Jade Olympic Medals Surprise the World

According to BOCOG's design, gold medal will incorporate a light, fine jade set in its back while the silver has the white-greenish jade. A greenish jade will be used for the bronze medal.

Jade represents honor and virtue in traditional Chinese culture and the medal design is regarded to well combine Olympic spirit and Chinese culture, the publication said.

Kunlun jade recognized as a world-class jewelry

Kunlun jade is found in the Kunlun Mountains in Qinghai Province. The type of jade is now recognized as a world-class jewel. Kunlun Mountain is the birthplace of many legendary stories in China, and the discovery of Kunlun jade added more mystery to it. As Wei Zhoubin, general manager of Golmud Kunlun Jade Company introduces, Kunlun jade and Hetian jade are both found along the Kunlun mountains, the quality of Kunlun jade is no worse than that of Hetian jade.Jade carry with them beauty, respect, love and help in China. That's one reason that they have been chosen for the Olympic medal making.They compliment the Olympic spirit, the use of jade in Olympic medals will definitely spread China's rich jade culture to the world, while relaying the concept of "People's Olympics". Jade is also A Mirror of Chinese Culture.

The jade medals have become the talk of the town

In Chinese culture, jade is a symbol of class and elegance. According to Games officials, the medals combined western and eastern elements. For example, 13 kilograms of gold and 1.3 tons of silver were sourced from Australia, and nearly seven tons of bronze was sourced from Chile. While jade were collected from west China's Kunlun Mountain.

The designers put a seal between the inner layer and a groove to bond metal and jade. The seal can also buffer the effect of vibration to protect the jade against impact. Shanghai Mint was the official manufacturer of the medals. In Beijing, the jade medals have become the talk of the town.
The Olympic medals have caught the eyes of athletes and spectators from around the world. According to The Sun, for the first time in Olympic history, the Olympic medals blend metal and jade. The technique of inlaying jade into metal can be dated back to the Han Dynasty 2000 years ago.