We are still at the jade market. At one point, we went into one block of the jade market. As we got farther in from the street, the jade stones got smaller. I think this is because people were hand carrying their jade to their tables. So the big jade rocks were nearest the road where the vendors could pull up their carts and unload them without having to carry them very far. People with smaller sized pieces of jade had it easier and so were placed further back from the street. At least, that’s my assumption.

1. You can see Pete and Vicky as we worked our way into the block and away from the road. It was very crowded and we really had to take our time to make our way through the crowds.

2. As we got clear to the back of the market, past all the jade sellers, we came upon several rows of machine workers doing grinding and polishing of jade stones. You can see one such table in this photo.

3. You would probably not have noticed, but the jade market did not have any electricity. Rows and rows of machines were all powered by foot. It was hard to get a good photo but eventually, I found a machine setup that had a broken belt, so I took a photo. So you end up with two wheels turning from one pulley and from two to four people working at each grinding or polishing table. But only one or two of the workers are supplying the pedal power at a table.

4. In this photo, the guy in the yellow shirt and the guy at the other end but near side are the two supplying the pedal power for this table.

5. This last guy is a polisher and you can see the small piece of jade he is working on. We chatted with this guy and he said that he is very busy and has all the work he can handle.