China is known for rich bamboo resources, and more than 400 species of bamboo grow in China. As early as the Shang Dynasty, Chinese people began to use bamboo for making household articles and weapons. In ancient times before paper was invented, bamboo slips were used for writing.
? Bamboo was intimately connected with the daily lives of people in ancient times. People used bamboo as firewood to cook food; they used bamboo to make tiles, paper, rafts, hats, rain capes, and shoes. At present bamboo is widely used for household articles such as mats, beds, pillows, benches, chairs, cabinets, buckets, chopsticks, spoons, baskets, and handheld fans. Bamboo shoots are eatable. Its taste is crisp, fresh and a bit sweet.

Bamboo Woven Porcelains
Bamboo woven products are a special handicraft in art form. They include bamboo-woven toy animals, lanterns, flower baskets, trays, tea boxes, screens, and curtains. Bamboo-thread woven porcelains are characterized by bamboo splits, which cover the surface of the porcelains. There are various types of local bamboo in Sichuan, but only one kind of bamboo meets the need of this weaving demand. It is called cizhu, and grows in Qionglai mountainous area, one of the birthplaces of the giant pandas.
However, not all the cizhun bamboo is qualified enough to meet the normal standards. Basically cizhu bamboo should be two years old, it is at least 66cm and over between its joints, it has no cutting scars on the surface. Once cizhu bamboo tubes meet the required standards, their skin is cut into splits. Each split is about 60cm long, and looks almost as thin as a hair. Fifty-kilogram cizhu bamboo tubes produce 400 gram of splits.
In the Chengdu Bamboo Weaving Factory, workers weave bamboo splits on the surface of vases, coffee sets, tea sets and bowls. Many visitors make arrangements to watch this miraculous process. The weavers’ work always amazes them.
The porcelain weaving process usually starts at the bottom of a porcelain vase or a teacup. For an example, warp and weft splits interlace closely on the surface of the product; splits slowly cover the whole body and usually end on the top of the product, where the ends of splits are tied hard with invisible knots. During the weaving process bamboo splits can’t be twisted or placed on the top of one another. The joints between the ends of splits must be hidden from sight.
Bronze was a popular color in the bamboo woven program before the dyeing technique was introduced. Now other colors have been added to bamboo woven products. Handicraft artists have been added to bamboo woven products. Handicraft artists have produced varied designs, which resemble geometric figures, city buttresses, flowers and birds. Particularly flower patterns appear jacquarded, indistinct or natural. They appeal to the artistic desires of customers.
At the end of the 19th century, the Qing government sent Chengdu bamboo-woven porcelains to the Panama International Exposition to be exhibited. The products won a silver medal. In 1975, a group of local bamboo handicraft artists went to Japan. There the artists demonstrated on the spot how to weave bamboo splits on porcelains. Their performance was deeply admired by the Japanese audience.
?Bamboo Curtain Paintings
This special product consists of bamboo, silk thread, and paintings. A handicraft artist skillfully weaves with bamboo splits and silk thread. Warp bamboo splits run along the length curtain, while weft silk threads run horizontally across the width. After the artist completes the bamboo and silk weaving, a painter starts painting pictures or writes Chinese characters on the woven curtain. Chinese painters are most accommodating. If you have a favorite scene you would like to reproduce on a fine curtain, they will make it for you. Usually painters blend the traditional patterns, landscapes, and creatures with modern concepts. Most of the bamboo curtain paintings are in color and suitable for modern décor in restaurants and meeting halls.
Bamboo Fans