Li Zhenhao | Go to Zhiben Mountain in Veronica

January 2, 2025

Reprinted by: Li Zhenhao This kind of continuous, relaxed connection between people, which is based on interests and mutual recognition, is very beautiful.

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The car broke down halfway up the mountain in Luotong, so I might as well just keep writing it down.

I will write this story later, as I am worried that I won’t be able to finish it in one article.

At the beginning of the year, Poanna and I participated in a trip to Nujiang together. She is also a staff member of a forest farm, taking care of plants in an entire mountain forest. Later, she came to the store to see some of my specimens. The next day, we made an appointment to go to the Life Science Museum of Dali University to see more specimens. She is very serious about recording the plants on her public account.

Caojian

Before we went, I made an appointment with Grandma and Big Brother. We checked in at Caojian the day before. We had breakfast in the village the next morning and set off for the mountain. On the first-level watershed between the Nujiang River and the Lancang River, it is an alpine wetland with rich biodiversity. There are more than 50 species of rhododendrons alone, and the cute rhododendron is a species unique to Yunlong. We probably saw more than 20 species. Agua picked up a leaf of the convex rhododendron. The hair on the back was like cement, very tight, and a leaf was as big as two of my faces.

We gained a lot that day. With the guidance of Veronica and my brother, we talked about every plant along the way, which was even more interesting. Occasionally, we met someone we didn't know, and a group of people gathered around to discuss, just like a group of children in a nature class.

If time permits, it would be nice to spend two or three days there, wandering from the primeval forest to the meadow and then into the forest, to see mushrooms, flowers, fruits and trees. I had always been thinking about coming here after reading some of the content posted by Veronica, and finally I made a trip here before the mushroom season ended.

Some mushrooms and plants in Zhiben Mountain

Sulfur mushrooms are very special. The store has always had large samples, but I have never eaten them. Caojian loves to eat sulfur mushrooms. When we were going down the mountain, we happened to meet villagers selling them. They were about 20 yuan per pound. We bought some and ate them in the evening. They were unexpectedly delicious, with a special aroma of chicken fat.