he city of Hualien (花蓮), located on Taiwan's rugged east coast, is known to most visitors as the starting point for trips to Taiwan's premier attraction, Taroko Gorge (太魯閣). What many a visitor is not aware of when visiting the east coast is that Hualien is one of the world's most important producers of marble. It is also the origin of Taiwan's best stone sculptures, and a mecca for fossil and stone collectors all over Taiwan.

Stone has become the biggest star of Hualien. Whether it is marble, serpentine, limestone, or dolomite or strangely shaped stones with beautiful markings, fossils, or precious and semi-precious gemstones—Hualien offers everything stone-lovers could possibly ask for. Hualien is world-famous for its marble, especially green marble, which is exported to countries around the world and made into tabletops, floors, columns, walls, etc. Quarrying for marble still plays a major role in Hualien's stone industry, but in recent years the focus has shifted somewhat towards the processing of imported stones into artistic products. Among the stones imported are various types of jadeite and nephrite from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Italy, Turkey, and Mexico. The stones are used either to produce fine stone carvings or are industrially processed using lathes, producing items for daily use such as ashtrays, flowerpots, and water basins.

Jade is probably the most fascinating of stones you will want to learn more of on a visit to Taiwan, since it plays an important role in Chinese culture, where it symbolizes nobility, perfection, constancy, and immortality. In Chinese, "jade" (玉) refers to a fine, beautiful stone with a warm color and a rich luster that is skillfully and delicately carved.

In geological terms, jade is the name used to describe either of two hard, dense, usually green gemstones. The more highly prized of the two is jadeite; the other is nephrite. Both types of jade have been carved into jewelry, ornaments, small sculptures, and tools since the earliest recorded times. Either of the two types may be white or colorless, but may also be red, green, brown, purple, yellow, or gray due to the presence of iron, chromium, or manganese. There are also wide variations of translucency in both stones. The most highly prized variety is jadeite of an emerald-green hue. The two different types of jade, when worked and polished, can be distinguished by their appearance. The luster of nephrite is oily; that of jadeite is glassy. Some colors are also specific to one mineral or the other. The popular emerald-green jade jewelry pieces are usually jadeite. Among the stones processed in and around Hualien are a great variety of jadestones, including varieties of white jade, red jade, and flake jade.

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