Shangri-La villagers live on mushrooms as ecology improves

Located in northwest Yunnan’s Diqing prefecture, Shangri-La is famous for its mushrooms during the rainy season. Over the years, local villagers have increasingly become aware of the fact that the tasty wild mushrooms are grown out of pristine environment. 

"Now we have village rules that prevent anyone from felling trees, and we want to leave the lush mountains and lucid waters to the future generations," said Gerong Wangzha, a villager from the Xiaozhongdian town in Shangri-La City. 

"As the ecology improves, the output of the wild mushrooms is increasing.” Gerong added matsutakes have become a major source of income for his fellow villagers, bringing annual income of 10,000 yuan for each family. 

Once, over grazing and felling damaged local environment, which was stopped by governmental subsidies, afforestation and ecology-friendly policies. "By applying a loan, I bought a truck to transport wild mushrooms for others, and the loan will be paid off by March next year,” said Chuidan, another villager driving a vehicle. 

Shangri-La is a top wild-mushroom producer in China. Statistics show the city’s matsutake output accounts for 40% nationally and over 65% provincially. The quality matsutake from Shangri-La is spoken highly among consumers home and abroad.

Reporting by Zhang Fan and Zhang Tong; trans-editing by Wang Shixue