Developing a Specialty Straw-Weaving Industry, Weaving a “Road to Wealth” for Rural Areas

On the banks of the Mati Lake in Huantai County, the land is rich in natural resources. Materials as ordinary as cattail, reed, and willow twigs are transformed by the skillful hands of the lakeside villagers into vivid, lifelike works of art full of vitality. As the largest straw and reed weaving production and processing enterprise north of the Yangtze River, Shandong Longtu Home Furnishing Co., Ltd. leverages the unique natural resources of the Mati Lake area to lead fellow villagers in turning their "fingertip craftsmanship" into a "fingertip economy," gradually building a major industry from small straw weaving.