Bamboo is being recognized as a globally important source of bioenergy. In China, President Xi Jinping encouraged the bamboo industry to realise its full potential during his trip to Sichuan Province earlier this year. His remarks have triggered renewed national interest in the bamboo sector, and in particular the province's bamboo forests in Yibin. CGTN's Hou Na visited the city and talked to local farmers about their life changes.

With just a glimpse of the color of the bamboo trunk, he can tell the age of the tree. Fifty-two years old Zhao Zhiquan knows this bamboo forest all too well. He has been nurturing it for over two decades.

ZHAO ZHIQUAN BAMBOO FARMER "I build this bamboo forest with my own hands and our family's life has improved a lot over the years."

Zhao contracted the bamboo forest as part of the government's policy to return farmland to forests in 1997. By growing and selling bamboo, he can now earn 10,000 U.S. dollars a year. That's something he wouldn't have imagined twenty years ago.

HOU NA YIBIN, SICHUAN PROVINCE "The city of Yibin has abundant bamboo resources. In 2017 alone, the bamboo sector here in the city is worth 1.1 billion U.S. dollars. It offers a sustainable alternative source of income for millions of people like Zhao Zhiquan."

Bamboo has a lifespan of 50 to 100 years. New growth only comes when the old bamboo is cut down, and it grows much faster than traditional pulpwood.

ZHENG RENHONG, DIRECTOR FORESTRY BUREAU, CHANGNING COUNTY OF YIBIN CITY "The biggest advantages of bamboo is it is green and sustainable. We encourage farmers to develop a whole bamboo industrial chain."

In 2017, bamboo farmers earned an average of 500 U.S. dollars from the industry. But for people like Zhao Zhiquan, growing bamboo is not enough. He developed other trade like using bamboo leaves to feed pigs.

ZHAO ZHIQUAN BAMBOO FARMER "We hope the government will support us by bringing more new technologies to develop businesses using bamboo."

Diligence, he says, is key to making money in every career. And he plans to make sure his businesses will thrive like a bamboo tree after a spring rain. HOU NA, CGTN, YIBIN, SICHUANG PROVINCE.