Can you imagine a stone colored with ranges of red, yellow, white and darker shades all at once? At the ongoing "Shoushan Stone Exhibition" at the China International Exhibition Center in Beijing, you will see 500 of these colorful stones glittering under bright lights and astonished eyes.

The stone has showed its most enchanting appearance to curious stone lovers, collectors and dealers at the show which runs through tomorrow.

Believed to have come into shape before recorded history, the Shoushan stone is named after its hometown, Shoushan Hill in Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province.

Famous for its abundant colors and unique texture, the stone has been the first choice of many stone carvers for some 1,500 years. When it came to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the stone became the raw material for imperial seals.

Now the stone has become coveted by collectors and dealers.

Traditionally, the carvings on the stones are dragons and images of Buddha, said Yang Lihui, a Fujian-based stone collector.

"But here you can see some creativity by young sculptors. They carve tigers, fruits and common people," Yang said.

Usually, the stone was used as indoor decorations or signets after being polished. Some people like wearing unpolished stones as amulets.

Shi Qiang, a stone carver in his early 30s, has been working on the Shoushan stone for nearly two decades in Fuzhou. He carries around an amulet made from a piece of Shoushan stone only a few centimeters in length.

Visitors are deeply attracted by the crystal-clear stone not just for its charming colors, fine and smooth touch, but also for the rich historical details it embraces.

Shoushan stone carvings have mixed traditional art forms like poetry, calligraphy and water-color painting, said Zhang Jiakun, vice-director of the People's Congress of Fujian Province.

With all its charm, no wonder that since 1999, the Shoushan stone has been topping the list of Chinese National Stones, which also includes the Jixue stone of East China's Zhejiang Province and the Balin stone of North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

(China Daily October 24, 2003)