Page 7 - Yunnan Tourism Culture Times (91)

07
FOCUS | 焦点

Wild mushrooms, a source of income exclusively

for Yunnan people

菌子生意，云南人专属的财富密码

From the mountains to the table, Yunnan’s the wild mushroom market and boost the growth wild mushroom produc-
wild mushrooms need to go through a compli- of the wild mushroom industry chain. According ers in terms of both va-
cated process of gathering, purchasing, selling, to reports, the Yunnan wild mushroom industry rieties and output. There
transporting, and delivering. Inconspicuous as provides six million temporary jobs and 120,000 to are more than 2,500 known edible wild mushroom
they look, wild mushrooms can bring in money 200,000 permanent jobs, and there are about 1,000 species in the world, and Yunnan has 900 of them,
for hundreds of thousands of people. The wild edible mushroom companies in the province. accounting for about 36 percent of the global total
mushroom industry is worth more than ten bil- Nowadays, searching for wild mushrooms in the and 90 percent of the national total. Moreover,
lion yuan, but it seems to be a lucrative industry mountains has become part of tourism experience. wild mushrooms are widely distributed in the
exclusively for Yunnan people. “Yunnan is of complex terrains, and different wild province’s 129 counties.
The wild mushroom industry chain starts with mushrooms grow in different places. There are of-
gathering. Wild mushrooms must be gathered ten hiking enthusiasts inquiring if travel agencies
before they can bring in money for Yunnan’s farm- offer mushroom search tours,” said Xiao Rong, a
ers. When the rainy season comes, people will put part-time tour guide. When it is mushroom season,
on raincoats, pick up bamboo baskets, and head to her institution will organize mushroom search
the dense forest with a machete in hand to search tours, and she will lead tourists to experience the
for high-quality edible wild mushrooms. Longrong whole process from searching for wild mushrooms
Jiangcai is a farmer living in Yuejin Village, to cooking and eating them.
th
Shangri-La City, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous In February 2022, Yunnan issued its 14 Five-
Prefecture of northwest Yunnan Province. When it Year Plan for Developing the Edible Mushroom
is matsutake mushroom season, he can gather one Industry and the Long-Range Objectives through
kilo of matsutake mushrooms every day, which the Year 2035. According to the “Plan”, the prov-
brings in nearly 20,000 yuan for him. ince expects to increase its total output of edible
“It’s mushroom season again. Let’s go to Yun- mushrooms to 1.8 million tons by 2025, with an
nan!” When wild mushrooms become a hot topic average annual growth rate of 10 percent or more,
on social networks, tourism also surges in the a total output value of 50 billion yuan and a com-
province. The rise of social media has made Yun- prehensive output value of more than 120 billion
nan’s wild mushrooms popular across the country. yuan.
The Yunnan tourism industry has helped to expand Yunnan Province is one of the world’s largest