A member of staff checks bamboo pieces on the production line, at a factory in the Qingyuan county bamboo industrial park. [Photo/WeChat account: ls-mnews]

The Qingyuan county bamboo industrial park – located in Longgong township, Qingyuan county, administered by Lishui city in East China's Zhejiang province – officially opened on Jan 1.

The Qingyuan bamboo forest area accounts for an estimated 18 percent of the bamboo cultivated in the region administered by the prefecture-level city of Lishui and 4 percent of the province's total. Longgong township is where the bamboo industry originated in Qingyuan and it was the pioneer area for the reform of the forestry property rights system.

The bamboo industry in the township has been prosperous since the 1980s, with almost every local household operating a small bamboo workshop. However, in recent years, the scattered small workshops have not been able to adapt to burgeoning market demand. 

According to officials from the Qingyuan government, the bamboo industrial park is expected to improve the processing supply chain of the bamboo industry and optimize and adjust the development structure of the bamboo sector in the county.

Qingyuan-based manufacturer Suncha Bamboo & Wood Technology Co Ltd occupies a major part of the industrial park. The company has an annual production capacity of nearly 500 million pairs of chopsticks, with an output value reaching 1 billion yuan ($156.9 million).

Plans are for the group to invest and develop three demonstration parks integrating bamboo cultivation and tourism in Longgong township. This is expected to link the integrated development of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries for bamboo in Qingyuan county.