Chizhou in E China's Anhui turns bamboo into wealth

Chizhou city, east China's Anhui province has embraced new opportunities brought by bamboo, turning its massive bamboo forest resources into wealth.

The city is home to 602,200 mu (40,147 hectares) of bamboo forests, with the area of Moso bamboo covering 560,200 mu. Boasting of 11 contiguous bamboo resource cultivation bases, Chizhou has established 14 specialized bamboo chip factories, with an annual production capacity of 60,000 tonnes.

Photo shows a bamboo forest in Chizhou city of east China's Anhui province. (Photo courtesy of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Chizhou municipal committee)

Anhui HongYe Group Co., Ltd., once a small company manufacturing ice cream sticks and bamboo skewers, has turned into a top enterprise of bamboo-made consumables in China, exporting its products to over 110 countries and regions, including Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. The total output value of the company reached 850 million yuan last year ($118.18 million).

In 2022, the Chinese government and the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization jointly introduced the Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative to encourage countries to reduce plastic pollution and address climate change.

In response to the initiative, the enterprise increased its investment in technological innovation, and rolled out new products such as bamboo straws.

Photo shows bamboo-made straws. (Photo courtesy of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Chizhou municipal committee)

"The bamboo straw was something beyond my imagination in the past. It is really an eye opener, and increases my income," said Zhu Yiwen, a bamboo forest contractor.

Local people could hardly make good use of the abundant bamboo resources in the past. But now, through their partnership with the enterprise, bamboo growers can earn an additional 500 yuan per mu. With an estimated annual sales of around 100 mu of bamboo, growers can get an additional 50,000 yuan per year.

Anhui HongYe Group Co., Ltd. now processes 100,000 tonnes of bamboo annually, and has established the largest production and export base for bamboo skewers, chopsticks, and straws in China. It has also invested 1.5 billion yuan in a 240-mu bamboo industry park for more new bamboo products. The annual output value is expected to reach 4 billion yuan once the industrial park is put into operation.