General FAQ

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions, if you have any questions not listed here, please contact us.

Why is your web site domain volonghill.com.cn?

"Volonghill" is exactly the pronunciation in Chinese for "ÎÔÁúɽ". It's a hill name, and it's is located in Mentougou District, western of Beijing. There were many coal mines and in history supplying coal minerals to the city. "Volong Hill" had been quarried for slate stones since 1995. The nice quality slates were mainly green and mottle gray, especially good choice for roofing tile. All quarries were closed in the year 2008 and the region was rebuilt and has now become a National Park - a leisure place for citizens. However we decided to keep using the same domain to demonstrate our natural stone products though they are indeed no more produced at "Volong Hill" now.

Are the stone pictures here of accurate colors?

Yes, we are constantly trying to shoot every stone pictures with color management, hoping that the pictures are as much close as the real stone samples. However, all natural stones will vary in color, intensity and veining from one piece to another or even within individual pieces. Therefore the images here are provided as an indication only.

Do you accept retail orders? What is the minimum quantity required?

Basic we sell our products on B2B (business to business) base. However if you have special interest in our products, you can contact us, we will let you know if we can sell you directly or may direct you to our partner in your region. Approximately 95% of our exports are shipped by FCL (Full Container Load), though 5% are done via LCL (Less Than Container Load) or group age shipments.

Can I get stone samples from you?

Yes, after browsing our web site, you will know which color and type stone you are interested in. We can send you free samples and our brochures upon receipt of your request. The stocked samples are normally in the size of 100x100mm or 100x150mm. If you need real size samples larger than above, you have pay for the courier charge. Only a longtime partner is entitled to ask for it free of cost.

Do you have a price list?

We have found it is not practical to publish a price list as there are so many variables with our natural stonework. We are however more than happy to provide you with a price by email or fax. Please contact us for a competitive quote.

What is your shipment port (port of loading)? How do you ship the stones to seaport

Xingang port, Tianjin, China is the common sea port we use here. It's about 180km from Beijing city, the nearest sea port to Beijing. When orders are accomplished, we bring in the containers by lorries into our factory, load in the finished and well-packed stones carefully. After loading, the containers are delivered to the container yard at Xingang sea port. Fumigation treatment to wooden packages (normally for 48 hours) would be done by professional fumigation company there. After fumigation treatment, containers are loaded on the vessel for sea trip on a time per the carrier's schedule .

Which port do you regular ship the stone to (port of discharge)? How many days do they need to travel?

These are the regular ports we ship stones to. The voyage time varies from 5 days to 35 days due to vary of distance.

What stone packing do you normally use?

We use carton boxes (for tiles especially) and sturdy, seaworthy wooden crate/case packages. The wood packaging materials (WPM) we use are all well treated (fumigated with methyl bromide at loading port) and marked with IPPC logo and two-letter ISO code in compliance with ISPM (International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures) No. 15.

How do you assure the quality of your products?

We will fix with our customer an agreement on the quality standard with each order when it's placed to us. We have technical personnel to supervise the production and to do strict quality control inspection to ensure the quality. We guarantee to send replacement in any case if our products fail to meet the agreed quality standard, though this is very scares to happen.

What is your payment term policy?

We accept both T/T payment(Telegraphic bank transfer) or L/C (Letter of Credit). However T/T is a easier and better choice for both seller and buyers. Very little chance is L/C used nowadays. Most of our new buyers usually bank transfer 30% of total amount as deposit, and wire us the balance only after shipping. We will send all related production, inspection photos and copies of BOL to client to request the balance payment. Overseas draft is often very slow to get paid in China, so we don't accept that.