Jade Hunters Of China. In the high mountains of China men gamble with their money, and their lives.

[Music] hi in Western China's Kunlun mountains men gamble with their money and their lives the prize is some of the finest jade on earth but winning it requires many sacrifices life in the mountain camps is hard the work is hard the Jade must be clawed from the mountains grip and then man hauled down it's treacherous slips it's a hard way to make a living but for over 2,000 years little has changed for the Jade hunters of China in western China a team of donkeys is loaded up for a journey that's been made since ancient times it's September and these men are setting out to bring supplies to a mining camp high in the mountains trips like this have been made since the Qin Dynasty over 2,000 years ago and the supply train has been running since May this is the last supply run of the season in two or three weeks time the mountain weather will start to make mining impossible and the camps will close for the winter but reports are coming in from the camps of discontented miners and not much Jade the Jade expeditions climb into the Kunlun mountains from the town of utn on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau [Music] immense geological forces that raise these mountains formed volcanoes which melted the rocks to create the precious mineral as the rocks cool those that contain silicon formed crystals crystals of purest whitest most highly prized jade to Chinese people it's the most valuable of all precious stones the essence of heaven and earth a simple small bracelet made from white jade could fetch twelve thousand US dollars men are prepared to risk their lives for such fortune but the mountains don't yield their treasure easily only an intrepid band dare take their adventurers gambling that somewhere here on the roof of the world they'll find the vein that'll make them rich three days ride south from utn eight men have set up a camp at Alamos 14,000 feet above sea level most of these men come from Sichuan Province 900 miles to the east their clothing and equipment are minimal accommodation is very basic rock walls and plastic sheeting to keep out the mountain weather it's all very low-tech but comfortable enough when the weather's good the leader Jung Jung Woo is an entrepreneur he financed this expedition and guarantees his work as a steady wage but he stands to gain or lose a fortune at Alamos back in their villages these unskilled laborers could earn around $70 a month they get twice that for each of the three months they spend here though he's only 21 Xiao Zhang has been well-paid for mining in these mountains for the last seven years [Music] Lara Wong has earned enough to build a two-story house the best in his village the strongest man on this team comes from here in Shenzhen as a child kerbin helped his grandfather to herd sheep in this region now has joined the hunt for Jade today he carries the heaviest load a tank of fuel leads the team to the mine site Lao Tian the cook will spend the day at camp where he can wait for much-needed supplies the walk to work is steep at a two and a half miles above sea level where the air is thin and the temperatures are cold there is strenuous but the scenery is spectacular and along the way kerbin provides entertainment you the Animus mine is a modest operation jjang jjang whoa can only afford enough equipment for one or two miners to dig at once the rest wait for their chance to blast the rock and dig through the rubble low-oxygen can make men sluggish and for the young chou-heung living at 13,000 feet was a shock at first I had no appetite couldn't sleep never seen this before the first time just feel feel environment here's cool to the west is a second camp called henna lick it's 1,600 feet higher here another team tries it's luck against even greater odds the weight of a Hellenic mine is a secret known to very few people here the altitude the temperature the climate are all more extreme the miners of Hellenic aren't Chinese they're weekers Sunni Muslims culturally more similar to the people of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the West one of the miners keeps a pet wolf he hopes to take it home with him to breed with the dog when the mining season ends in two or three weeks time that's all the time they have left this year and so far they're found nothing back at Alamos Jung Jung Hwan has invested in a diesel-powered compressor qurban and the others struggle to start at each day until 50 years ago all the power in the Kunlun Jade lines came from human muscle now machines such as this takes some of the sweat out of the daily work of drilling and blasting always King qurban takes charge of the pneumatic drill Jeong Jeong glow has time to sit and worry about his investment the places we've searched haven't shown much promise last year was slightly better this year hasn't been good the drill makes frustratingly slow progress through the hard rock neither John nor any of us laborers has much technical knowledge about mining they rely on experience and luck and luck is never guaranteed if there are no ghosts Holliday stoners like this year there could be some losses if we get some good stones profits we'll be okay the mining carries certain risks with it it's time to set the charges bring something over to poke it use an iron bar it won't