Cordyceps Expedition to Tibet June 9-23, 2011
Expert guided by Daniel Winkler (more details on 2011 later this year)
Alpine pasture habitat of Yartsa gunbu (Cordyceps sinensis) under the towering glaciated peaks of Nyenchen Tangla (7250 m / 23786 ft)
NEW!  Photos from the 2009 Cordyceps Expedition to SE Nagchu Prefecture Tibet AR
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A Tibetan collector scans the ground to find the brownish fruiting body of a caterpillar fungus. Because the fruiting body is not yet mature early in the season the search is extremely difficult. At this point the visible, above ground portion, was not more than 1.5 cm long.
All photos: Daniel Winkler, location and date if not mentioned: Nagchu County, Tibet AR, late May 2009.
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A partially excavated, exposed and cleaned specimen of Yartsa gunbu.
May 29, 2009, Nagchu County.
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Two fresh Yartsa gunbu dissected lengthwise. The structural differences visible between the larval component and the stroma, the fruiting body, of the fungus. The darker area inside the larva has recently been described as a sclerotium by X.K. Xing & S.X. Guo 2008 in Mycologia 100.4
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 Yartsa gunbu digging in Tibet generates real "family value". |
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Families collecting yartsa gunbu search a steep slope still dusted with the remnants of a snowstorm from the previous day. According to some collectors 20 to 70 Yartsa gunbu, even up to 100 a day, can be found here! This is 5 to 10 times higher than the typical personal yield on a poor site. However, our joy having found these rich Bu grounds was short-lived. Although we had valid permits to be in Driru issued by the permit office in Lhasa, the local authorities told us, "no foreigners are allowed in SE Nagchu Prefecture during yartsa gunbu season this year. Your permits are worthless, we'll fine you". So we had to relocate to a new study site.
Above Tsa Chu Hot springs north of Chaktse in 4300m, Driru County / Biru Xian, Nagchu / Naqu Prefecture Tibet AR.
Tibet in the 21st Century. Insulated tents for the yartsa gunbu collectors pitched under a cell phone tower at 4350m altitude along the brand new "Ragdi highway". We were told the highway is nick-named for the TAR leader who built this excellent road in his remote home county to show off his power. However, getting to that beautiful stretch of paved road one has to travel on extremely bad dirt sections of the northern branch of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, which has much more traffic and for many years has needed improvement but is just decaying. Biru County May 26, 2009.
Parked motorcycles in the middle of nowhere on the base of a slope are a clear indication that there are Bu fields above on the slopes. Driru County, May 27, 2009
A collectors camp pitched in the background. In the foreground motorcycles and a micro-van. Many mobile fungus dealers use these entry-class vehicles. It is incredible what kind of bad roads these small cars can navigate. Nagchu County, July 18, 2009
Just a few hundred meters form the collectors camp....
Eurasian Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus) feasting on a the left overs of a yak. Not much is left to scavenge for the Griffon vultures. They had to wait until the Bearded vultures had their fill.
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Bu dealers showing their goods in a "green" Tibetan restaurant in Nagchu Town. "Green" means, as we were explained, no smoking and all vegetarian food.
It turns out 2009 was a very bad year for Yartsa gunbu collection. Although the season started out wet in some areas like Nagchu, the spring rains were very weak and the summer monsoon came extremely late.
Thus, there were not many Bu to find and many of them had poor or strange growth like these two specimen - see enlargement below. They were found July 18. Usually the season is over much earlier, but the fungus was still "hanging on" in hope of some rain to provide moisture to be able to grow its fruiting body [=stroma] to finally produce some spores.
Close up of picture above.
Looking closely at the tops of the stromata of these two Bu, one has a split open, broken off stroma, the stroma of the other Bu is also deformed. It looks as if there were five growth spurts that had to be terminated immaturely due to lack of sufficient moisture.
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2010 Cordyceps Expedition Announcement
Tracking Cordyceps sinensis, known in Tibetan as bu short for `yartsa gunbu' (summer grass, winter worm), is certain to be a once in a lifetime fungal, botanical and cultural experience among some of the most stunning landscapes on the planet.
Our goal is the tracking the elusive caterpillar fungus endemic to the Tibetan Plateau. In the last decade bu, as Tibetans refer to it, has developed into the main source of income for rural Tibetans. The expedition will start in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, where we visit the biggest medicinal herb and fungi market in China. West Sichuan has extensive Cordyceps sinensis habitat in the mountainous western half of the province, which is traditionally all Tibetan.
