Visitors enjoy digging bamboo shoots.

Following the Qingming Festival and the warming spring weather, bamboo shoots are once again in season --- springing from the earth and making their way onto local dining tables. On April 9th, the inaugural Ouhai Bamboo Shoot Culture Week, themed “The Charm of Zeya Spring Shoots, The Journey to Shared Prosperity,” opened in Shuangtian Village, Zeya Town. The event drew crowds of visitors eager to enjoy the spring landscape, savor seasonal flavors, and experience the rich culture of the bamboo village.

The opening ceremony captivated audiences with a quintet performance featuring traditional bamboo musical instruments. A variety of interactive activities followed, including collecting stamps on cultural passports, posing for photos in traditional attire, competing in a “Bamboo Shoot King” contest, and exploring a lively bamboo-themed market. Bamboo shoots, long celebrated as a culinary treasure in Chinese literature, took center stage as the digging experience proved most popular. At the Oujiang District’s scientific demonstration base for high-efficiency bamboo shoot cultivation, visitors eagerly picked up hoes to unearth spring shoots. Tender and golden-hued, the freshly harvested shoots were irresistible. “I heard about this event through a public WeChat account a few days ago and decided to bring my child along to experience it,” said Mr. Cao, a visitor from Shanghai. “The atmosphere is wonderful. I’m hoping to dig up a few more to take home and enjoy.” Local resident Mr. Zhang, a self-proclaimed foodie, shared that he visits this base every year during the Qingming Festival to handpick the finest bamboo shoots.

It has been announced that the event will conclude on April 16th. Visitors can enjoy the digging experience free of charge and bring home one freshly harvested shoot. Any extras will be charged at 6 yuan per kilogram, with on-site weighing and payment.

Often referred to as the “Millennial Paper Mountain and Bamboo Wonderland,” Zeya Town is well known for its over 2,666 hectares of bamboo forest. Shuangtian Village has served as a core base for Ouhai’s bamboo industry, steeped in over a century of rich bamboo culture. The locally cultivated Yangtian bamboo shoots are highly esteemed for their exceptional flavor and quality, making them a favorite among residents.

Chen Changshou, Party Branch Secretary of Shuangtian Village, highlighted the village’s long-standing reputation for producing premium, high-yield bamboo shoots. Situated at an altitude of 500 to 650 meters above sea level, the village benefits from an ideal growing environment, characterized by red soil, rich topsoil, gently sloping terrain, and abundant water resource. The superior quality of the Yangtian bamboo shoots is largely credited to this unique environment. Since 2014, under the guidance of experts from the Zhejiang Subtropical Crops Research Institute, Shuangtian Village has implemented forest-covering techniques to further enhance both the yield and quality of its bamboo shoots. These efforts have led to the recognition as part of the Wenzhou City’s “Four News (referring to new technology, varieties, models and equipment)” forestry promotion initiatives and the “10,000 Yuan per Mu” demonstration base project (a primary industry output value of over 10,000 yuan per mu, with one mu equaling 0.0667 hectares). This year, the village is leveraging the cultural festival to bring renewed attention to its signature bamboo shoots.

At the opening ceremony, cooperation agreements were signed, demonstration bases inaugurated, and expert consultants appointed, further reinforcing the industry through innovation and talent. These efforts aim to position Zeya’s bamboo shoot industry as a benchmark for freshness and quality, a model of agricultural excellence, and a “green engine” driving sustainable rural revitalization.