STORY: Pearl mussels from China's largest freshwater lake shine in overseas markets
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 10, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 25, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:05
LOCATION: NANCHANG, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. STANDUP 1 (English): SHU CHANG, Xinhua correspondent
2. various of Poyang Lake
3. various of pearl and shell industry
4. STANDUP 2 (English): SHU CHANG, Xinhua correspondent
5. various of shells and shell products
6. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): SHAO JIANHUA, CEO of Zhaojun Industrial Co., Ltd.
7. various of pearl and shell industry
8. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): XU WENYING, Official of Zhouxi Town, Duchang County, Jiangxi Province

STORYLINE:

STANDUP 1 (English): SHU CHANG, Xinhua correspondent
"See the bottles lined up in the water? Do you know what they are used for? They mark the position of cultured shells underwater. Now I'm in Duchang County, which is known as a hometown of Chinese freshwater pearls and located at the shore of the Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake, in east China's Jiangxi Province. There are about 1,000 hectares of pearl cultivation in this county, and its pearl output in 2023 has reached 90 tonnes, accounting for 7 percent of China's freshwater pearl output. Besides, shells from all over the world in various colors and sizes come here to be processed into jewelries, buttons, tiles, etc., and then are exported overseas. So, today, I would like to see how a small shell has made its way into the world stage."

As Duchang is surrounded by the Poyang Lake on three sides, the good water quality provides a favorable environment for shells. 

As early as the beginning of the 20th century, many towns in Duchang have been processing shells into buttons, and the Zhouxi town is a representative. 

STANDUP 2 (English): SHU CHANG, Xinhua correspondent
"Do you know what these small beads are? They are called pearl nuclei, also known as 'the mother of pearls.' They will be implanted into shellfish, and the shellfish will be cultivated underwater. After a long way, they will finally become pearls. That's how a beautiful pearl has come into being. What you may not know is that 95 percent of pearl nuclei in the global market come from Zhouxi Town."

Being imported from the world and exported to the world, the small shells now have a much higher value after being processed.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): SHAO JIANHUA, CEO of Zhaojun Industrial Co., Ltd.
"These are products made of shells from all over the world. This one is from New Zealand and known as 'the peacock of the sea.' After we processed this shell into this box, its added value has increased. This box is sold at the price of over 3,000 yuan (about 420 USD).
These are mainly exported to the United States. They are decorative tiles made of white river shells."

After decades, a modern pearl and shell industry integrating cultivation, processing, trade, scientific research and talent training is gradually taking shape in Duchang. 

In a processing factory of Zhouxi Town's pearl and shell industrial park, I witnessed how a bumpy shell under modern technology became a standardized product.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): XU WENYING, Official of Zhouxi Town, Duchang County, Jiangxi Province
"We have integrated 304 small-scale businesses, and now have 40 large shell and pearl processing businesses. The annual gross output in 2023 was about 1.2 billion yuan (about 167 million USD), and the export volume reached 370 million yuan (about 51 million USD)."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nanchang, China.
(XHTV)