China's pearl farms prosper away from pollution

By Royston Chan

ZHUJI, China (Reuters Life!) - For decades, the clean waters of Zhuji have fed China's rise to the world's top producer of freshwater pearls and now they are helping to turn this eastern city into a global trading hub for the lustrous gem.

The rivers and ponds of Zhuji are protected from the farm and factory wastes that foul much of China's prosperous east coast, and now its family-run pearl farms are being steadily replaced by companies that cultivate and distribute their produce worldwide.

"I have been working in this industry for more than 20 years, nearly 30 years," said Wu Zhiyuan, a 52-year-old pearl farmer who tends freshwater mollusks in a lake in Zhuji.

"In earlier days, we didn't work for a pearl company, it was just a family business. Now we are under the management of the pearl company."

Major pearl companies in mainland China and Hong Kong joined forces in April to open China Pearls and Jewelry City (CP&J City), the nation's largest pearl trading centre.

Officials said the massive complex, occupying 1.2 million square meters (13 million square feet), would be home to more than 5,000 shops when it is completed this fall.

Looking at pearl cultivation as a growth industry, CP&J City executives said China aims to get a worldwide hold in the sector.

"The labor cost for pearl cultivation in China is comparatively low. After China got involved in the pearl industry, Japan could no longer compete with China in the pricing or any other aspects," said Lin Xianfu, CP&J City's executive director.