stall to customer—somewhere in the world.

The instant retailer.

It was fascinating to watch. A completely new way of selling artisan products—and perhaps a glimpse of where

retail is going.

After a couple of hours wandering, looking, asking questions and making friends with these lovely gemstone people, the market began to close.

The traders carefully packed away all those precious crystals and jewels…

And then brought out the playing cards.

Within minutes, little groups had formed around the empty stalls for a few hands of poker before everybody headed home in their tiny cars and trucks.

Quite a wonderful end to the day.

Jon took us to a local restaurant to sample the food and told us more stories about this extraordinary town.

On the edge of the artisan market stands a huge, very modern crystal-market building.

Today—as I write this at 6am—we are going inside to meet the permanent traders. We will also visit Jon’s workshop and hopefully begin the serious job of finding something special, commercial and genuinely right for AW.

I’ll tell you how that goes next week…

Meanwhile, back in the UK, our Meet the Family—Discover Our Brands promotion continues, with more offers and more reasons to explore the different characters that make up the Ancient Wisdom family.

And a huge thank you to everyone who has joined in our Support for Nepal. There should be some particularly good karma heading your way.

In a week or so, I’ll be back in Nepal—on the ground—to find out exactly where and how we can help.

That is one of the wonderful things about this slightly crazy journey.

From a crystal artisan sitting behind a canvas-covered stall in China… to a singing-bowl maker hammering metal in a peaceful valley outside Kathmandu… there are incredibly talented people everywhere, quietly making beautiful things.

Our job is to find them, tell their stories—and somehow connect their work with your shop and your customers.

Anyway, Crystal City is beginning to wake up…

I had better find Coco, Tomas, Twan-Twan—and Jon—and see what treasures today brings.

Hope you guys are doing well and trading great.

Have a brilliant weekend.