Villagers in Zhenxiong busy with harvesting shoots

Villagers in Zhenxiong are busy with weeding for their bamboos. Photo by Zhenxiong Digital Media Center 

Farmers in the Xishahe village, northeast Yunnan’s Zhenxiong county, are busy these days with harvesting the tender shoots of a square-stemmed bamboo, with its academic name being Chimonobambusa quadrangularis (Fenzl) Makino.

"We harvest the bamboo shoots of Qiongzhuea tumidinoda in spring and those of Chimonobambusa qundrangularis in autumn,” said He Dalin, a Xishahe villager, adding the bamboo shoots have brought his family an annual income of around 130,000 yuan.

 

A Xishahe villager gathers bamboo shoots. Photo by Zhenxiong Digital Media Center  

 

Bamboo shoots are gathered by Xishahe villagers. Photo by Zhenxiong Digital Media Center

In the past two years, edible bamboo shoots have been priced from eight to ten yuan per kilogram in the county. He Dalin specified that each year he gains 40,000 yuan from the 20 mu (1.33 hectares) of Qiongzhuea shoots, and another 90,000 yuan from his 30 mu (2 ha) of Chimonobambusa shoots.

Zhenxiong is located in the lush Wumeng mountains and the monsoon climate of medium latitudes has endowed local bamboo shoots with first-rate taste and quality. Currently, the county produces 63,400 tons of fresh shoots each year, with some sold to Europe and the USA.

 

Villagers in Zhenxiong are busy with peeling bamboo shoots. Photo by Zhenxiong Digital Media Center  

 

Villagers in Zhenxiong process bamboo shoots. Photo by Zhenxiong Digital Media Center 

A villager shows processed shoots. Photo by Zhenxiong Digital Media Center 

Reporting by Xie Yi (Yunnan Daily app); Trans-editing by Wang Shixue