During the Yunnan Cultural Industry Expo set to open from Aug 9-14, Maguan garnets will be displayed alongside other artworks. A giant garnet feast will be on display, and almost 1,000 Maguan garnet accessories and artifacts will be exhibited.

Garnet, also named pomegranate stone in Chinese because it looks like pomegranate seeds, is popular in China and regarded as a rare treasure that represents beauty, wealth and wisdom.

Maguan garnets are reddish brown and transparent. Maguan garnet accessories are famous for their color and brilliance.

"I have 30 years of experience doing garnet business, and I found that garnets with different origins have different colors. In my point of view, Maguan garnets are better than garnets from other places since they are pure, bright and mellow," said Shan Jiashun, a jeweler in Maguan.

Statistics show that there are more than 30 dykes in Maguan with 49 tons of garnets. The potential value of these treasures is about 10 billion yuan ($1.62 billion).

Garnet accessory product from Maguan [Photo provided to China Daily]

Garnet accessory from Maguan [Photo provided to China Daily]

Maguan garnets [Photo provided to China Daily]

By Ge Jieru and edited by Michael Thai