Zhubao® Bamboo

Aside from its beauty, bamboo’s most striking characteristic is its immense vitality. One species of bamboo has been known to grow over four feet in 24 hours and new shoots are mature within 60 days! Key environmental features of bamboo are

The fastest growing plant on this planet
A viable replacement for wood
An enduring natural resource
Versatile with a short growth cycle
A critical element of the economy
A renewable resource for agro forestry production
Integrally involved in culture and the arts

Bamboo today contributes to the subsistence needs of over a billion people, and has played a significant role in human societies since time immemorial. Traditional uses as varied as fuel, food, housing and shelter, tools, and music comprise but a part of the broad spectrum of bamboo use. But equally important are bamboo’s industrial uses, and its potential role in mankind’s future. Bamboo for pulp and paper, construction and engineered materials, panel products, and an array of modern uses are becoming readily accepted.

Bamboo is a treelike woody grass, with a natural habitat roughly between 46 southern and northern latitudes, excluding Europe. It thrives at altitudes from sea level to as high as 4,000 meters in elevation. Currently more than 130 genera of woody bamboos and 25 grass bamboos have been reported worldwide. There are over 1,300 species distributed among tropical, subtropical and mild temperate zones covering a total area of over 25 million hectares. Most bamboos live 20 to 30 years, though some live over 100 years.

Bamboo as a high end furniture material has generated renewed interest, especially in Asia, with the emergence of excellent bamboo handicrafts and furniture manufacturers in many places such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. A wide variety of products and designs are being exported. The transformation of what used to be looked upon as a less desirable material into attractive, high end furniture that caters to the sophisticated tastes of urban consumers showcases the versatility of bamboo and the imagination, creativeness and technology behind its use.