CHINA DAILY The well-preserved mammoth fossil unearthed in Siberia is expected to be a highlight at the expo.

Organizers expect the event to be an even greater success than it was last year. Launched in May 2013, the show attracted 1,200 exhibitors from 54 countries and regions and 150,000 visitors. Deals worth more than 1 billion yuan were signed at the show last year.

Rich mineral resources

Hunan has diverse natural habitats, which attract people from around the world.

The province has 17 UNESCO world natural heritage sites, including the internationally renowned Wulingyuan and Langshan mountains.

Experts said it is rare for so many picturesque tourist spots to be concentrated in one place, which local government officials consider to be a remarkable natural resource advantage.

The province and surroundings in southern Jiangxi and Hubei province as well as northern Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangdong provinces form China's most important cluster of geological zones, with abundant mineral deposits, particularly crystal mines.

China's mineral resources are very important to the world and many international exhibitions in the field, including the Tucson and Munich mineral shows, have introduced Chinese Day activities.

International museums and famous collectors believe products from China's dozens of crystal mines are indispensable.

Hunan has 22 world-class geological parks. It has reserves of non-ferrous metals that account for two thirds of the country's total and one third of the world's total. The province also discovered more than 90 percent of the world's antimony deposits.

Hunan is home to 141 types of minerals with diverse colors and unique shapes, including some rare and iconic species.

In 1982, China Post issued stamps of four famous crystal minerals all from Hunan. They are realgar, cinnabar, antimony and wolframite.

The expo attracted huge attention at its first session last year because "collectors and exhibitors across the world have fully recognized the value of Hunan mineral resources and see the profit potential in Chinese markets," industry insiders said.

NUMBERS

1,200 exhibitors from 54 countries and regions and 150,000 visitors in the exhibition in 2013.

1 billion yuan worth of deals were signed at the show last year.

17 UNESCO world natural heritage sites in Hunan.

22 world-class geological parks in the province.

141 kinds of minerals found in Hunan.

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