Liantang straw weaving

Qingpu Liantang is a well-known water bamboo production base in the suburbs of Shanghai, with a planting area of more than 30,000 mu/year and more than 70,000 tons of water bamboo on the market. Although the water bamboo industry has brought considerable income to local farmers, the annual production of more than 1,000 tons of water bamboo leaves has also become a headache for pond practitioners. In the 1990s, when a local man with a heart in Liantang visited Japan, he accidentally discovered that Japanese people had the custom of making sacrifices with handicrafts woven from straw every month, so he thought of weaving handicrafts with bamboo leaves from his hometown instead of straw. After returning to Liantang, he and his colleagues immediately tried to weave with water bamboo leaves, and the result was a hit. After seeing the samples, Japanese merchants praised them again and again and signed a batch of contracts on the spot. Since then, Liantang people have embarked on a new way to develop a green circular economy. The local government guided farmers to use the leaves of Zizania latifolia, followed by rush, lotus leaf and straw to process and weave a piece of handicrafts with novel patterns and colorful colors, which were well received by overseas merchants. Clever and capable pond-cultivators have turned rice stalks and water bamboo leaves, which could only be turned into ashes and compost, into a "treasure of art" that everyone loves.
Reprinted with attribution： https://cnlocality.com/(Chinese Specialty Products)