as a result of increased Chinese influence over the region, the discovery of new jade quarries, and growing demand for the gem among wealthy Chinese. With the support of the Burmese government, regular trade routes between the jade tract and China traveling north into Yunnan were established as early as 1798. Due to Kachin hostility this route was later replaced by overland trade along the Irrawaddy river as part of established cotton trading routes under the official sanction of the Burmese Crown, establishing Mogaung as the center for trade and taxation of Burmese jade production. The Kachins were granted ownership over the jade they mined in return for paying fees on the transport of their goods beyond Mogaung. In 1861, as a result of loosening restrictions on coastal trade to China, Cantonese merchants mounted an expedition to Mandalay and brought back jade for trade, beginning the new practice of jade being imported to China via maritime routes. From this point onward the majority of the high-quality stone produced in Burma made its way into China through cities like Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai, whereas much of the medium-quality stone was still transported overland. During this period there was increased friction between Yunnanese gemstone miners and the Burmese crown over taxation and ownership of the gems leading to several periods of passive resistance carried out by the jade miners including the practice of production limiting. In 1885, after the Third Anglo-Burmese War, the British seized control of the mines and, after a two-year period of conflict with the Kachin duwa, gained complete control over the jade mines. Having little experience in jade, the British set up regulations that controlled the mines. H. H. Keely became the administrator of the mines. Under British colonial rule the jade trade continued mostly unhindered, except by wars in China and Burma, up until the end of the Chinese Civil War. In 1942, Burma came under the control of the Japanese Imperial Army. They stripped the mines of all equipment and carried away all machinery and power equipment, to be used in their war effort. All jade mining activity ceased. In 1945, the British regained Burma but little progress was made in rehabilitating the mines, due to unsettled political conditions. Further conflict ensured after Mao Tse Tung launched his war against the Nationalist Chinese government. After 1949 After Burmese independence in 1948, some semblance of mining