Cangyuan: Where the world’s largest bamboo thrives

 

Dendrocalamus sinicus, also known as “Giant Dragon Bamboo”, grows well in southwest Yunnan’s Cangyuan Wa autonomous county, where giant bamboos are highly visible in the townships and villages like Banhong, Banlao and Nanla.

Giant Dragon Bamboo is the largest bamboo in the world. Of all known bamboo species, it has the tallest and biggest culms which can reach up to 46 meters in height, and up to 37 cm in diameter.

 

A village in southwest Yunnan’s Cangyuan Wa autonomous county.

The bamboo has existed in China’s Yunnan and Laos for thousands of years, but it was only discovered by botanists in early 1980s.

The bamboo has high ecological and economic values for its role in carbon reduction and fixation, as well as its use in furniture, construction, paper-making and more.

 

Botanists survey the giant bamboo in Cangyuan Wa autonomous county.

Source: Cangyuan Digital Media Center; Trans-editing by Wang Shixue