Chinese university sends bamboo-made admission letters

BEIJING: A university in east China's Zhejiang Province has sent admission letters made from bamboo, in a bid to heighten students' sense of environmental protection.

Researchers at Zhejiang agriculture and forestry University in Hangzhou have developed technology to cut bamboo into ultra thin slips which are pieced together and turned into soft, flexible paper after processing.

The new material is easy to preserve and can help ease the shortage of wood, Miao Lujia, an official of the university, said.

"The bamboo-based paper is eco-friendly, considering the fast growth rate of bamboo. Hopefully the letters will not only impress the new students, but also heighten their sense of environmental protection," he was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.

Besides, bamboo is a material with rich cultural connotation as bamboo slips were used as a main writing material in ancient China, Lujia added.