explode Caban sounds the warning to keep clear at the Jade camp of Saito Coulomb an anxious group of Chinese miners faces the prospect of failure this season a number of the men have caught the flu in the cold weather this labourer hasn't eaten for days me Tian where was the foreman here he's losing money in a last desperate attempt to find some Jade he sent for my two rulers an old miner who claims to know of a hidden mine nearby when we first came in 1972 there was an old man who told us there was a mine where the rocks were very white we searched for that place lots of time years ago we couldn't find Jade hunters have been coming to the Kunlun mountains for centuries is it possible that the old man knows about a mine that all these miners have missed maybe I plan to go up tomorrow to the places that you know after that we'll search around for the vein but this is a last desperate throw of the dice Tian Wei has less than three weeks to find Jade or lose his investment in the camp this season has brought the worst summer rains to the Koonin Jade mines for 20 years on four days out of ten it's too wet for the miners to go out in any of the three camps all they can do is wait at a Lamaze camp Jeong Jeong woo has agreed to pay his laborers a high wage rain or shine on wet days he sees his investment trickle away Lao Tian the cook at least keeps the men well thin apart from that the laborers have to rely on a sparse collection of music and games to keep boredom at bay [Music] [Music] while Jung does some bookkeeping Xiao Jiang has been fossicking for something he craves a cigarette where did you get the cigarette commands no it's a real cigarette you must be addicted I guess it can't be lit gamma that cigarettes rubbish that doesn't taste like a cigarette damn it sweet crash there's no taste LaVon tries to beat the camp blues by sharing his repertoire of Weger folks the rain not only dampens their spirits but decreases their chances of going home to their families but a bonus in their pay pack at last the rain begins to clear the miners of Alamos will soon head back up the mountain to check the results of their most recent blasting [Music] meanwhile over at Saito : Tian way and the old miner my truths have begun their search for the lost mind Tian where's last chance to save his investment [Music] the JD is old broken that's all like that here there found a vein of jail fries it with a stool that Lance they come away this is all broken give me a just nail this area's all like that but my tohru's doesn't believe it's the vein they're looking for they try further up the mountain this is a promising site might aruba's advises TN wave what to do drove two or three holes near that side set off some explosive and have a look how far yeah don't touch that up up top but my Toulouse knows this isn't the lost mine either hours of searching bring them no closer to saving TN where's investment TN waves becoming agitated he's looking sideways at one of his Labor's wondering if he's secretly found the vein of jade on another part of about you nothing nothing at all well just keep going how many times have I told you keep looking until you know there's really nothing there can't you see it's raining then why have you told me you haven't found anything I'm just saying well what do you want to do if you don't want to work just leave as I said if we're finished before September 10th we'll be fine if not then all we can do is go back down up wasn't staying here because snows can't see looking down the hill today I suddenly realized that we've made a mistake if we've spent the money to employ a technician at a very beginning it would have been much better off one technician is more use than all of us together when I go back down I'll ask the boss to send me what should take missions I'll pay the salaries then if I can't find anything I'll just accept pay all my money is invested here even for experienced Jade miners life that 14,000 feet in the Kunlun mountains is no picnic it's only breakfast time but already the laborers at Henin ik are complaining even the Cook has been muttering that he never expected it to be this hard though most were born in this region they're missing her some are griping about the work seven miners had already left the camp and if many more go it'll seriously compromise the endeavor Mahmut the financier of this expedition could lose his mother he has just a few more days of good weather left to get enough Jade out of these mountains to make a profit he needs his team to stand by him so he's decided to give them a pep talk I have been together here I didn't force you to come you wanna do some of your self if someone okay I really don't care don't threaten stay leave so you must decide yourselves I mean it's a tough job here we've got to do now we trust each other and Moloch wanna be again that's because we know it that's why I brought you all here no condom deter I just hope yet and everyone does their base you a path up to the mine would challenge a mountaineer but these Hardy sons of hers climate every day in street clothes and sand shoes you at this altitude most people would gasp for breath after just a few steps every day the team must go six kilometres to the source of the Jade it's a tough climb that takes over to our you [Music] you you the vein of jade they're working is located at the bottom