During the collection season the lifestyle of Tibetans become completely consumed with the collection of bu; every able-bodied is out on the alpine pasture collecting bu in order to secure cash for the coming year. In prime collection areas as we will visit households who often derive 70-90% of their cash income from bu collection [Figures from Winkler 2008, Economic Botany 62.3]. In order to cater to this new industry supply shops and bars with pool tables spring up each spring on the grasslands. In the towns lively selling occurs followed by Tibetan buying sprees undertaken with newly made cash. On this journey we travel over high altitude grasslands, roamed by yaks. We will be visiting camps of bu collectors and nomads and join Tibetans in looking for the elusive fungus (see my Infested by the caterpillar fungus story). In the high altitude grasslands we might encounter snowfall but if so, it usually melts away in a day due to the intense subtropical sun.
Once Spring is in full swing in the deep valleys, morels (Morchella esculenta and other species, possibly Morchella crassipes, angusticeps and conica) and other early fruiting mushrooms are sprouting in the woods. In order to experience this, we will take our time and join Tibetan collectors to hunt for morels. In addition, we will encounter morels on the markets and restaurants will be serving them. One of the Tibetans names I came across in my research for the morel is "gugu shamo", the cuckoo mushroom. This name allude to its fruiting season, which coincides with the return of the cuckoo, one of Tibet's best known birds due to its unique and loud call. In Riwoche in 2005, I was awoken by the "coo-koooo coo-koooo" calls from a cuckoo right outside of my room. Economically speaking morels are in the top-five economic mushrooms in Tibet (after Cordyceps and Tricholoma matsutake), because they are exported to Europe.
Also, at this time the alpine flora is awakening and we will be treated to seemingly countless species of Primula, Iris, Incarvillea and peonies to name just a few, as well as an ocean of multicolored Rhododendron.
There is also a strong cultural component to this journey. We will visit many Tibetan Buddhist and Bonpo monasteries, monuments and hermitages in incredible locations. We will experience the mysterious and colorful spirituality that lies at the heart of Tibet and its people.
We will do plenty of day hikes, some of them on pathless steep slopes, thus you should be in fair to good shape. You do not need to be an athlete, but extreme shortness of breath is magnified in a high altitude environment.
If you are interested in taking part in this journey, please let us know as soon as possible. In order to maximize group interaction in all aspects of the journey we will limit the group size to 14 participants. We will post a more detailed outline soon.
Feel free to share this info with your friends. Be sure to check my photo essay section of my website where you can see a lot of Tibetan mushrooming related pictures (as well as flowers, wildlife, people, culture etc.)
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A bu digger using a simple wooden instrument. Digging Cordyceps one has to be very careful not to break the fruiting body from the caterpillar. While larva and mushroom are quite tough, the point where the mushroom grows out of the head is fragile. © Daniel Winkler, Serkyim La, 2006
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Cordyceps sinensis fruiting body with well developed asci cells.
The top seems to have been gnawed off by some small creature.
© Daniel Winkler, Kongpo Barla, June 2006
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Fungal candy anyone? Tibetan lady offering Cordyceps for sale in a candy bag on the way to Kongpo Barla Pass. June 2006 © Daniel Winkler. If you would like to use any of my photos, please contact me by email: 
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2010 Cordyceps Expedition Routing
We are meeting in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, a very interesting city and one of China's most interesting places. We will visit China's biggest materia medica markets, probably the world biggest market for herbal, fungal, animal and mineral medicinal raw material. Already here we will see plenty of caterpillar fungus including some other Cordyceps species from the lowlands. The next morning we will drive to Dartsedo / Kangding. We slowly ascend to the Tibetan Plateau via Kangding (2560 m / 8400 ft), where the bu dealers will have flooded the street markets. Kangding, known to Tibetans as Dartsedo is the traditional gateway to eastern Tibet and also the capital of Kandze / Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Whereas Dartsedo is still located in a deeply incised valley, leaving town we will climb onto the Tibetan Plateau, a breath taking experience [pun intended]. Once on the Plateau we are crossing Yartsa gunbu habitat and we see camps and collectors in several locations and spend our day looking for the first caterpillar fungus. However, in order to minimize discomfort we will spend the night in Nyachuka / Yajiang, a county town located below 3000m / 10,000 ft.
The next morning we will continue direction Lithang, making our way out of the valley. Lithang is supposedly the highest city in the world at 4013 m (12,500 ft), an important bu collection center in eastern Tibet. Lithang is also an ancient center of Tibetan culture, home to a famous monastery founded by the 3rd Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso, and was the birth place of the 7th Dalai Lama. I have been ten times to Lithang in the last ten years. After Lithang we will move North along the Nyachu (Yalong) River gorge to Nyarong (Xinlong). Here, on the slopes of the sacred Norbu Yangtse peak we can observe wild blue sheep and with much luck musk deer. Nyarong is located in a deeply incised, warm and very scenic valley of the mighty Nya Chu / Yalong River. We will be looking for khukhu shamo, morels in Nyarong, another important export fungus in the Tibetan areas.
