Bamboo Industry Grows Fast in Yunnan

During the past five years, southwest China's Yunnan Province has seen a sharp rise in its bamboo industry.

The province has so far cultivated some 800,000 mu ( 53,333 hectares ) of bamboo forests and established 36 plants, which respectively specialize in the processing of edible bamboo shoots, making paper and chopsticks with bamboo, sources said.

In addition, a large number of rural households in the province are engaging in the manufacture of various delicate bamboo handicrafts.

The province plans to develop another several million mu of bamboo forests during the coming years, targeting an annual output value of 3.4 billion yuan ( some 400 million US dollars) for the sector by the year 2010, according to officials.

The boom of the bamboo industry has not only indirectly protected the natural woods in the province from being exploited, but also improved the income of those living in the mountain areas, officials said.

With a hot and humid climate, this sub-tropical province is a place where grow more than 220 kinds of bamboo, which almost makes up half of the world's total bamboo species.

People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/