Baoding, Hebei Province 7

Famous Baoding Iron Balls

In more recent years, the heavy solid ball has been replaced with a hollow, chrome-plated steel model... usually with an sounding plate inside that makes a pleasant tone as the balls are rotated. The balls are still available in solid steel, solid stone, and solid jade versions as well. I have even seen Cloisonne models which must be mostly for display. The hollow chrome balls are by far the most popular and are manufactured by several large factories in China. Several of these modern companies manufacture aerospace products as well.