[Video by Ding Ting]

Jiangsu Liuyun Phoebe Artwork, based in Tangzha town, Nantong, has successfully extracted essential oil and other products from the tailings of jinsi nanmu, or gold phoebe, which have been determined to have medical value based on professional testing.

Jinsi nanmu, a rare type of lumber, has been used in woodcarving art since ancient times. Classics of Chinese medication, such as the Compendium of Materia Medica, record some medical uses of the wood, including treating cholera and alleviating swelling.

The company, which specializes in the research, development, and manufacture of jinsi nanmu artwork, uses more than 100 tons of lumber every year and produces a huge amount of tailings, which are usually burned as firewood.

"It is a terrible thing to waste such a rare material," said Lu Bing, owner of the company, who decided to start making better use of the tailings two years ago.

Lu built an extraction plant at the company and arranged for an R&D team to work with medical and food experts from Nantong University and Jiangnan University.

Their efforts finally paid off after several items with medical value were extracted.

As an industrial leader in architecture, furniture, and jinsi nanmu carving, Lu's company has made a number of significant achievements, including building China's first jinsi nanmu siheyuan courtyard in Yangcheng and reproducing the Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, one of the most famous traditional Chinese landscape paintings.

The company's furniture products have been collected by the National Museum of China, while its musical instruments are popular both in China and abroad.