Soft rush crop generates wealth in village in E China's Jiangxi

Villagers dry soft rush straws in Hebu village, Hebu township, Linchuan district, Fuzhou, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

In midsummer, villagers in Hebu village, Hebu township, Linchuan district of Fuzhou, east China's Jiangxi Province, are busy harvesting and drying soft rush.

Linchuan is the country's largest soft rush (Juncus effusus) producing area. The district has adopted a development model integrating companies, cooperatives, production bases, and farming households to steadily expand cultivation, with the planting area growing from more than 3,000 mu (200 hectares) to 12,000 mu.

Linchuan has continued to extend the soft rush industrial chain and develop new business models, creating diverse products and consumption scenarios including wellness soup packs, handicrafts, cultural tourism, and study tours. It has also promoted resource recycling by using soft rush stems and skins to make straw mats and ropes, while turning scraps and leftover materials into eco-friendly fuel pellets. These efforts have transformed waste into valuable resources and enhanced the added value of soft rush products.

Today, Linchuan's soft rush products are exported to more than 10 countries and regions, including Singapore and Thailand, with annual transaction value exceeding 200 million yuan (about $29.64 million).

Villagers dry soft rush straws in Hebu village, Hebu township, Linchuan district, Fuzhou, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

A villager dries soft rush straws in Hebu village, Hebu township, Linchuan district, Fuzhou, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

A villager reaps soft rush straws in Hebu village, Hebu township, Linchuan district, Fuzhou, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

Villagers reap soft rush straws in Hebu village, Hebu township, Linchuan district, Fuzhou, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)

Villagers reap soft rush straws in Hebu village, Hebu township, Linchuan district, Fuzhou, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Zhu Haipeng)