gld lost another 4.5 tons, page-46

Loki, I agree with what Infose posted earlier today.

China is slowly but surely liberalising its gold market. Listen to segment 4 of this recent interview by Al Korelin with Bron Suchecki from a Perth Mint perspective:

http://www.kereport.com/2013/11/16/conventional-stock-markets-bubble/

As Bron says, only 9 local banks are able to import gold in China and there are quotas leading to premiums from time to time. He believes there's a long way to go and that Chinese demand will 'grow and grow'... and that their reported import numbers are a bare minimum.

I disagree with your walnut comparison because Walnut prices have gone crazy. There has been no such bubble in gold prices from a local Chinese perspective over the last decade, more a case of simply opening up their market IMO:

http://www.kitco.com/gold_currency/index.html?currency=cny&timePeriod=10y&flag=gold&otherChart=no