We will be moving up the Nya Chu to Kandze / Ganzi, a bustling county town for which the prefecture (and a county) is named. We will be based in Kandze for two nights and enjoy a full day excursion into Yartsa gunbu habitat. Our guide Dorje has agreed to take us to his "bu-hunting grounds" and we will participate in the search for the elusive caterpillar fungus in the beautiful mountains of Kham.
Thereafter we head Qinghai province, crossing through Sertar / Seda and Pema / Baima, the later the first county town in Qinghai, belonging to Golok Prefecture. Golok is home to nomadic societies, which did not accept any overlordship until the Chinese takeover in the 1950s left no choice. Within Golok the sacred peaks Nyenpo Yurtse (5933 m, 18,400 ft) and Amnye Machen (6282 m, 19,500 ft) are most famous. Both are surrounded by vast grasslands dotted with nomad tents and yak herds. Their immense glaciated peaks provide an unforgettable backdrop for immersing ourselves in Yartsa gunbu collection and hot springs. From Golok we will be heading to Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province with one of the biggest caterpillar fungus markets. After touring the Tibetan hinterland the amenities of this big city will be most welcome and after having dusted us off we will be celebrating the completion of our expedition with a good-bye banquet in a nice Tibetan restaurant.
Please note, that our itinerary is purposely kept flexible in order to insure that we search for bu in the best possible alpine grasslands, which will be hard to pinpoint until we are actually on site. Rest assured that all places we journey are stunningly beautiful. Since we will be traversing a wide range of altitudinal zones we have an excellent opportunity to catch the peak Cordyceps fruiting season wherever it occurs. We will traverse many altitudinal zones, from subtropical to temperate, from dry warm valleys to cold alpine areas up to 4600m (15,000 ft), thereby experiencing a wide range of ecosystems, all with their unique flora, fauna and funga. Also, part of the format of the Cordyceps Expeditions is that we are trying to combine areas we are familiar with and areas we have not explored before.
Itinerary for 2010 (last update April 26, 2010)
25-May Tue Meet in Chengdu in the evening - Garden City Hotel [4 stars]
26-May Wed Visit Chengdu's materia medica market in the morning, afternoon drive to Dartsedo / Kangding
27-May Thu Dartsedo / Kangding - check out market, hot spring.
28-May Fri Dartsedo / Kangding - Litang
29-May Sat Litang
30-May Sun Litang - Nyarong / Xinlong
31-May Mon Nyarong / Xinlong - Kandze / Ganzi
1-Jun Tue Kandze / Ganzi
2-Jun Wed Kandze / Ganzi - Sertar / Seda
3-Jun Thu Sertar / Seda - Pema / Baima - Darlag / Dari
4-Jun Fri Darlag / Dari
5-Jun Sat Darlag / Dari - Machen
6-Jun Sun Machen / Maqen - Amnye Machen
7-Jun Mon Machen / Maqen - Xining - Xining Hotel
8-Jun Tue Disband in the morning in Xining, Qinghai
Note: from May 27 through June 7 we are crossing Cordyceps habitat.
The exact routing can not be guaranteed. We will follow the fungus and have respond to accessibility. Some areas might be closed to foreigners. However, the Cordyceps grounds are so vast that their are always alternatives. We also have prepared a second itinerary for the 2010 Cordyceps Expedition. For back-up we can rely on the Tibetan areas of Northwest Yunnan. Reading the report from last year's Cordyceps Expedition you will realize that calling it a "back up" does neither justice to the area and its incredible beauty nor to its fungal resources.
Sok Tsanden Monastery, one of the nicest located monasteries in Tibet. In the past access was often forbidden. Photo: D.Winkler, June 2005
Registration
If you are interested in taking part in this journey, please let us know as soon as possible. In order to maximize group interaction in all aspects of the journey we will limit the group size to 14 participants. We will post a more detailed outline soon.
Feel free to share this info with your friends. Be sure to check my photo essay section of my website where you can see a lot of Tibetan mushrooming related pictures (as well as flowers, wildlife, people, culture etc.)
Cordyceps Expedition 2010
May 26 - June 8
Land Costs: $3,600 (2,750)
price for 8+ participants
includes all accommodation, food, overland transport
[price for 3-7 participants, Land costs: $4,400 (3,300)
Single room supplement: $500 (400)
Additional costs: flight to China: $800-1,200
(Tickets needs to be purchased individually by participant)
Domestic Airfares in China: $400-800
i.e. Beijing-Chengdu $200 one way,
(We help purchasing tickets for within China in late April)
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Cordyceps dealers on Lithang's main street, Kandze TAP, Sichuan.
© Daniel Winkler, June 1999, Litang County.
Last revision Feb. 16, 2010
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Notes on Accommodations, Food & Weather and Altitude
[I replied to questions by the New York Times Practical Traveler Michelle Higgins]
Michelle: What is the weather like at this time in the region you're going to?
