And the hunt for it is so deadly, the jewel is known as blood jade.

比鑽石更稀有的寶石。

The hills in Myanmar's Kachin state hold nearly all of it.

而對它的追捕是如此致命、

Every year, dozens of miners are buried and killed by landslides.

這種寶石被稱為 "血玉"。

But what really goes on here has mostly remained a mystery, because the mines are guarded by the military 24-7.

緬甸克欽邦的群山

So we had to film on a phone.

幾乎擁有全部。

Reports suggest Chinese companies illegally operate the mines and allegedly exploit desperate workers.

每年都有

About 90% of the jade mined here is smuggled across the border into China, where it's considered a sacred stone.

數十名礦工被埋

We went to the mountains of Myanmar to find out how the hunt for a jewel that legend says grants eternal life has killed so many people.

並死於山體滑坡。

Black markets usually come to life after dark, because jade is believed to shine brightest in the moonlight.

但這裡的真實情況是

Most sales aren't documented or taxed.

一直是個謎、

But if the gem was sold legally, Myanmar could earn an estimated $31 billion a year.

因為地雷由軍隊全天候看守。

Reports suggest many buyers come from neighboring China, even though selling to foreigners is against the law.

所以我們只能用手機拍攝。

In the daytime, about 400,000 people work in mines in the Pekant region, in northern

報道稱，中國公司

Myanmar's Kachin state.

非法開採

Many Chinese companies bribe officials to illegally operate here.

並涉嫌剝削絕望的工人。

They dump back topsoil after picking out large stones, and they let miners dig through it.

旁白：這裡開採的玉石約有 90

Thirty-eight-year-old Thant has mined here for seven years.

越境走私到中國、

About 75% of miners here are addicted to drugs like heroin and meth.

在那裡，它被視為聖石。

Thant says he'd never tried those drugs before coming here.

我們前往緬甸山區

Now he shoots up multiple times a day.

瞭解傳說中的寶石是如何被獵取的。

He says some of his Chinese bosses paid portions of his salary with free meals and heroin.

授予永生已經害死了很多人。

He asked us to hide his identity because he feared his employers would retaliate.

黑市通常在入夜後才開始活躍、

These claims can be hard to verify because most of the mining happening here is illegal.

因為相信玉

Not a single mining permit has been issued since a military coup in 2021.

在月光下熠熠生輝。

The region has seen violent conflict since the early 1960s.

大多數銷售都沒有記錄或徵稅。

The Kachin people who are native to these mountains have been fighting for independence.

但如果寶石是合法出售的、

They have their own army known as the KIA, which has been battling the Myanmar armed forces and other ethnic groups.

據估計，緬甸每年可賺取 310 億美元。

The war has killed thousands of Kachin civilians in the past decade alone.

報道稱，許多買家來自鄰國中國、

We reached out to the KIA and the Myanmar military, but did not get a response.

儘管向外國人出售產品是違法的。

The conflict has allowed lawlessness to run rampant, as well as the illegal drug trade, which has become a multi-billion-dollar industry across the country.

旁白：在白天

Myanmar is the world's biggest producer of opium and meth.

約有 40 萬人在礦山工作

Drugs from here are trafficked to China and nearby countries.

赫帕康特地區

The profits are fueling the Kachin War.

在緬甸北部克欽邦。

And jade mining is funding it, too.

許多中國公司賄賂官員

Most of the jade from Myanmar gets smuggled to China, where the stone has been thought to bring good luck and to have healing powers for millennia.

在這裡非法經營。

Legend says this stone could make their souls live on forever.

他們倒回表土

It has also been found buried alongside royals in ancient tombs.

挑出大石頭之後、

Today, China's wealthiest wear jade as a symbol of status and power.

他們讓礦工挖開它。

Chinese businesses reportedly pay Myanmar locals up to $400,000 per trip to smuggle trucks of jade into the country.

38 歲的 Thant 已經在這裡開採了 7 年。

The gem's price grew tenfold in the first decade of the 2000s.

旁白：這裡約有 75% 的礦工染上了毒癮

And it's still growing exponentially, according to the most recent estimates.

海洛因和安非他命等毒品。

There is a cheaper kind called nephrite that's widely sold in Chinatowns around the world.

Thant 說他從未嘗試過這些藥物

But Myanmar's Kachin state is one of the only places that has jadeite, which is especially green and transparent.

來這裡之前

So rare that a single bangle can sell for over $3 million.

現在，他每天都要注射多次。

Estimates have found that the Kachin Mountains hold about 90% of it.

他說，他的一些中國老闆支付了部分款項

But they're hollowing out.

他的工資中還有免費餐和海洛因。

Miners like Shwetak search for what's left.

他要求我們隱藏他的身份、

He uses a pocket light to check for a hint of green.

因為他擔心僱主會報復他。

Dozens get buried alive or drown because of landslides each year.

旁白：這些說法很難核實、

In 2020, a single landslide killed about 200 miners.

因為這裡的大部分採礦活動都是非法的。

But Shwetak says mining is his only option.

沒有頒發任何採礦許可證

He came out as a transgender man seven years ago, and has struggled to find jobs ever since.

自 2021 年發生軍事政變以來。

Myanmar is one of the hardest countries to find employment for people who identify as LGBTQ.

該地區發生過暴力衝突

A nationwide law makes it legal to arrest people who openly express their gender identity.

自 20 世紀 60 年代初以來。

He says he still looked too much like a woman when he started mining here.

原住在這些山區的克欽族人

Few women work in these mines.

一直在為獨立而戰。

Some have spoken out about sexual abuse by miners and soldiers.

他們有自己的軍隊，稱為 KIA、

Shwetak says other men treated him well, and today, many have become close friends.

該組織一直在與緬甸武裝部隊作戰

But over the years, Thant has lost many of his.

和其他種族群體。

He lives in a hut in a cemetery where some of them were buried.

旁白：戰爭已造成數千人死亡

He moved here from a town nearly 300 years ago.

僅在過去十年中，就有大量克欽族平民被殺害。

He was 300 miles away after his family's house burned down.

我們聯繫了克欽獨立軍和緬甸軍方

He promised his wife and children he'd return rich and rebuild their home.

但沒有得到答覆。

He says the drugs help numb the pain.

衝突導致無法無天