Guangning Bamboo

Guangning Bamboo

　　Guangning County is one of China's top ten "Hometowns of Bamboo" and the only county in Guangdong Province to hold this distinction. Located in the northwest of Guangdong and along the middle reaches of the Sui River, Guangning lies on the northern edge of the southern subtropical zone, enjoying an environment and climate highly suitable for the growth and proliferation of bamboo species.

　　 According to archaeological appraisals by experts of unearthed artifacts in Guangning (such as bronze bamboo knives and bamboo-woven containers from late Warring States Period tomb clusters), Guangning has over 2,000 years of history in bamboo cultivation and utilization.

　　 Guangning County boasts abundant and widely distributed bamboo resources. According to a 1988 survey by the Guangdong Provincial Forestry Survey and Design Institute, the county has 941,100 mu of bamboo forests—35 times the national average of 27,000 mu per county (or city)—and accounting for 36% of Guangdong Province’s (including Hainan) total bamboo forest area of 3.38 million mu. Bamboo is planted throughout the county, extending horizontally from the banks of the Sui River to the mountainous regions in the northwest, with the central distribution area along the Sui River corridor, known as the "Sui River Bamboo Corridor." The main bamboo-producing towns include Gushui, Zhouzi, Nanjie, Hengshan, Shijian, Paisha, Binheng, and Wuhe, as well as Nanshang in Kengkou Town, while other towns also have contiguous bamboo forests along rivers and across most mountainous areas. Vertically, bamboo grows from the county seat at an elevation of 35 meters up to Guoduding Peak at 879 meters—part of the Luokeshan Mountain range, the highest in the county at 1,339 meters. In 1934, German forestry expert Apro, after inspecting Guangning, wrote in the “Forest Survey Report of Guangning County, Guangdong Province”: “The alluvial lands upstream along the river are densely covered with bamboo groves replacing farmland. Further upstream, bamboo cultivation extends toward mountain peaks, intermingling with Masson pine and Schima trees, increasing forest density and fostering lush growth of various tree species.” This illustrates the extensive presence of bamboo across Guangning, living up to its reputation as the "Hometown of Bamboo."

　　 Guangning is home to a wide variety of bamboo species. The 1824 “Guangning County Annals” recorded the following types: lustrous bamboo (lembu bamboo), Guanyin bamboo, green skin bamboo, prop bamboo, bitter bamboo, iron hedge bamboo, Buddha’s belly bamboo, text shoot bamboo, tea pole bamboo, and big head bamboo. According to a 1988 forestry survey, the county has 55 species across 14 genera (including 12 newly discovered species), accounting for approximately 19.4% and 5.5% of the world’s 72 genera and over 1,000 existing bamboo species, and 33.3% and 13.7% of China’s 42 genera and over 400 species. This also represents 66.6% and 41.6% of Guangdong Province’s 21 genera and 132 species. Green skin bamboo is the predominant species in Guangning, covering 84.4% of the county’s bamboo forest area, and is also the national center of green skin bamboo production—hence it is also called "Guangning Bamboo."

　　 Guangning bamboo species are mainly divided into five categories based on use (some have multiple uses): (1) Timber bamboo: includes green skin bamboo, Yazhou bamboo, moso bamboo (nan bamboo, mao bamboo), prop bamboo, mud bamboo, tea pole bamboo, green hedge bamboo, hanging silk bamboo, wood bamboo, giant bamboo, lembu bamboo, wrinkled ear stone bamboo, hardhead yellow bamboo, cart shaft bamboo, big eye bamboo, leaf sheath bamboo, umbrella handle bamboo, support bamboo, hardneck yellow bamboo, etc. (2) Splitting bamboo: includes green skin bamboo, Yazhou bamboo, pink single bamboo, bubble bamboo, etc. (3) Shoot bamboo: includes big head dian bamboo, pu bamboo, crazy boy bamboo, giant bamboo, text shoot bamboo, lembu bamboo, light bamboo, sweet shoot bamboo, hanging silk bamboo, cart shaft bamboo, bitter bamboo, yellow hemp bamboo (four-season bamboo), etc. (4) Hedge bamboo (for embankments and gardens): includes small lembu bamboo, oil lembu bamboo, prismatic hedge bamboo, sweet shoot bamboo, pointed head green bamboo, sand bamboo, mountain runner, fir-view bamboo, crazy boy bamboo, umbrella handle bamboo, water bamboo sprout, support bamboo, hedge bamboo, etc. (5) Ornamental bamboo: includes Guanyin bamboo, hanging silk bamboo, pink single bamboo, Buddha’s belly bamboo, filial piety bamboo, purple bamboo, purple-spotted fernleaf bamboo, etc.