Longquan Yilong Bamboo and Wood Development in Lishui, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Tide News]

Longquan, a county-level city in Lishui, Zhejiang province, is accelerating its bamboo industry transformation, shifting from low-end processing to high-tech material production. The city, home to 61,740 mu (4,098 hectares) of bamboo forests and 109 million standing bamboo plants, has long relied on bamboo as a pillar industry.

Longquan Yilong Bamboo and Wood Development has completed construction of a 102 million yuan ($15.11 million) intelligent production line with an annual capacity of 7,000 cubic meters of bamboo structural components, targeting large public buildings, prefabricated construction, and cross-border infrastructure projects. The new line is expected to generate 80 million yuan in annual sales.

The company's engineered "bamboo steel" products, which offer tensile strength two to three times that of steel and over 30 percent lower energy consumption than conventional materials, have been installed nationwide and abroad.

At Suncha Technology, bamboo waste is now converted into durable composite pallets through a proprietary process developed in collaboration with the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering.

The pallets can support over four metric tons in static load and 1.5  tons in dynamic handling, while costing 30 percent less than traditional plastic pallets. The company's first production line is already in continuous operation.

Longquan has also restructured its industrial layout, establishing 30 primary processing points, 16 small industrial parks, and two sawing centers. The city has been named a key bamboo industry county in Zhejiang, with an ambitious plan to develop a bamboo industry cluster worth 10 billion yuan.