Daniel: Right now in late April, peach, apple and wild cherry trees are flowering in the warm valleys of Central Tibet. The temperatures in Lhasa are much milder than people imagine. In summer it correlates quite well to Seattle, my hometown since 13 years. It rarely goes beyond the low 80s during the day, but cools down nicely at night to the high 50s. Winters are bone dry and sunny, mid June thru September is summer monsoon, the rainy season. The Monsoon is not comparable in its strength to the Himalayas like in Nepal or Bhutan. It rains often during the night or there are thunderstorms in the afternoon, but clouds come and go. It is said, that some fungophiles, when it is raining, actually perceive mushrooms falling from the sky. The weather is different where we are looking for caterpillar fungus, since we are up in 12'000 to 16'000 ft. Although it is mostly sunny, it gets quickly cold without the sun and often there is wind. Weather changes can happen fast up there. If there is precipitation in late May and June it is often sleet, hail or snow. But everything melts quickly away, the sun is extremely powerful due to the thin air and Tibet's subtropical location; Lhasa for example is further South than any place in the lower 48s.
Was 2008 the first tourism-oriented mushroom tour you offered?
I have been tour guiding for other companies like High Asia Expeditions [since 1997] and Betchart Expeditions [since 2005].
But my first self-organized MushRoaming tour was in 2006 to Tibet. In 2007 I organized one tour to Tibet and one to Europe's around the International Medicinal Mushroom Conference in Slovenia. In 2008 we went to the Tibetan areas of Northwest Yunnan for the Cordyceps Tour. I had to cancel the second one last year due to the political circumstances and the Olympic spectacle.
Do you know of any other tour operators that are offering mushroom tours or some kind of food-related, culture excursions to Tibet?
I don't think there is anyone offering anything like that to Tibet or the Himalayas. There is Buddhist pilgrimages for western Dharma students, there are some other Botanical tours and tours for birders. I also guide botanical tours and the summer foray is a fungal and floral foray.
There is no one I am aware of who does culinary tours. Partially that could be because Tibetan cuisine is not regarded as one of the great cuisines, although there are great dishes and interesting specialties to discover. Nowadays, most restaurants are Chinese-run in Tibet and most restaurants don't compare to Chinese lowland fare. There are also many Muslim noodle shops, a safe stop in really remote places. These Tibetan "fast food" places are run by Hui, Chinese Muslims usually recent immigrants from Gansu.
I always love to introduce people to Tibetan dishes in Lhasa and try to find Tibetan restaurants in other towns too. Tourism has surely helped to drive this development. Besides the typical dishes such a as Thukpa, a Tibetan minestrone or Momos, basically a Tibetan version of ravioli, noodles stuffed with minced yak or other meats with onion, shallots or garlic and often cilantro. The culinary most popular mushroom in Lhasa is Sersha, the Golden mushroom (Floccularia luteovirens), a beautiful, scaly, bright yellow Portobello-like agaric, which grows on the grasslands in summer, sometimes around also edible horse mushrooms (Agaricus arvensis), but we have to special order them or bring them ourselves from a foray. My favorite Tibetan desert is Troma, tiny silverweed tubers [Potentilla anserina] with a sweet potato taste served in sweet melted butter or better with fresh yak yogurt. These silverweed tubers are also eaten by native coastal people in Alaska I learned recently. And one of my favorites at the Snow Lion Restaurant is their yak steak with fried potatoes and a mushroom-wine sauce. You should see how much Westerners who finally made it to Lhasa after weeks or months in China appreciate the Tibetan food including the Indian and Western influence imported from Nepal.
Also, in Nyingchi Town (Chinese: Bayi) there is a government shop for locally produced specialties and crafts. It sells dozens of mushroom varieties. An attached restaurant will cook them up for you and one can enjoy famous or obscure edible mushrooms one never tasted before. That is a very special treat.
The 2009 tentative itinerary lists guest houses and few hotels as accommodations. What are these accommodations like? Do you have web sites for any of the places you can send me?
In Lhasa we stay at the Khyichu Hotel. It is Tibetan owned and managed, they have really friendly people, a great restaurant where you can eat in the green back yard, fast internet, great service and clean modern bathrooms, you name it. Khyichu means "happy river", the name of the river running through Lhasa, now reduced to a new Chinese name, Lhasa He, simply Lhasa River.
In general hotels are quite nice in bigger places, everything clean and even English speaking employees. In other places English will not get you too far. Also in the real back country some guest houses are probably better treated as an experience to talk about for the rest of your life. But you can bet that this is the best place in town, otherwise we would not use it. But we really try to minimize such experiences and do not guarantee them! Usually the standards have quite improved in Tibet and there is always washed sheets and boiled water.
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On Altitude Issues
The Cordyceps expedition leads us through some high country, since caterpillar fungus habitat is around treeline. However, we will not travel right away that high up. The first stage after Chengdu is Dartsedo / Kangding at 2600m (8530 ft), which gives us some time to adjust. Also, it is quite different if one is driving through high altitude country and going for a stroll or seriously hiking. Some easier hiking might occur on a later stage of our journey, but we will adjust our activities to everyone's capacity and if necessary also split up for an activity.
