CHINA DAILY Precious minerals are expected to be on display at the China (Changsha) Mineral and Gem Show, including the specimen (left) from Bisbee mine, in Arizona, the United States; the 500-kg malachite and azurite geode (center) from the Liufeng Mountains in Anhui province; and the 1,700-carat ruby (right) from Burma's Mogok.

Stone and gem collectors from across the world will have their eyes on Changsha, the capital of Hunan province in Central China, when it hosts Asia's largest mineral-themed exhibition from May 15 to 20.

Organized by Hunan's provincial government and the Ministry of Land and Resources, the China (Changsha) Mineral and Gem Show will offer 2,000 booths on a floor space of 65,000 meters for exhibitors to showcase minerals, fossils, meteorites and handicrafts.

Exhibit highlights include a 30,000-year-old fossil of a mammoth unearthed in Siberia and the Rose of Asia from the Milan Museum of Natural History. At 35 cm tall it is the world's finest elbaite tourmaline specimen.

Other items that are sure to impress visitors include a plesiosaur fossil from Australia, rubies from Burma's Mogok, which has one of the world's best gem mines, copper and manganese minerals from the United States and mineral products from Hunan.

The show has attracted big names in the industry.

NASA's chief mineral research scientist, Robert Downs, the Milan Museum of National History's curator, Federico Pezzotta, former chairman of the International Mineralogical Association, Xie Xiande, and the US Museum of Natural History's curator, Gorge Harlow, will deliver keynote speeches at a summit meeting at the exhibition.

The show will include a seminar on the jewelry industry and culture and a fossil forum, where scientists and industry insiders will share their knowledge with the audience, according to organizers.

"Minerals and fossils contain a huge amount of information about the universe, which would promote the progress of human civilization," said Jiang Jianjun, director of science and international cooperation at the Ministry of Land and Resources.

Astrochemist and geochemist Ouyang Ziyuan, also a chief scientist at China's lunar program, said it is his duty to help promote science. He emphasized that China's rapid industrialization requires more people to have geochemical knowledge.

It is hoped that the show will help ignite young people's enthusiasm for geology and they will receive popular science books.

"This will contribute to the popularity of popular science and enhance their understanding of natural science," said Jiang.

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