Why bamboo is booming again in Taiwan - Bamboo is ubiquitous in Chinese culture. Sturdy and tenacious, it symbolises virtue.
In fact, the plant has had a profound impact on the daily life, culture and spirituality of the Chinese.
In the past, a wide variety of products were made from bamboo - from roof tiles and rafts, to shoes, furniture and agricultural tools.
But despite the close relationship between Chinese-speaking societies and the natural material, Taiwan's bamboo industry has suffered a decline in recent decades.
It nearly collapsed because of people's preference for more modern-looking products, or just cheaper plastic goods - and the impact of less expensive bamboo imports from China and South East Asia.
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Never did we imagine bamboo can be used to make so many different products”
Chen Ching-fu
General manager of the Bamboo Culture Park
Nowhere was this more apparent than in central Taiwan's Zhushan or "Bamboo Mountain" town.
Hundreds of families used to make bamboo products there in the centre of the country's bamboo industry. Now there are only about 50.
It's a trend reflected in other parts of Taiwan - only about 240 bamboo-products businesses remain on the island.
"In the past, every part of Taiwan had people working in this industry, but over the years, bamboo has been replaced by plastic or steel to make all sorts of products, such as clothes hanging poles, baby cribs, and furniture," says Yang Chun-hsien, director of the Forestry Bureau's reforestation and production division.
However, an earthquake and strong resolve on the part of the government and industry to continue using bamboo have led to a revival and transformation in its use.
In recent years, bamboo has been used to make items never before associated with the plant - from shampoo and insect repellent, to socks, gloves, and even roasted peanuts.
This reinvention of how bamboo is used has made it possible for the small family businesses which make up the industry to stay alive and to start reversing the decades of decline.
Health benefits?
At the height of bamboo production in Taiwan in the 1970s, more than 13 million stalks were harvested each year, and sales of the stalks alone - not including the finished products - amounted to $3.5m (£2.1m) per annum.
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Plastic is very cheap and can be used for longer, but what a shame, bamboo is more environmentally friendly”
Yang Chun-hsien
Forestry Bureau
But in the past decade, the annual harvest amounted to only about 1.67 million stalks with sales adding up to just $456,000 - a little over 10% of the peak level.
Production and sales, however, have been steadily climbing in recent years.
Following a devastating earthquake on 21 September 1999 centred in Nantou county, where Zhushan lies, the central government decided to help the local economy by commissioning the country's non-profit Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to find new ways to help the bamboo industry grow.
ITRI developed a method to carbonise bamboo stalks to produce high quality bamboo charcoal, which has a multitude of different uses.
Naturally insulating, the charcoal can be turned into fibres and woven into fabric to make hats, scarves, gloves, socks and pants.
Also said to be health giving, it is increasingly added to bodycare products, such as skin creams.
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