Mineral and Gem Show to be held in Changsha

The 2nd China Mineral and Gem Show will be launched in Changsha, Hunan province, on May 15, attracting exhibitors and visitors across the world.

Huang Weidong, deputy secretary general of the Hunan provincial government, said the event will attract the world's top mineral and gem traders, collectors and museum procurement groups.

The first show last year attracted more than 1,200 exhibitors from 54 countries, with the trading volume reaching 1 billion yuan ($163 million).

Jiang Jianjun, director of the international cooperation department under the Ministry of Land and Resources, said the exhibition aims to create a national-level exhibition platform for the cultural communication and trade of international minerals and gemstones and to boost the communication of mineral- and gem-related museums.

Among the exhibitions are the world's remaining most complete mammoth fossil and an undamaged tourmaline named the "Rose of Asia".