Anji Moso Bamboo

Anji Moso Bamboo

　　Anji County in Zhejiang Province has long been known as the "Hometown of Bamboo," primarily due to the region’s high yield and quality of moso bamboo. The county has 1 million mu of moso bamboo forests, with an annual commercial bamboo harvest of over 20 million poles, and the bamboo industry’s output value reaches 4.5 billion yuan, accounting for over 30% of the total agricultural output value. The county is home to more than 1,600 bamboo product processing factories, generating 80 million US dollars in export earnings. Hence the saying, “The world’s moso bamboo is in China, and China’s moso bamboo is in Anji.” The total bamboo forest area is 980,000 mu, including 770,000 mu of moso bamboo, 210,000 mu of small bamboo groves, with a moso bamboo stock of 135 million poles — the highest in the country — and an annual commercial moso bamboo yield of over 18 million poles.

　　　　Anji County in Zhejiang Province is China’s renowned Hometown of Moso Bamboo, ranking first among the nation’s top ten "Bamboo Counties." The bamboo economy is a pillar industry and economic growth driver for Anji. In recent years, efforts focused on developing bamboo resources have taken encouraging steps through strategies promoting trade, industry, agriculture, and an export-oriented bamboo industry. Bold exploration and in-depth development in deep processing of moso bamboo have led to the creation of over 700 varieties across five major product lines: bamboo mats, bamboo plywood, bamboo cushions, bamboo handicrafts, and bamboo sports and cultural goods, which are sold both domestically and internationally. By-products include medicinal fresh bamboo juice, bamboo root carvings, root fiber products, coarse bamboo materials, aged bamboo strips, brooms, handle bamboo, white bamboo, bamboo charcoal, and fishing rods. Local forestry farmers have acquired considerable scientific knowledge in bamboo cultivation, such as ensuring full ground cover during soil preparation, thorough removal of weeds, even application of herbicides, and selective harvesting based on bamboo age. Particularly in spring bamboo shoot digging—once done solely by experience and often excessively—they now understand the need to retain shoots at a ratio of 1:1.3 relative to parent bamboo. Moreover, depending on regional characteristics, they can develop either high-yield moso bamboo forests or dual-purpose forests for both shoots and timber. With the promotion of these advanced techniques, not only do the bamboos grow thicker and stronger, but the per-mu bamboo stand density has also increased from fewer than 100 poles to 160 poles—an over 60% rise.

　　　　In the vast mountainous areas south of Tianmu Mountain in Anji County, Zhejiang Province, famous local specialties such as Tianmu dried bamboo shoots, bamboo shoot tips, and bamboo shoot preserves are abundantly produced. Bamboo shoots are hailed as the “world’s number one vegetarian delicacy” and are a specialty of Anji. Bamboo shoot products are traditional flagship items of the county, with the production of boiled bamboo shoots ranking first in the nation, along with ready-to-eat finished bamboo shoots. The county has an annual processing capacity of over 30,000 tons of various bamboo shoot products, including 12,000 tons exported to Japan. Additionally, with an annual output of around 3,000 tons, these shoots are a popular dish in hotels, restaurants, and ordinary households across Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai. Currently, there are over 1,200 bamboo shoot processing enterprises and bamboo product processing factories in the county. In 1999, the county’s bamboo industry output value exceeded 1.7 billion yuan.