Altitude usually slows down everyone considerably in the first days. But since one knows what the cause for the lack of breath is, one can handle it fine and structure the activities according to it. And with every day passing it gets less of an issue. The first 2-3 days we take everything quite slowly, just check out local markets or drive up to sites, temples etc. One easy fundamental is drinking a lot of water. We always provide bottled water for everyone. We also have access to bottled oxygen. Our Tibetan counterparts always have it on the bus or in the car. And a couple days later, we are still not climbing mountains. When we are out in nature we use more of a drive-in approach, since the roads cut through very beautiful country. We take plenty of time to stroll and explore. Yes, we might go up slopes, there are plenty of those, but if so very slowly. We all pretend it is not the altitude, but just the plants, insects, mushrooms and taking pictures that slow us down. Our hotels are mostly in towns in the lower valleys, but not every night.
Of course if you had serious high altitude problems before, it is not a good idea partaking in this tour. However, having had some discomfort before in high altitude is natural, I still go through that, but it passes and I don't worry too much, since I know what is going on and it will subside.
Detailed Photo Itinerary
of the Cordyceps Expedition 2008
to Dechen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture - Yunnan Province
26-May Monday Kunming
Pick up at airport. Morning visit to the Botanical Garden in Heilongtan and Kunming Institute of Botany.
Short visit to Kunming's best bookstore, Dinner at the Restaurant Yunnan Mushroom King.
Feasting on: A bolete, close in taste to Boletus edulis, according to the chef Boletus ornatipes, "Qisong", a Termite mushroom, (Termitomyces eurrhizus), "Ganbajun", Thelephora ganbajun & veiled stink morel (Dictyophora indusiata). Green Lake View Hotel.
A small fresh Ganba Jun presented on salad leave
The veiled stink morel (Dictyophora indusiata) is a 25 cm tall morel-like tropical fungus with a beautiful lacy veil allowing insects to climb up to eat its gleba and thus spread its spores. impresses most by its uncooked look. For eating the spore bearing cap is removed. Past preparation it has a firm, but spongy texture that is interesting, whereas the aroma is very mild. The fresh soy leaves greens in the broth seemed to contribute more to the taste of the soup than the fungus.
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The great surprise is ganba jun (Thelephora ganbajun), a woody mushroom whose common relative Th. terrestris is known in English as "earth fan". "Ganbajun", is often described as Thelephora ganbajun, but not all taxonomists agree on this name and use older ones, such as Thelephora vialis, T. aurantiotincta or T. japonica, which are all eaten in Yunnan. However in the fried state I could not figure out which Thelephora was on my plate and I was not going to let it get cold over such a theoretical question. Thelephora species are not regarded edible in most places where it is growing, but in Yunnan it is one of he most precious edibles. It is "rendered" edible, by slicing it very finely. Then its chewy nature turns into an interesting texture. I would describe it as having a strong earthy element, being slightly bitter, but in a pleasant way.
 The dinner at the "Mushroom King" was quite an experience. We could chose from two dozens of mushrooms, most of them fresh, displayed on salad leaves. I recall veiled stinkhorn (Dictyophora indusiata), black morels (Morchella sp.), several boletes (Boletus spp.), milky cap (Lactarius deliciosus), termite mushroom (Termitomyces eurrhizus), inky caps (Coprinus sp.), Oysters (Pleurotus ostreatus, P. eryingii), earth fan (Thelephora ganbajun), deceiver (Laccaria laccata), a purplish hawkwing (Sarcodon sp.), Shitake (Lentinula edodes) and Enoki (Flammulina velutipes). It would be interesting to see their list during mushroom season!
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27-May Tue: Kunming - Lijiang
Visit of Kunming's mushroom market. Most impressive besides fresh stinkhorns (Dictyophora indusiata) and their "eggs" were half a dozen species of boletes (Boletus obscureumbrinus, B. bicolor, B. ornatipes, a few B.edulis, a brightly red pored bolete and Boletus speciosus "bai chong niugan jun", a yellow-pored silvery bolete). Also we saw lots of ganbajun (Thelephora), which costs about 10 times as much as king boletes, Shield Pinkgill (Entoloma clypeatum), Termite mushroom (Termitomyces sp). milky cap (Lactarius deliciosus), lots of dried truffles (kai jun, Tuber indicum) and bags of this year's freshly dried morels (Morchella spp.) collected in the Tibetan areas.
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Termites knew what they were selecting for in their millions of years of fungal cultivation! Termite mushroom (Termitomyces sp.)have a great sweetish-nutty taste.
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This could well be the Red-stemmed bolete, Boletus erythropus, a choice edible after cooking.
