Page 20 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2016Q1

Top left; Only a few Ying
stones were on exhibit.
Top-heavy Ying stone with its
wooden stand in the style of
a traditional Chinese scholars’
rock
Top right; Only one traditional
Kun stone was on display
Bottom left; Fruit-shaped grape
agate
Bottom right; Suiban display is
quite rare in China in contrast
to Japan or Korea

is reach of many types of unusual stones of all sizes, different kind of agate, jasper, jade/jadeite, chalced-
shape and color. In the history of earth about 100 mil- ony, petrified wood and concretions but also fossils.
lion years ago, Inner Mongolia was covered with an Most of them are of the silicate family so they are usu-
ocean. Volcano eruptions, mechanical forces of earth, ally in compact, hard, dense and heavy. Gobi desert
weathering, cold and hot climate, created numerous stones, also called Fengli, are very hard and colorful
unusual stones. Alxa is the only place in the world because of compounds of metal microelements mixed
where grape agate has been discovered. Apart from into it during its primary formation, which endowed
this, many other stone types are found, for example them with great beauty. Fengli are often shaped and
polished by winds and sand over thousands or even
millions of years.
Main attraction for our group was the huge stone
market with several hundred of vendors set up in tents
in front of the museum. The vendors came mainly
from Inner Mongolia but also from other parts of
China. Some sold jewelry such as stone necklaces,
carved stone sculptures and accessories. Most offered
natural stones from the desert, sometimes on wooden
stands but mostly without. I think there was nobody
in our group who didn’t regret not being able to buy
more stones because of luggage space limitations or
the maximum 20 kg/parcel sent by post.

18 | BCI | January/February/March 2016