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Danielle Popov

Move over, Pokémon Go. A new collecting craze is taking over Chinese social media, with the most coveted finds not digital critters but… mushrooms.
Morels, black tiger palm mushrooms, milk-caps, blackening brittlegill, termite mushrooms and matsutake are just some of the species for which young fungi fans have been foraging across the country, before posting their finds on platforms like Xiaohongshu, China’s answer to Instagram.
Competition is high to collect the rarest species. Those foraging in Yunnan province might have an edge in the race: according to internet users, it is one of the three Chinese provinces that boast ideal weather for mushrooms, the other two being Sichuan and Zhejiang.
Yunnan province is often referred to as the “kingdom of the plants”. It is home to 900 varieties of mushrooms – including 36 per cent of the world’s edible fungi types – as well as 90 per cent of the country’s fungi production, according to Chinese media.

“The rainy season in Yunnan is between June and September,” one user wrote on Xiaohongshu, adding that this is when mushrooms there grow in large quantities.
Posts on Xiaohongshu see people posing with their proud harvests, the colours of their fungi ranging from the demure dark brown of the black tiger palm mushroom to the crimson caps of darkening brittlegill to the deep teal of the “green-head mushroom” (Russula virescens).
Mushrooms such as the termite mushroom, chicken mushroom and darkening brittlegill can cost up to US$17 a pound.
The “lord of the fungi”, or ganbajun, also known as the ganba fungus, can fetch around US$30 a pound. A variety of factors contribute to the high cost: it only grows at high altitudes, picking and processing is expensive, and it has high nutritional value.
The most expensive? That would be the matsutake, or pine mushroom, which can cost up to US$70 a pound.

Mushroom foraging as a hobby is not new. But the viral social media craze has seen local tour operators take full advantage, with guides offering mushroom tours, mushroom-themed travel packages and mushroom-focused meals.
Some of the five- to six-hour hiking and foraging packages are offered at 298 yuan (US$42) per person, all with a mushroom-themed meal at the end.
Such mushroom tours are part of the wider evolution of Chinese travel, as people prioritise more personalised packages and adventures.
“Young people are generally more educated than in the past – they like to explore new things and have unique travel experiences,” says Nelson Wong, managing director of Luen Kee Hoo, which imports Yunnan mushrooms into Hong Kong.
“This is completely different from their previous travel habits. Today’s young people in China want to be different.”
But be warned: mushroom foraging can be dangerous. Comments such as “Can I eat this one?” and “Is this one poisonous?” are common on posts on Xiaohongshu.
Local governments have issued warnings advising the public to only consume mushrooms that have been classified as safe to eat by local mycologists – people who study fungi – and guides.
Mushroom poisoning, while rare, is not uncommon in biodiverse Yunnan.
Meanwhile, a type of “magic mushroom” can be found in the province. Psilocybe ruiliensis – named after Ruili, a city on the China-Myanmar border that is a centre of the jade trade – contains the psychedelic substance psilocybin.


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Mushroom foraging is taking over Chinese social media, with young fungi fans posting their finds and competition for the rarest kinds fierce


Mushroom foraging is taking over Chinese social media, with young fungi fans posting their finds and competition for the rarest kinds fierce.


New collecting craze goes viral in China. It involves mushrooms, with Yunnan the hotspot

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Mushroom foraging is taking over Chinese social media, with young fungi fans posting their finds and competition for the rarest kinds fierce

Mushroom foraging is taking over Chinese social media, with young fungi fans posting their finds and competition for the rarest kinds fierce