Jade is a collective term for stone objects with exquisite textures, warm and moist colours, and toughness to withstand abrasion. In mineralogy, jade can be divided into soft jade (nephrite) and hard jade (jadeite). Hard jade specifically refers to feicui (jadeite), which is considered a precious gemstone. The term jade more commonly refers to soft jade, or nephrite. Nephrite is a silicate of water-containing calcium and magnesium. It has a Mohs hardness of 6.5 and excellent toughness, is translucent to opaque, and is composed of fibrous microcrystalline aggregates. China’s famous jade includes the nephrite produced in Hotian in Xingjiang Province and the Dushan jade produced in Nanyang, Henan Province. From the arts and crafts perspective, any high-quality stone that can be used to make jewellery can be called jade. Examples are the Xiuyan jade, which is serpentine mined in Xiuyan, Liaoning Province, and the Zhangye jade, which is a serpentine mined in Zhangye, Gansu Province. China...
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(2020). Jade. In: Chen, A., Ng, Y., Zhang, E., Tian, M. (eds) Dictionary of Geotourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_1186
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