of a pit some of his laborers are inexperienced that Marmot is confident and clear about what he wants yet a village slept I took a good smarter I'm the other Bautista yarder Misha later we're gonna focus Michelle this place here the energy shake out there with and then we'll set off the explosives even shake the bottle dig here drill the holes right in here like this to be shedding just give me a damn t-shirt then we'll place the explosives from the other side and then [Music] [Music] when the dust clears they'll gather their treasure once the rocks have stopped falling the Hannah lek Jade hunters climbed down a rope of twisted yak hair to check their blast site they're uncovered some second-class Jade it's not the best but mama tennis team have something to show for their struggles and investment ranch together better it's a shame it's too small and again good Jaden has a watery shine and a smooth touch it looks translucent like honey with a pure even color [Music] nej that fails these standards isn't worth carrying down the mountain the vein at the Elemis mine has produced good jade well worth carrying down the mountain one rock weighs around a hundred pounds kerbin strong and ever willing has volunteered to carry it back to the camp [Music] using the makeshift sling of yak hair rope and a folded jacket as padding through his back he sets off he's carrying the weight of a small refrigerator on his shoulders he has a six mile journey ahead of him [Music] you [Music] kerbin has an ambition he'll use the money he earns from jade to buy a motorbike so he can trade sheepskins in the area near his village such thoughts drive him on but don't make the local any later [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Lau Tian the Cook has taken a break from his lighter duties of the camp to walk up the mountain but put it down yeah too hard to stand up again it doesn't matter the other miners with lighter loads have caught up the only load carried by Jung Jung Hwa is responsibility for the expedition qurban manages to keep up with the others for a while but altitude weight and fatigue begin to take their toll the rest of the team is nearly home each weary step is more treacherous than the last [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] curr Barnes dream keeps him going he thinks often of a girl in his home village if he buys the motorbike she'll marry and he'll give her the heart-shaped pendant who's been coming after a 10-hour urgent it's an exhausted cabin makes it back to camp the reward for all his effort may be small but it'll help his dream come true for the Jade hunters of Saito : that are no rewards this season tn way and his team have done their best and failed they're making a final desperate appeal for the god of the mountain you they'll sacrifice a goat you tn way gambled with the Kunlun mountains and lost you even the successful Jade hunters must still face risks that Elemis cook loud en three other miners have accepted an offer from Jiang Jiang he's promised them a hundred and twenty dollars to carry this rock down the mountain the rock weighs 400 pounds heavier than two large men like sailors singing a sea shanty they chant to keep working in Ritz finished retail value will depend on how it's cut and covered but could be as high as $300,000 these men are earning $30 each [Music] the nearest point where they can transfer their load to a donkey is still five or six days away with about a ton of jade altogether Jun junghwa and his lms team have done better this year than the hapless miners of side Aquila at Haneda they've also been successful but getting their Jade out of the mine takes a two-day journey through extremely rough country small group makes the trip every few days each of these miners is gambling with his mouth [Music] one slip on this cliff could send them plunging 12,000 feet to the rocks below [Music] having negotiated the cliff their next challenge is a flooded river the gamble isn't over yet they trust their weight and their lives to a steel cable strung between watts so uh Oh the long haul takes them to a depth which is constantly guarded against thieves before they head back to camp the miners helped to prepare marmots Jade for muck each bag is way then fitted with a tamper-proof seal a twist of one and a dab of yellow paint donkeys now have take over carrying the Jade for three days to the nearest road and with each step closer to market the value of the Jade increases as winter closes in and the mining season ends the Jade hunters gamble is over some succeeded others failed none lost their lives but some lost their fortunes but the lure of riches is powerful enough to draw some back every year to hunt Jade in the Kunlun mountains [Music] you

Channel: Heaven's StoneZ

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Rating: 4.4872627 out of 5

Keywords: Black Jade Translucent, Natual Jade, Natual Jadeite, Icy Jade, Icy Jadeite, Green jade, Grade A jade, Type A Jadeite, Natural Black Jade, Natural Black Jadeite Translucent, Green Jadeite, Omphacite Jadeite, Green Jade, Type A Jadeite Jade, Translucent, Rare Gemstone, Rare Jadeite Translucent, Rare Black Translucent Jadeite, Super Green Jadeite, Dark Green Translucent Jadeite, Transparent Jade, Jewellery

Id: jopR7TXK-gQ

Length: 50min 16sec (3016 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 03 2016