The rapidly growing mushroom industry has become a key source of income for residents in Tianzhu, a once-impoverished county in northwest China's Gansu Province.
Tianzhu is home to diverse ethnic groups, predominantly the Tibetan community.
Once a deeply underdeveloped region, the local government has in recent years focused on fostering specialized industries that suit the area's unique environment. These include plateau summer vegetables, medicinal herbs, livestock breeding and edible mushrooms.
"Our key advantage is the climate. Tianzhu's elevation ranges from 2,048 to 4,787 meters, with an average temperature of 12 degrees Celsius from April to the National Day holiday, which is perfect for cultivating medium- and low-temperature mushrooms," said Liu Guodong, director of Agricultural Industrialization Service Center of Tianzhu.
So far, the county has built about 6,700 mushroom cultivation houses. In 2023, the harvested mushrooms generated an output value of approximately 700 million yuan (about 100 million U.S. dollars).
Chen Lian previously worked at an electronics factory in Shenzhen city, which is over 2,000 kilometers away. Last year, she decided to return home and start her own mushroom business.
"Last year, I rented five hoop houses, and now I have 11. Each shed brings in about 30,000 yuan in income. Next year, I plan to expand to around 20 sheds and hire more staff to ease the workload,”she said.
Tianzhu now boasts 22 mushroom cooperatives and 23 family farms. A modern mushroom industry chain has been established, covering everything from strain cultivation to processing and cold-chain logistics.
"We not just help farmers improve their growing techniques, but also enhance their management skills. For example, we want to introduce monitoring devices in the hoop houses that connect to an app on the mobile phone to track temperature, humidity, and other key factors in real time. This helps to increase efficiency and the quality of mushrooms, leading to better market outcomes," said Zhou Yuan, deputy Party chief of Songshan Township
Looking ahead, the county plans to add 10,000 more mushroom cultivation sheds over the next two to three years, and by then the industry's total output value is expected to surpass one billion yuan (about 140 million U.S. dollars). This growth is set to benefit more local farmers.
Organic mushroom farming boosts incomes in northwest China county
