As one of the most expensive traditional Chinese medicinal materials and tonics, cordyceps sinensis's trading is on the rise not only in China but also the world, and its value which is more than gold in its weight also enriches many local pickers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

However, cordyceps sinensis may also cause fights the same as many other valuable resources. Recently a Chinese official was shot dead in southwest China's Sichuan Province, who was just on his way back from a mission of maintaining order at a collecting scene of the rare and precious plant.

A cash cow bringing wealth, or a tinderbox of interest-fights？ Read further to know more about cordyceps sinensis.

 
Cordyceps sinensis is renowned as the "soft gold" because of its few output and high medicinal value. [Photo/China Tibet Online] 

I. What is cordyceps sinensis and where does it live?

As a parasitic symbiosis, cordyceps sinensis comes from the moth caterpillar attacked by fungus, which slowly takes over the insect body and develops into a mushroom the following spring. In ancient times the locals thought there was a conversion process between the insect and fungus, thus in Chinese cordyceps sinensis is also called "winter worm summer herb", literally describing the plant.

Mainly distributed in the areas with an altitude of 3,500 to 5,000 meters on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, as well as in the northern parts of Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan Provinces, cordyceps sinensis is renowned as the "soft gold" for its low output and high medicinal value. Traditional Chinese medical practitioners swear by its immunity-enhancing properties and it is often prescribed to strengthen the "qi", the energy flow in the body. The price for cordyceps sinensis would change every year, depending on the yield and quality, and the price reaches 200 yuan per gram or 200,000 yuan per kilogram this year.

   
Photo shows a piece of cordyceps sinensis hiding in the thick grasses, which is not easy to be discovered. [Photo/ Sichuan Daily]

II. How to gain a cordyceps sinensis?

Mainly growing in snow mountains and on plateaus, cordyceps sinensis is not easy to be founded, and only the several months before and after the summer solstice is the annual peak season of cordyceps sinensis picking, when the snow doesn't melt completely and it's easier to find the plant.

Every year from April to June, local residents would flock to pick the valuable medical materials on the mountains in Tibet, Qinghai, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, where the average altitude reaches over 3,900 meters.

In the famous sites of picking cordyceps sinensis, tens of thousands of cordyceps sinensis pickers would be attracted to the deep mountains, most of whom are local residents, aiming at cordyceps sinensis with larger quantity and higher quality.

At the foot of snow mountains under blue sky and white clouds, cordyceps sinensis pickers climbed on the mountain slope and sought for the valuable medicine, which was not easy at all. A picker may find a dozen or two with any luck, while it is quite usual to come back empty-handed after a daylong searching.

 
Photo shows that when a cordyceps sinensis picker finds a piece of cordyceps sinensis, others would come and watch the fun, before it being digged out carefully. [Photo/ Sichuan Daily] 

When a lucky guy discovers a piece of cordyceps sinensis, fellows near him would gather together to celebrate, and use a small shovel to dig carefully after examining its growth condition. The newly picked cordyceps sinensis would be packaged by a mud pie to retain water, and the turf where the cordyceps sinensis was dig out would be repositioned to the original place in order to minimize the impact to the environment.

The pickers would not end their daylong working until 4 p.m. or 5 p.m., when they would go back in groups and go to the market place in front of camps to trade with purchasers. Even though the price drops this year, a piece of cordyceps sinensis could still worth about 40 yuan.

(1 yuan = 0.614 US dallar)

 
Photo shows that a cordyceps sinensis picker digs up a piece of cordyceps sinensis on the mountain slope with an altitude of 4,600 meters. [Photo/ Sichuan Daily] 

III. How to collect cordyceps sinensis with higher quality?

Due to the high health care efficacy and poor yield, a "cordyceps sinensis fever" has been warmed up in recent years and raises the price, thus there becomes some adulterations driven by profit.

In response to this phenomenon, a suggestion of "observing the appearance, weighing in hands and smelling the smell" may help customers to buy better cordyceps sinensis.

According to Xiong Weiping, associate researcher of Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Service, fine hairs can be found on quality cordyceps sinensis under sun shine, and fresh cordyceps sinensis owns brighter color than then the old, and those with heavier weight might be poured metal powders into.

Moreover, since cordyceps sinensis is consisted with insects' bodies, fishy smell is quite common, and the fresher cordyceps sinensis is, the smell is heavier, which would be a tip.

According to Xiong, "large size, good smell and fresh color" is the standard of good cordyceps sinensis, and shaking cordyceps sinensis before buying it could reduce the soils attached on, which may become the additional weight.

On the other hand many other kinds of fungus are good for health, and actually customers have much more choices rather than the valuable cordyceps sinensis, experts said.

 
Photo shows that cordyceps sinensis purchaser examines the quality of cordyceps sinensis, which determines the price. [Photo/ Sichuan Daily] 

 
Photo shows that local people flock to the deep mountains to pick cordyceps sinensis. [Photo/ Sichuan Daily] 

 
Photo shows that cordyceps sinensis pickers seek cordyceps sinensis carefully on the hillside. [Photo/ Sichuan Daily]

File photo shows that dealers buy the dried cordyceps sinensis on the street of Lhasa, May 29.[Photo/Xinhua] 

 
File photo shows cuisine made of cordyceps sinensis, treasure of Tibetan medicine. [Photo/www.etours.cn]