Turquoise trademark boosts county's image

The application of the international trademark "Zhushan Turquoise" — a gemstone from central China's Hubei province — has recently been approved, boosting the product's image branding and market competitiveness.

Searching "Zhushan Turquoise "in the global brand database of the World Intellectual Property Organization, the brand's status has been marked as active.

The application for the trademark was made via the Madrid system, a primary international system for facilitating the registration of trademarks in multiple jurisdictions across the world.

Through the system, the trademark can be protected in up to 128 countries.

"The registration of the trademark of 'Zhushan Turquoise' is not only to prevent infringement, but also to boost the product's international influence," said Tian Shengguo from the turquoise industry's service center in Zhushan county.

Zhushan county in the city of Shiyan of Hubei, dubbed the "home of turquoise in China", has 70 percent of the turquoise reserves in China and 50 percent in the world.

To boost the turquoise industry, the county has promoted the integration of turquoise culture and tourism. A turquoise museum with more than 20,000 collections has become a popular tourist destination, according to local officials.

In order to achieve sustainable development, Zhushan county has implemented comprehensive control and the orderly development of turquoise resources. Since 2009, the county has tackled disorderly mining to prevent safety issues, waste of resources and pollution.

A new regulation to protect turquoise resources was released last year by the local legislature — the Shiyan people's congress — which took effect on March 1.

The regulation is based on resource conservation and environmental protection, carrying out comprehensive measures to enhance monitoring, and effectively strengthening turquoise resource management, development and utilization. It also supervises the industry's development.

The county has built an industrial park and trade centers to integrate suppliers and service providers to boost sales.

A livestreaming sales center has been introduced to boost e-commerce. Last year, the center's sales revenue was nearly 500 million yuan ($69.2 million).