The bamboo institute attached to Yunnan Normal University announced on Thursday that they have found the world's biggest bamboo plant in an artificially-grown bamboo forest in Menghai county of Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture of ethnic Dai group, in southwestern China.

Tan Hongchao, director of the institute, said the bamboo plant was measured 46 meters tall, with a diameter of 36 cm and is estimated to weigh about 450 kg. It can be called the "king of bamboo," Tan added.

Local farmers say that the huge bamboo was just one year old.

The discovery has proven bamboo to be the fastest growing species of all plants in terms of the per-unit yield and annual growth, acknowledged Tan, and the finding was of great scientific significance and high economic value.

China has launched projects nationwide in an effort to protect natural forests and introduced a ban on random felling of natural forests, which means bamboo could be used as an ideal substitute for trees and can be grown on large areas of land, said Tan.

(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2003)