Villagers in Nianshang make boards out of sorghum stalks on Nov 21, 2011. [Photo/CFP]

The boards are made from sorghum stalks. [Photo/CFP]

They were often used as covers for pots and pans. [Photo/CFP]

Sometimes they are used as trays. [Photo/CFP]

There is a long history of making sorghum stalk boards in Nianshang village, Linyi city in East China's Shandong province. Chen Zhenchang, a 69-year-old villager from Nianshang, said his grandparents were making the covers in different sizes for as long as he can remember. The round boards are made of Chinese sorghum stalk, through a multiple-step process. And they are used as covers for pots and pans, or trays.

Since reform and opening-up, more than 400 families in the village have been living off this trade. In addition, a kitchenware company was established to produce and sell the covers. The village was also designated "the village for sorghum stalk board processing" by the local county government.

However, with the development of new technologies and popularity of modern cookers, this trade is on the verge of disappearing.