His family has been in the business for four generations, and he plans to pass it onto his two sons. In Hong Kong, bamboo is also used to build seasonal opera theaters.Ĭhan Yuk-kwong, the owner of Wah Bo Engineering, has been building bamboo theaters for nearly 40 years. The characteristics of bamboo make it the ideal material for temporary structures such as scaffolding. How bamboo artisans are continuing their craft Gaozhu is used more often to build the foundation of bamboo structures. One is called gaozhu 篙竹, which comes from a species called Bambusa pervariabilis, and the other is maozhu 毛竹, which is thicker, longer, and comes from Phyllostachys edulis. Two types of bamboo are used in Chinese construction. ![]() If properly installed, bamboo can be stronger than steel and far more flexible. It’s six times faster to put up and 12 times faster to take down. Photo: Felix Wong/SCMPĬompared to steel, bamboo is also a much lighter material. Workers on bamboo scaffolding in Hong Kong. This means that a grove of bamboo can grow for up to 100 years. It is the fastest-growing plant on earth, with the ability to grow up to three feet a day, thanks to rhizomes, which are underground roots that help bamboo self-multiply. If bamboo is such a difficult material to work with, why is it still used in Hong Kong?įor one, bamboo is sustainable and cheaper to source. In Hong Kong, the best bamboo is sourced from Guangxi and Wuzhou. The preferred length is around 20 feet, not long considering some structures can reach up to 600 feet. A usable piece is three to five years old and air-dried indoors for at least three months. (Read more: Photos of Hong Kong as a skyscraper dystopia)īecause of these dangers, there are specific requirements for sourcing bamboo. “A lot of scaffolding might appear fine after construction,” he says, “but soon, they’ll start bending like they’re dancing. Wan, who has been in the industry for over 25 years, has seen his share of botched bamboo projects. A construction worker at a bamboo theater in Hong Kong.
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