Flourishing under willow tree profits

A resident weaves wickerwork products at his home in Funan county, Anhui province, on April 16. ZHOU MU/XINHUA

Geng Shifen earns a living by harvesting willow twigs from trees located next to Zhang's plantation.

"I can process 100 to 150 kilograms of willow twigs per day, from which I make around 80 yuan ($11). I was introduced to this job by my neighbor," Geng said.

The twigs are dried for two days before they are sent to weaving factories as raw materials. When the process is completed, villagers like Geng can find work in factories weaving wickerwork products.

Unlike Geng, 53-year-old villager Dai Li weaves at home because he has to look after his wife, who has cancer.

"I can weave 40 willow baskets per day. For each basket, I earn about 2 yuan," Dai said.

A total of 130,000 people are engaged in the wickerwork industry in Funan, creating products valued at nearly 9 billion yuan last year, according to local government statistics. About 15,000 people have shaken off poverty through the wickerwork industry in Funan, from planting willow trees and processing twigs to weaving products.

Wickerwork products are exported to over 120 countries and regions around the world. The export value of wickerwork has increased from $5.76 million in 2006 to more than $266 million last year.

"We are building a willow cultural park covering an area of nearly 13.3 hectares, where thousands of wickerwork products and woodcarving products will be displayed. It's expected to be finished this year," said Cui Li, Party chief of Funan county.