County turns focus of reed industry from paper to palate, Zhang Zhao reports.

In Yuanjiang city, Hunan province, reed shoots are not only a traditional part of the local diet - they also reflect local economic restructuring aimed at developing environmentally sustainable industries.

The city in the Dongting Lake area is touted as the country's largest reed producing region, covering more than 20,000 hectares with an annual production of half a million metric tons.

The reeds were mostly used to produce paper in the past, but the business had been significantly scaled back in recent years because of water pollution from the paper-making process.

That in turn led to an overstocking of the plants.

In 2013, the local authorities decided to upgrade various industries, with reeds serving as the foundation of the local economy with a different approach -instead of material for paper, the reeds would be used to produce healthy food.

In March 2014, a special office responsible for the reed shoots industry was established in the city government.

Yao Liping, director of the office, said that due to the initial closure of paper mills, "thousands of hectares of reeds could not be used effectively".

"Meanwhile, burning them would be a waste of resources and lead to air pollution."

The government was forced to restructure the industry and the decision proved to be right, he said.

The reed shoots are a traditional dish in Yuanjiang.

More than 20 books on traditional Chinese medicine have also recorded the medical functions of the shoots, with the earliest entry dating back some 2,000 years.

Yao said he still remembers how delicious the reed shoots were when he first tasted them as a child.

"Before I left home to join the army, an elderly man gave me a bowl of reed shoot soup. I felt full of energy after finishing it," he said. Retired teacher Wang Lamei, 64, has similar memories of the food.

"When I was young, government officials would prepare reed shoot soup in spring and provide it free to people crossing the rivers," the Yuanjiang resident said.

"We used the soup to prevent encephalitis at that time."

As a symbol of Yuanjiang today, reed shoots can be found on advertising boards along the highways linking the city and provincial capital Changsha.

In 2013, revenue from business related to reed shoots in Yuanjiang was less than 7 million yuan ($1.1 million). That soared to nearly 500 million yuan in 2014 and 1.5 billion yuan last year.

The industry is attracting more local companies. There were just two companies dealing with the produce in 2013 and that has since grown to 26.

Hunan Boda Tianneng Co Ltd has invested more than 40 million yuan in a production line for reed shoot noodles since it opened a facility in the Yuanjiang high-tech zone in July 2015.

It plans to invest another 150 million yuan to develop new products.

"The investment climate was not well-established when I visited Yuanjiang 10 years ago, but last year I found great opportunities," said Shen Aiguo, chairman of the company.

"I decided to invest in reed shoots because they are part of a green industry with great market potential, and it is an industry with strong support from the local government."

The industry is expected to generate revenue of 2.2 billion yuan this year and the number is set to hit 10 billion yuan in 10 years, Yao Liping from the city's special reed shoot office said.

The government has made detailed plans for the sector.

They include working with universities and research institutions, supporting e-business platforms, looking out for more investment opportunities and developing overseas markets such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

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