Chinese firms account for 90% of the international export market for laminated bamboo flooring, the appeal of which has grown as Western consumers go green. In 2016 factories churned out 116m ...

Balanced on swaying poles, scaffolders in Hong Kong cling to Tinkertoy-like constructions of bamboo sticks. This is how the city’s tallest skyscrapers are built.

Today, bamboo structures can be seen all over Hong Kong, where it is estimated that more than five million rods are used by the construction industry each year. Metal scaffolding in this Chinese ...

Balanced on swaying poles, scaffolders in Hong Kong cling to Tinkertoy-like constructions of bamboo sticks. This is how the city’s tallest skyscrapers are built.

The move is controversial. Bamboo accounts for 80 per cent of scaffolding in Hong Kong, according to industry estimates, and thousands of registered bamboo scaffolders rely on the trade.