About this journey
Activity content: Forest hike, collecting mushrooms along the way, explaining mushrooms, picnic in the forest.
The activity can be divided into two options: with meal or without meal. The meal also requires a minimum of 2 persons (afternoon). From the forest where mushroom picking ends to the eating place is about 1.5 hours (half an hour more than returning to the meeting point).
Activity time: About 4.5 hours.
Meeting point and ending point: Pushi Bakery (near Dali University)
One-way drive: 1 hour. After meeting, take our car. You should know it may be a minivan.
The guide will prepare tea and snacks, baskets, raincoats.
⚠️ This activity currently requires a minimum of 2 persons. If the number is not reached on the day of a last-minute booking, please consult customer service.
Consultation WeChat:
Cancellation and modification policy:
Within 12 hours: 30% refund; 12-24 hours: 50% refund; 24-48 hours: 70% refund; over 48 hours: 100% refund. No refund after activity starts. Full refund due to weather (please ask the guide to handle cancellation). *Fairness principle: our policy is bilateral. If we cannot proceed after receiving booking and confirming WeChat group (except for weather reasons), we compensate at the same proportion.
This is a forest off Cangshan. You will walk through a mountain trail lined with oaks to reach a group of tall Armand pines. Because it consists of two different tree groups, mushrooms are sometimes different from those on Cangshan.
Apart from occasional locals passing by, there is almost no one else.
🍄 Easy to walk to the forest, low physical demand. 1-hour drive after meeting.
Q: It seems more expensive than others. Why choose your mushroom picking activity?
A:
Professional level and sincere attitude of the guides
If you join a mushroom picking activity, a lively walk is fine, but if you can also learn professional knowledge, your experience will be deeper. What's more valuable in an activity is time, rare opportunity, and rich experience:
How do mushrooms grow from underground mycelium?
What is each mushroom called? Edible or poisonous? What kind of poison? Gastrointestinal or lethal?
Are the more colorful mushrooms more poisonous?
Are the mushrooms locals eat necessarily safe?
Our Cangshan Mushroom Elf Picking Group not only collects and observes but also has compiled a professional Cangshan mushroom series for mushroom enthusiasts and professional collectors nationwide and in Dali:
Cangshan Wild Mushrooms | Honggu Series
Cangshan Wild Mushrooms | "Ma Mu Ji" - a poisonous mushroom locals eat
Cangshan Wild Mushrooms | "Nai Jiang Jun" - a poisonous mushroom locals eat
Cangshan Wild Mushrooms | "Ru Niu Gan Jun" - a poisonous mushroom locals eat
Also some records from mushroom picking life:
Mushroom Picking | Memoirs
Zacaojing | That Day, the Mushroom Elf Sent a Gift
Zacaojing | The "Ending" of Mushrooms
Zacaojing | Mushroom Picking in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Q: If not on Cangshan, can we pick mushrooms freely? As many as we want?
A: Whether in regulated areas or not, we do not advocate picking large quantities of mushrooms and discarding them casually. We will collect and explain the mushroom species we see, but it is not destructive wholesale picking.
Q: How many can we pick each time?
A: Mushrooms are not planted by us; they are wild. If temperature and humidity are suitable and locals haven't picked them first, we can see many. Normally 15-30 species are possible, depending on the day.
Q: What to do with the picked mushrooms? Can we take them home to eat?
A: We won't pick many delicious mushrooms. Good ones like Baicong (white mushroom) are picked by locals before dawn, so we don't get them. We collect uncommon ones that locals don't recognize, and try to take only samples.
If you want to eat the freshest mushrooms: you can book the afternoon itinerary with meal.
Due to requests from repeat guests, we have decided to split the afternoon itinerary into options with or without meal. Meal time is around 7 pm if no traffic jam.
The meal is provided by Sister Chunmei's family, with whom we have cooperated for 5 years:
Authentic farmhouse mushroom meal cooked on a wood-fired stove
Three Bai sisters at the foot of Cangshan, who have picked mushrooms since childhood and sell them at the market. Monks from Wuwei Temple often ask them to pick wild mushrooms. They were once our picking group's mentors. A few years later, they moved to logistics, responsible for picking and cooking. Their home still uses a wood-fired stove. The family is harmonious. The three sisters have each married, but the extended family still eats together, which is very rare.
A mushroom picking experience ending with a delicious and authentic farmhouse mushroom meal is also very important. Not everyone praises it, but often guests hope to eat such home cooking again.
Guests say:
"The lunch was delicious, especially the mushroom chicken soup. It was much better than in restaurants."
"Lunch had fragrant mushroom chicken soup and stir-fried mushrooms. Especially worth experiencing."
"Lunch had five dishes and one soup, we were stuffed. Stir-fried mushrooms with chili went well with rice. Black chicken mushroom soup was full of ingredients."
Typical mushroom lunch dishes include:
1. Mushroom chicken soup 2. Stir-fried mushrooms 3. Dali farmhouse crispy pork 4. Stir-fried corn 5. Shredded potatoes 6. Seasonal vegetables. 6 people per table (shared table).
Photos
WeChat article · WeChat article
WeChat article · WeChat article