What a gem: tiny Hong Kong jade shop continues to sparkle as family business battles global turbulence to keep its sheen
- In 2020, jade exports from Hong Kong surged to more than US$140 million making the city a globally renowned trading centre
- The city has been a hub for the importation, processing and finishing of the precious gemstone which is said to help ward off evil and bring good health
It is 10am on a Tuesday and the shutter of the Mei Mei Wonbow jade shop in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong slowly winds its way up.
Outside might be grey but the shop’s interior has a welcoming glow, enhanced by the hundreds of jade gemstones that have been cut and polished into shapes – bangles, rings, statues – and neatly displayed on glass shelves and cabinets.
Siblings Anna, Davis and Ziennifer, and their mother Mimi are behind the counter. That is to be expected; this is the Hui’s family business after all. But a link is missing.
“Our father passed away in 2020 and we miss him a lot,” said Anna of Hui Cheong-shin, who founded the business in 1975. “We are working together to keep his legacy alive.”
Anna says her father, who was born in southern China’s Guangdong province, led a tough life under Mao’s Cultural Revolution.