(June-October) Going up the mountain to pick mushrooms | Eating mushroom meals at farmers' houses

Mushroom picking season: June to October every year, rainy season

• This is the standard version : suitable for children aged 5 years and above or adults, from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm, including a coffee break and a homemade mushroom meal.
• For younger children (2-4 years old) we have a mini version

About group size:
We will divide the group into groups before departure. In the peak season, each group will have about 10 people (1 guide), and in the off-season, we will try to keep the number of group members below 6.

About lunch:
Lunch is served at a table for 6 people. Most of the guests have limited physical strength and walking distance, so the amount of mushrooms they can pick is also limited. Most of the mushrooms for lunch are picked by local sisters. They go up the mountain at dawn to pick the best mushrooms, such as the high-quality Agrocybe edulis and white Porcini mushrooms.

Q: Why did I choose your experience?

1. Professionalism and genuine attitude of the guide <br>Participating in mushroom picking is fun, but learning about the mushrooms you pick deepens your experience. Time is precious and this rare opportunity will provide a richer experience.

• How do mushrooms grow from mycelium underground?
• What are the names of each mushroom? Are they edible or poisonous? What is their toxicity—gastrointestinal toxicity or lethal toxicity?
• Are brightly colored mushrooms always poisonous?
• Are the mushrooms that locals eat always safe?

Our mushroom-picking team not only collects and studies mushrooms themselves, but also organizes a series of professional mushroom activities in Cangshan Mountain, providing reference for mushroom enthusiasts and professionals across the country and in Dali.
We also documented our mushroom picking experience:

• Memoirs of Mushroom Picking
• "Prairie Scene: That Day, the Mushroom Fairy Brought a Gift"

Traveler says:

• "Everyone is very professional. The names, toxicity, and characteristics are explained very clearly. If there is anything we don't understand, we will take it back for discussion. The atmosphere is great. It's the first time for them to follow Xiaomi, and they are both very excited. We decided not to do any other activities in the next few days and just play with you guys."
• “Thanks to Ms. Yan Zi, she could recognize almost every mushroom we picked and patiently answered every question from the children. My child said it was ‘super perfect’! Not just perfect, not even very perfect, but super perfect.”

2. Authentic Farmhouse Mushroom Meal <br>Three sisters from Nanyang Village at the foot of Cangshan Mountain have been picking mushrooms since they were young and selling them at the market. The monks of Wuwei Temple often let them pick wild mushrooms. They were the instructors of our mushroom picking team, but after a few years they stopped giving instructions and focused on picking mushrooms and cooking. Their family still uses a traditional wood-burning stove, and it is rare for the family to eat together.

The mushroom foraging experience ends with a delicious, authentic farm-raised mushroom meal, which is an essential part of the experience. While it is not guaranteed to be to everyone’s liking, many guests often want to enjoy such a home-cooked meal again. Guests say:

• “Lunch was great, especially the mushroom chicken soup. Much better than what we had in the restaurant.”
• “For lunch, I had the fragrant mushroom chicken soup and sautéed mushrooms. Definitely worth a try.”
• "The lunch has five dishes and one soup, which is very rich. The fried mushrooms with peppers are delicious, and the black chicken and mushroom soup is very rich."

Typical mushroom lunch dishes include:

1. Mushroom Chicken Soup
2. Sauteed Mushrooms
3. Dali Farmhouse Crispy Pork
4. Fried corn
5. Shredded potatoes
6. Seasonal vegetables. Served for 6 people at table (shared seating).

We want to present our unique characteristics, and the right choice depends on each individual.

About our mushroom picking team:
There are six girls in our team, namely Xiaojing, Yanzi, Xiaomin, Wanwan, Li Zhenhao and Daxiang. Each of them is independent and experienced. They have read many books about mushrooms and done a lot of field surveys in forests.

Their characteristic is the combination of profound theoretical knowledge and rich practical experience.
While people who don’t understand mushrooms just take photos and use exaggerated language, mushroom pickers are generally divided into two types:

• The local ladies have been picking mushrooms for decades. They are familiar with the terrain and can find edible mushrooms, but they call other mushrooms "false mushrooms."
• Mushroom enthusiasts have academic knowledge but lack field experience. They can classify mushrooms but may have difficulty identifying the subtle differences in mushrooms based on different growing environments.

The girls in our mushroom picking team are in the middle, familiar with the local forests, and have rich theoretical knowledge. Therefore, local girls often ask them about mushrooms they don’t know, and experts in mushroom research also need their guidance, which often leads to further discussions.

So, a good guide is someone who combines theory with practice. We believe our guides are those who continue to improve by combining these elements.

Farmhouse firewood cooking This is another major feature of our team.
The three sisters have decades of experience and now contribute quietly behind the scenes. They get up at 6 am every morning to pick enough fresh mushrooms for lunch, and when we come back, the delicious lunch is ready. They still use a wood stove.

Place: It is about 7 kilometers away from the ancient city and is located at the foot of the mountain.
Departure Time: We set out at 8am, picked mushrooms for about 2 hours, rested for half an hour on the slope to drink tea, went down the mountain at 11am, and had lunch around 12pm. The activity fee includes a farm-fresh mushroom meal after going down the mountain.

Most visitors to Dali try wild mushroom hotpot, but the opportunity to personally forage for wild mushrooms, observe them in the forest, and pick them at their freshest.

Guests often say, "Why does it taste so fresh? It's different from what we had before." The taste of freshly picked mushrooms is indeed unique.

Moreover, our sisters would go up the mountain early every day to pick enough mushrooms for lunch, so that the guests would not have to worry about not having enough mushrooms to eat.

Experience highlights:

• Walk through the forest looking for wild mushrooms
• Drink tea on the hillside while enjoying the beautiful scenery of Erhai Village
• Mushroom Knowledge Sharing
• Bring the mushrooms back to the village and make mushroom chicken soup or stir-fry mushrooms with bacon for a farm-style firewood meal.

The mushroom picking route is about 3 kilometers long and passes through a pine forest. It is an easy journey and usually takes about 3 hours.

Be aware that wild mushrooms are not always easy to spot; they hide in the grass and pine needles and require some time to find. Patient and discerning guests often pick more. Local women go up the hill before dawn to pick mushrooms to sell at the market, so we also need to work harder to find them.