From "Bamboo Instead of Plastic" to "Bamboo Instead of Steel"

"China boasts the world’s most abundant bamboo resources, the most complete industrial chain, and the largest industrial scale. The 110 million mu of bamboo forests are a rich natural endowment bestowed by nature upon the Chinese nation. At present, China’s bamboo industry is in a golden period of development, with overlapping opportunities in policy, market, and technology," said Chu Fuxiang, Chairman of the Sixth Council of the China Bamboo Industry Association.

Numbers speak loudest. Yu Wenji, Chief Scientist at the Chinese Academy of Forestry and President of the National Bamboo Industry Research Institute, told reporters that in 2024, the total output value of China’s bamboo industry reached approximately 520 billion yuan. By 2035, it is expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan.

After decades of development, China has established a complete industrial system covering resource cultivation, primary processing, deep processing, equipment manufacturing, trade and logistics, as well as cultural tourism and wellness. The variety of bamboo products has surpassed 10,000 types, with cluster effects becoming increasingly prominent in major production regions such as Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Sichuan.

According to Fan Shaohui, a researcher at the International Bamboo and Rattan Center, China has established more than 50 typical bamboo gardens, preserving over 500 bamboo species (including varieties and forms) from both domestic and international sources. Remarkable achievements have been made in areas such as germplasm resource preservation, precision cultivation, and efficient spatial utilization. Technologies like precision cultivation of moso bamboo, winter harvest of spring shoots, and efficient cultivation of sympodial bamboos have been widely promoted.

Technological innovation has significantly expanded the value boundaries of the bamboo industry.