Woman stores 1 pearl in rice jar, discovers 5 more inside  

女子將1顆珍珠放糯米中9年“生”出5顆小珍珠

Pictured are six pearls discovered by a woman in a jar of rice in Fuzhou, Fujian province on June 1. Surnamed Lin, the woman claimed she had stored the largest one in a jar containing glutinous rice back in 2005 and found five others inside nine years later. Photo: fznews.com.cn

A Fujian province woman can still not explain how the one pearl she had kept stored in a jar of rice nine years ago had multiplied into six.

"I found one at first, and then another one," said the Fuzhou resident surnamed Lin, who discovered the pearls of various sizes while sorting through old belongings at home on June 1. "The original one had doubled in size," she said.

Lin said she bought the pearl for 10 yuan ($1.6) from a pearl farmer while traveling in Hainan province in 2005.

"The pearl was harvested from a clam right on site," said Lin.

The farmer instructed her to keep the single pearl in glutinous rice to help preserve the pearl, where Lin claims it remained in a tightly-sealed jar until she opened it nine years later.

The Secretary of Fujian Jewelry and Jade Association surnamed Wang found it difficult to explain as pearls can only grow in water.