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A market women offering Boletus speciosus "bai chong niugan jun".
A happy shopper holding an impressive cluster of
Boletus obscureumbrinus.
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At noon flight to Lijiang. Visit to a local mushroom farm. The owner, He Jie, grows button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) on straw and cow manure in wood shelves. The growing houses are made from simple wooden structures and covered with plastic and a bamboo mats for insulation.
Visit of the picturesque old town of Lijiang, the heart of the Naxi / Nakhi-culture, protected as UNESCO world heritage site. Lijiang Grand Hotel.
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Who says growing mushroom needs to be in a sterile, high tech environment?
Near Lijiang airport we visited He Jie, a mushroom grower operating a local mushroom farm. He grows button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) on straw and cow manure in wood shelves. Several greenhouse-like structures are made from simple wooden frames covered with bamboo mats for insulation and with plastic to retain moisture. The growing houses are looking more like Lake Titicaca reed houses than a mushroom growing operation. Interestingly, the grower used straw and cow manure. He was relying on the same mycelium he had bought eight years ago.
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28-May Wed: Yulong Xueshan Nature Preserve, afternoon drive to Gyalthang (= Zhongdian / Shangrila / Xianggelila)
Visit of Yulongshan Nature Preserve. Gondola-ride to 4506m (13,920ft) with view onto glaciers and the peak (5596m, 18,359ft). Picnic in flower meadow (Iris ruthenica var. nana, Stellera chamaejasme, Roscoea tibetica & Roscoea cautleoides (yellow), Euphorbia, Androsace delavayi, close by red tree-peony Paeonia delavayi). Futile morel hunt in forest fire area with lady slipper (Cypripedium guttatum).
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Iris ruthenica var. nana
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Stellera chamaejasme
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Roscoea tibetica
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Paeonia delavayi
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Afternoon drive along the Yangtze River (2500m, 7750ft) and stop in Rhododendron shrublands before Gyalthang (3300m, 10,200ft). Welcome meal at Arro Khampa Restaurant. Gyalthang Dzong Hotel
Yunnan's Yulong Xueshan range, which supports Asia's southernmost glaciation.
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The Yulong Xueshan range with a few pines in foreground
The Yangtse valley
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29-May Thu Gyalthang (= Zhongdian, Shangrila / Xianggelila)
Morning visit to Songtsen Ling Monastery (Gelukpa 17th Century), Napa Lake Nature reserve with yellow Daphne calcicola and scarlet Gloxinia Incarvillea zhongdianensis. Visit of the mushroom market with Dr. Xu, mycologist at Kunming Institute of Botany. Several species of fresh morels are spread out for drying. Dr Xu points out a flesh-colored species, which could be Morchella bicostata Chen & Liu. Mushroom hunt in a young birch-pine-larch forest with Leccinum cf. versipelle, Coriolus sp., a brown Suillus associate with larch, as well as Rhizopogon rubescens. The latter also known by its Japanese name Shoro was enjoyed for dinner at the forest bureau restaurant. Visit of Dukhar Dzong Old Town. Gyalthang Dzong Hotel
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Songtsen Ling Monastery near Gyalthang
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On the main roof of Songtsen Ling.
A snow lion, one of Tibet's four mystical animal guardians, is protecting the temple.
Rhizopogon rubescens, Shoro, served at the at a local restaurant. I wasn't impressed by the potato-like"starchiness".
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At the mushroom market we encountered these pinkish morels, which according to Dr. Xu are probably Morchella bicostata Chen & Liu.
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30-May Fri Gyalthang - Wang Shor
Drive on the Gyalthang - Chatreng (Xiangcheng, Sichuan) Highway to Birong Gorge. Crossing of extensive clear cuts. Afternoon excursion to Namri Butong and short hike on mountain meadows in 4100m, (12,700ft) where locals collect Yartsa Gunbu, Cordyceps sinensis - caterpillar fungus. On the way up we meet Losang Yangzom and her group of morel pickers who are cooking tea after a long day of morel hunt. Wang Shor Guesthouse.
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Losang Yangzom holding up a morel while taking a break before heading home after a day of morel picking.
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A mushroom collector shows a fresh morel while hiding from the camera.
Bu hunters loading their tents. For them the season is over. In the back construction for a copper mine. Across the ridge is Pulong Copper mine, supposedly the biggest in China with an investment volume of ¥4.4 billion(US$ 640 million). The valleys drain into the gorgeous Birong Valley, which is renowned for its incredible biodiversity.
A hut recently build to accommodate collectors during the season. Night frost are common, and snow shower occur frequently.
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A bu dealer showing us the caterpillar fungi he had bought up. He drives to the remote collection areas and buys directly from collectors.
