Across China: Coconut carvings shape villagers' prosperous lives

Wearing masks and overalls, two villagers skillfully drilled holes into coconut shells and used machines to cut them into circular and square pieces.

They are residents of Yushu Village in the city of Wenchang, in the tropical island province of Hainan. In the early years, local people made ends meet by planting vegetables like peppers or by working in big cities.

Thanks to the development of the burgeoning coconut carving industry, villagers do not need to work outside their hometowns any longer. Coconut processing has become a new way to make a living, bringing job opportunities with handsome profits.

The change of Yushu Village is an example of China's efforts to push forward rural vitalization.

China unveiled its "No. 1 central document" for 2022 last week, calling for efforts to be made to develop county-level industries and commerce systems, as well as to encourage rural residents to obtain employment or start businesses locally.

FROM GAMEPADS TO COCONUT LOUDSPEAKERS

In Yushu Village, processed coconut shells are sent to factories that design and make coconut carvings. Zhang Bidi owns one of the factories.

Zhang, 53, was born in the city of Qionghai in Hainan. When he was a kid, his neighbor was a carpenter that was good at coconut carving.

"I developed a deep affection for coconut carvings when I was a child," he recalled.

In 1991, after graduation from high school, Zhang went to the city of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, and worked in a company making gamepads. Zhang worked years there until 2010 when an idea suddenly crossed his mind.

"Out of nowhere, I had an idea to make a blue-tooth loudspeaker in the shape of a coconut carving," he said. "It proved to be the best idea ever."

Zhang believed that blue-tooth loudspeakers would be popular with the public, and he continued to dig into the industry.

"Coconut shells have high density and have high resonance, so I thought it would be a good business opportunity," he said.

In 2015, Zhang returned to his hometown and launched a coconut carving company with his wife.

CARVING OUT A BRIGHT FUTURE

Zhang said that coconut carvings are a highlight of Hainan's handicrafts and are intangible cultural heritage.

"The problem is that few people know about coconut carvings and the industry scale is still small," said Zhang.

To solve the problem, Zhang set up a research and development studio for coconut carving in 2018.

"I teach 60 students every semester. They can learn coconut carving skills and design, as well as work as interns in my company," he said.

Chen Bolin, 20, graduated from college last year. She works in Zhang's company.

"I joined the company because I was attracted by the coconut carving culture, and I want more people to know about it," said Chen.

Chen and her friends registered a new company several months ago that takes on the design and marketing for the coconut carvings.

Fu Yanzhen, 35, married her husband in Yushu Village. She used to do some part-time jobs in big cities far away from home to make ends meet.

Thanks to the coconut carving industry, she does not need to leave home for work anymore. Instead, she is in charge of coconut shell cutting in her village.

"The job brings me about 3,500 yuan (about 555 U.S. dollars) per month. It is much better than my job before and is closer to my family," Fu said.