Busy but running out of growth potential: workers at Guizhou Moutai Distillery package their famous product. [Photo: China Foto Press]

The Bamboo Advantage

Chishui, a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Zunyi, also contributes to the new prosperity of the region. Nestled in the mountains in northwestern Zunyi, bordering Sichuan Province, Chishui occupies a 630-square-kilometer area, of which only eight square kilometers is open and level. In the past, no decent enterprise seemed obvious and investors shunned the place. For years it lagged behind neighboring counties and cities in economic development. But in 1998, new hope glimmered when the Chinese government started implementation of the Protection Project of Natural Forests. Decrees were issued to forbid tree felling and to protect the water sources of the Yangtze River.

The county leadership placed their bets on the potential of the local bamboo forests, thinking bamboo is the best substitute for timber. Bamboo grows fast. In general it takes three or four years to mature, then mature stocks must be felled to make room for young shoots. The climate in Chishui in particular is very suitable for bamboo growing and the region's higher altitude bestows on the plant the qualities of height, thickness and a high fiber density. So all round, the prospects for a bamboo industry seemed promising. After processing, the bamboo products proved to be hard and wear-resistant, preserving their bright and beautiful texture.

Starting in the year 2000, the local people began to expand the bamboo forests. 'Bamboo territory has increased from 38,000 to 80,000 hectares, taking second rank among China's 30 bamboo producers after Fujian Province,' confirmed Zeng Qiang, deputy chief of Chishui County Publicity Department. Chishui farmers recognized immediate and strong returns in the new crop. 'Growers are richer than city folks. Now half of a per capita farm income comes from growing and processing bamboos, and the bamboo handicrafts made from them,' Zeng said.

Chen Wenlan of Datong Town is a master-hand at bamboo weaving and carving. She can carve intricate reliefs of animals, plants and human likenesses on the elastic filmy rind of bamboo without harming the material. Her family runs a store selling bamboo products made in their backyard workshop. The staff is minuscule - five to six - and young, but the profits they generate are surprisingly high. 'At peak season, our annual income can reach RMB 800,000 to RMB 1 million,' her husband told us in the interview. Chen Wenlan also provides free training programs in the handicraft for fellow villagers. In the class we visited, an 18-year-old girl was weaving a portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong using hair-like bamboo threads. Portraits like this will be put into frames and shipped to souvenir shops. 'It is not difficult to learn this technique. Basically it takes one or two months. Patience is more important,' the young apprentice told us as she was weaving. It is said that among all the designs, images of Chairman Mao sell the best.

Cottage industries aren��t the only beneficiaries of the forest protection policy. Large enterprises began to appear in Chishui. In 2008 a 200,000-ton bamboo-pulp paper mill backed by Chitianhua Group went into operation in the city, the largest of its kind in China. But at present the local bamboo output falls far short of sating the mills colossal appetite. 'It takes a million tons of fresh bamboo annually for the production of 200,000 tons of bamboo pulp. The supply here cannot meet half of the demand,' said a staff member of Chitianhua Group. 'One third of the 80,000 hectares of bamboo here were planted in the past few years. We have to wait for it to mature,' he added.

Meanwhile, the geographic problems are presenting themselves anew: transporting raw materials is a challenge. 'It is very difficult to get the bamboo from deep in the mountains to the paper mill. We lack both transport capacity and manpower,' said Zeng Qiang. People hope the expressways under construction will resolve the situation. 'In the coming three years two expressways will pass through here. One leads to Chongqing and another to the provincial capital of Guiyang, via Zunyi. Perhaps then our development will accelerate,' he said.