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31-May Sat Wang Shor - Namri Butong
Yartsa Gunbu hunt (4000m-4300m, 12,400-13,300ft) with Tendzin in Namri Butong. Bu found in open subalpine Rhododendron-Juniper forest on the South slope in 4200m (13,000ft). Picnic with Tendzin and Wangmo on alpine pasture in 4300m (13,300ft). Afternoon morel hunt with Tashi Wangden (23) & Kelsang Dhondrub (21) from Wang Shor in 3750m (11,625ft) in degraded willow-evergreen oak forest on the South slope. All morels found under willows. Flowers: May apple - Podophyllum hexandrum, Primula amethystina var. brevifolia (on the pastures), yellow Himalayan poppy: Meconopsis integrifolia, Omphallogramma vincaefolia (Primula-like), tall Iris bulleyana (40cm, 16). Wang Shor Guesthouse
Wangmo with two yartsa gunbu - Caterpillar fungus. She is sporting a motorcycle visor, the dernier cri in Eastern Tibet these days. Her husband Tsering on the right and on the left a typical bu digging hoe.
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A subalpine Fir-juniper forest with tall Rhododendron in flower.
In a open juniper forests location we found a few yartsa gunbu to my surprise. So far I always found them in more open habitats, but apparently there were enough understory sedges and forbs to sustain Thitarodes larvae on which Cordyceps sinensis parasitizes.
A yartsa gunbu in situ. Some of the mycelium is visible growing around the larva. It is always peeled off before drying.
Tashi Wangden & Kelsang Dhondrub helped us finding morels.
A group of morels under a willow.
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Himalayan May apple (Podophyllum hexandrum), which is still plentiful in the Tibetan areas but apparently badly over-collected in the Himalayas, thus it is red listed.
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1-Jun Sun Wang Shor - Gyalthang
Drive back from Wang Shor to Gyalthang via Geza. Botany stop in Birong George: orchids (Pleione yunnanensis and a yellow lady slipper: Cypripedium flavum) as well and Iris (Iris reticulata var. nana).
Visit of a mambo, monument for a protector deity. Cuckoo stop next to a clear cut. The Tibetan name for the morel is `gugu shamo', cuckoo mushroom, since the mushroom and the cuckoo show up at the time in spring.
Visit to the old town of Gyalthang and dance. Gyalthang Dzong Hotel
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Flower of lady slipper orchid
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Yellow lady slipper (Cypripedium flavum)
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Pleione yunnanensis
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2-Jun Mon Gyalthang
Visit with Dr. Ma Liming from the Gyalthang Tibetan Hospital. Interview on the use of Cordyceps sinensis in Rigpa Sowa, Tibetan Medicine. Visit of the outdoor Yartsa gunbu market and of other natural medicine shops in Gyalthang. Afternoon bath and sauna in the natural hot springs of Rangjung Dosam (Tiansheng Qiao). Gyalthang Dzong Hotel.
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Mark, Therese and Franz visiting with Dr. Ma Liming in Gyalthang's Traditional Tibetan Medicine Clinic. We interviewed Dr. Ma on Cordyceps use in Tibetan Medicine.
A brand new building in Gyalthang in traditional Tibetan style. We were told it would be housing a collection of statues and other Tibetan artifacts collected by a Tibetan entrepreneur. However, it wasn't open yet in June 2008.
The famous Yangtze bend in Dechen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, NW Yunnan. For scale, please note the road following the river. The Yangtze has ten times the water volume during the summer monsoon in comparison to the winter run-off. In winter it flows in beautiful clear blue. © Daniel Winkler, July 2007
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Geothermal springs Rangjung Dosam (Tiansheng Qiao) 25 min from Gyalthang. Big hot pool, steam cave, cooling off in the river, awesome setting. These springs, although developed, are great!
The river tunneled its way through the limestone. The steam bath is build along the sites of this passage
Don't you wonna buy some of my nice yartsa gunbu?
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3-Jun Tue Drive to Feilaisi, Dechen.
Stop in Tsering Drolma's house in Gonjo village, built along the Gonjo Chu (2000m, 6200 ft). Village is renowned for its many wood workers. Shopping in Pondzirak / Benzilan, located on the Yangtze River. Visit of the scenic spot overlooking the 270° Yangtse bend. Visit of Ganden Dondheling Monastery (Gelukpa tradition) founded in 1667 and blessed by the Great 5. Dalai Lama in 1670. Drive across Pema Karpo / Baima Xueshan Nature Preserve and Jol Gonsong Pass (4200m, 13,000ft). Drive to Dechen town and Namkha Tashi / Feilaisi. Minzhu Hotel.
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Visiting the home of Tsering Drolma's house in Gonjo.
Ganden Dondheling Monastery founded in 1667
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Front of the main Prayer Hall in Ganden Dondheling Monastery.
Monks cleaning water bowls for an offering ritual.
