2015飛利浦：健康科技 美好生活

KUNMING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- In the quiet moments before dawn, lights begin to glow in Jidi, a Tibetan village nestled in southwest China's Yunnan Province, as residents make their way toward the mist-shrouded forests over 3,000 meters above sea level.

For outsiders, hours of trekking across steep and slippery terrain might yield no more than a handful of mushrooms, if they find any at all. But for seasoned Tibetan villagers, each guarding their own "secret spots," the search is a daily ritual that defines them as the true matsutake hunters.

Today, however, the hunt is no longer the sole domain of longtime villagers. With the rise of mobile technology, a new generation has joined the quest.

Young people in China are now using short videos and livestreams to showcase the fashionable side of mushroom picking while introducing Tibetan culture to wider audiences.

Jidi, meaning "land of prosperity and peace" in Tibetan language, is perched among snow-capped mountains and forms part of Jiantang Township in Shangri-La, Yunnan Province.

Each year between July and September, the arrival of matsutake season breathes life into the village, drawing both seasoned and new mushroom hunters to the forests.

"These mushrooms were freshly picked by Tibetan villagers. What you see is what you get. Place your order now, and they will be shipped immediately," said Wu Xia, 22, dressed in traditional Tibetan attire as she hosted a livestream from the Shangri-La matsutake market.

Behind her, a team of young couriers and sorters, mostly born in the 1990s and 2000s, busily packed the "gifts from the mountains."

The session lasted until late at night, drawing over 110,000 viewers and generating nearly 120,000 yuan (about 16,785 U.S. dollars) in sales.

Another emerging figure among the new hunters is Chunpi, a young Tibetan who returned to Jidi Village in 2019 to launch a business.

As the village committee's deputy director, he has played a key role in local revitalization efforts by combining grassroots leadership with storytelling on social media.

Recognizing the ecological importance of mushroom habitats, he helped introduce a conservation-focused harvesting model to combat previous over-picking.

Under this model, enterprises and research institutions sign agreements with the village, granting villagers the right to harvest matsutake while allowing companies to purchase premium mushrooms at prices above the market rate.

The system mandates rest periods between harvests and forbids collecting immature mushrooms to safeguard the spore-producing forests.

"Villagers were reluctant at first, so we went door-to-door explaining the policy until they gradually accepted it," Chunpi said.

Since the establishment of a conservation and reproduction demonstration base, the natural growth rate of matsutake has risen by over 20 percent.

To boost trading efficiency, he has helped transform the local matsutake market into a hybrid platform combining in-person and livestreamed sales.

The matsutake market in Jidi now provides villagers with a fast and reliable way to sell their harvest. Transactions, from pricing and inspection to weighing, are swift and seamless, often completed within minutes.

Thanks to fair prices and immediate payment, villagers maintain a decent standard of living, while their matsutake are swiftly integrated into a streamlined cold-chain logistics network. This system ensures delivery to 264 cities across China within 24 hours and extends to Japan and the Republic of Korea within 36 hours.

"In the past, we had to travel long distances to sell mushrooms or accept low prices from local buyers," said 71-year-old Sanjie Dolma. "Prices used to fluctuate wildly throughout the day. Now, everything is transparent, and we can earn more by selling online."

The positive changes in the village go beyond how transactions are conducted. Every step in the matsutake supply chain has evolved. Thanks to internet-based "cloud" sales, this prized fungus has become a pillar industry driving rural prosperity on the Tibetan Plateau.

Ahead of the harvest season, Chunpi organizes e-commerce training for villagers. Many locals now earn income by livestreaming their mushroom-picking journeys. The village has also built a matsutake-themed campsite, offering immersive foraging experiences, stargazing and local cuisine.

Traditional Tibetan houses have been converted into guesthouses with ethnic dining and intangible cultural heritage experiences. Guided by Chunpi's vision, Jidi has become a model for rural revitalization through integrated agriculture, culture and tourism.

As one of the world's top matsutake-producing regions, Shangri-La has seen the rare fungus become a key commodity in both Chinese and global supply chains since the 1980s. During each harvest season, some local families earn between 10,000 and 80,000 yuan from selling the prized mushroom.

According to Shangri-La Customs, Diqing exported 67,818 kg of matsutake mushrooms in 2024, valued at 21.55 million yuan, an increase of 52.6 percent in volume and 30.3 percent in value compared to 2023.

The matsutake industry has become part of China's broader rural revitalization strategy, which aims to boost rural incomes, preserve ecological resources, and promote sustainable development through technological innovation and tourism.

Official data shows that rural residents' per capita disposable income in China rose from 17,131 yuan in 2020 to 23,119 yuan in 2024, marking an increase of nearly 35 percent. In 2024 alone, rural income grew 6.3 percent in real terms, outpacing urban income growth.

"The old mushroom hunters told stories about the mountains," Chunpi said. "We, the new generation, must tell the story of the whole matsutake industry. Young people are essential to rural revitalization as the future of the countryside depends on them."