Lei Houxing, honorary president of Lishui Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, brought a pair of serving chopsticks made in Qingyuan county in Lishui, Zhejiang province, to the CPPCC National Committee meeting in Beijing.

The pair of chopsticks was sent by Zhou Yifan, a member of the Qingyuan county committee of the CPPCC. For the past two years, Zhou has been engaged in the cultural creation of chopsticks design.

Why send a pair of chopsticks to Lei Houxing? Zhou said since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, serving chopsticks have been promoted all over the country, to further prevent cross-infection and promote healthy, hygienic and civilized dining methods.

On the other hand, according to Zhou, Qingyuan is the largest production base of bamboo chopsticks in China. Although chopsticks are small, they can leverage the whole bamboo industry and boost the county's economic growth.

The purpose of bringing Qingyuan chopsticks to the CPPCC National Committee is to communicate and discuss with members from all over the country how to better promote serving chopsticks, Lei said.

"I also want to share the good experience and practices of my hometown – Zhejiang – to the whole country," Lei said.

From June this year, Zhejiang province will fully promote the use of serving chopsticks and spoons.