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4-Jun Wed Namkha Tashi & Pema Karpo Pass
Morning in Namkha Tashi Lhakhang / Feilaisi vista spot (3480m 11,500 ft) above the Mekong (Gyalmo Ngul Chu / Lancang Jiang). Kawa Karpo / Meili Xueshan (6740m / 22,200ft) in clouds. Drive up to Pema Karpo / Baima Xueshan, which is covered in snow. Return to Namkha Tashi. Afternoon in the café house. Slide show. Kawa Karpo in plain view. Dinner with matsutake soup, shitake and fiddleheads. Minzhu Hotel.
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Twice Kawakarpo, one of Tibet's four most sacred mountains and seat of a mountain deity. So far, everyone who tried to climb southeast Tibet's highest peak (6740m / 22112 ft.) failed and many mountaineers died.
On the upper left there is only its peak poking through the clouds. Clouds are a very common feature of this giant. In front a small Chörten (Stupa) and a "Sang"burner for smoke offerings surrounded by prayer flags. In Chinese Kawakarpo, which sits between the Mekong und Salween Rivers, is known as Meili Xueshan.
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Deep down in roughly 2000m / 6500 ft runs the Mekong river.
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It is "convenient" not to stray from the road.
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5-Juni Thu Hong village, Dechen & Namkha Tashi
Drive along the Mekong gorge and the Khawakarpo range (Meili Xueshan) to Hong village (3000m, 9,300ft) in Yongning District, Dechen County (Deqing). Visit of Liu Sin / Losang's house, the village doctor (=Amchi). Hike in a Pine-spruce-fire-Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga forrestii) - forest above Hong. Group split: relaxing out in nature (3300m, 10,200ft) and morel hike with Losang and Wangdu up to 3800m (11,800ft) Morels grow in a Rhododendron-fir-North-slope forest. Minzhu Hotel.
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Looking onto the Khawa Karpo Range [Meili Xueshan 6740m / 22112 ft] across the Mekong valley. Note the solar water heater on the bath house (lower left).
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Hong Village with peak from Pema Karpo Mountains
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Lin Sen (Tibetan: Losang), the village Amchi (doctor) was all excited about the "gugu shamo" he found. We were quite late in the season and had to search subalpine conifer forests for the last morels after some demanding, but incredibly beautiful, climbing along a mountain creek grown in by bamboo thickets. Commercial picking was basically over at this point, since it was very arduous and slim picking. Photos: Daniel WInkler, June 3, 2008, Hong Village, Dechen TAP, Yunnan
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6-Jun Fri Namkha Tashi - Gyalthang
Drive up to Pema Karpo / Baima Xueshan Pass. Yartsa Gunbu Search up to 4300m (13,300ft). Visit of the Cordyceps-collectors camp at the eastern end of the pass. Bu shopping. Picnic below the pass. Return Shangrila = Gyalthang. Gyalthang farewell dinner at Arro Khampa. Gyalthang Dzong Hotel
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A group of caterpillar fungus collectors on their way to remote hunting grounds.
A caterpillar fungus collector camp above treeline. In the background Pema Karpo.
© Daniel Winkler, June 3, 2008, Dechen TAP, Yunnan
An alpine Primula. Many primulas are flowering at the same time as Cordyceps is fruiting.
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A yartsa gunbu (Cordyceps sinensis) in its alpine habitat in the Tibetan areas of Northwest Yunnan. © Daniel Winkler, June 6, 2008, Dechen TAP, Yunnan
A caterpillar fungus half dug out in its typical habitat.
© Daniel Winkler, June 6, 2008, Dechen TAP, Yunnan
A prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) growing on a grazed slope. Prickly pears originate from Central America, probably Mexico, and have been naturalized in the dry warm valleys of southeastern Tibet. Down in the valley a village with the typical irrigated fields. Many former grain growing fields have been used to grow cash crops, such as walnuts, apples and a range of vegetable for Chinese consumers in Shangrila town.
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7-Jun Sat Gyalthang via Kunming to Chengdu, Sichuan Province
Attempted visit of Sichuan's materia medica market. Visit of the Jinli Promenade and Tibetan Street.
Sichuan Hot Pot Fondue-Dinner with Drolma. Garden Hotel
8-Jun Sun Chengdu, excursion to Emei Shan and Leshan
Hiking on the sacred Mount Emei Shan from Wuxian to Twinbridges (Picnic site), Qingyin, Guangfu (910m, 2800ft) and Zhongfen Monastery (Ganoderma & Russula in the Cryptomeria japonica woods). Drive to Leshan, where the world biggest Buddha statue (71m, 233 ft), was carved from sandstone in the 8th Century at the confluence of Min Jiang and Dadu He Rivers. Farewell dinner in Thai Restaurant. Garden Hotel
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8th Century Leshan Sandstone Buddha (height 71m, 233 ft)
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Emei Shan's Twinbridges with confluence
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9-Jun Mon Chengdu
Group dissolves & flight back
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