The Chinese stone show in Beijing in March attracted 10,000 visitors from overseas, including 50 from the UK and a contingent from Ireland, among a total attendance of 52,396 - 16% more than last year.

The biggest single sector of foreign visitors came from Turkey, closely followed by Italy. The two countries between them accounted for nearly 40% of all overseas visitors.

Unsurprisingly, most of the visitors to the show came from China itself - more than 40,000 of them - but the exhibition is becoming truly international and most of the regions of the rest of the world were represented.

The show in Beijing is approaching the size of the major Italian exhibitions, with 800 exhibitors filling 55,000m2 of space. And 205 of the exhibitors came from outside China.