Workers process shiitake mushrooms at Zhejiang Sanjiangyuan Agricultural Development in Qingyuan county, Lishui. [Photo/Lishui Daily]

Qingyuan county in Lishui, Zhejiang province, has successfully expanded its mushroom cultivation to Inner Mongolia autonomous region, enabling year-round production and export to markets including South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

While most traditional mushroom farmers in Qingyuan have suspended fruiting for summer management of mushroom sticks, a production base in Inner Mongolia, operated by Zhejiang Sanjiangyuan Agricultural Development, is operating at full capacity, shipping fresh shiitake mushrooms kept overseas via cold chain.

According to the company, by establishing large-scale cultivation bases in Inner Mongolia, Hebei, and Henan, it achieves stable production across all seasons. When summer heat halts mushroom growth in Zhejiang, the northern bases leverage their cooler climate to fill supply gaps in southern markets.

This south-to-north relocation relies on skilled technicians from Qingyuan, who have provided cultivation guidance to over 300,000 farmers across 400 counties in 20 provinces.

More than 100 Qingyuan mushroom experts have been sent to Inner Mongolia to adapt techniques to local conditions, innovating off-season cultivation methods that grow mushrooms in winter and harvest in summer and introducing insulated greenhouses with intelligent temperature controls for fully automated stick production.

The expansion is also driven by Qingyuan's industry upgrades, including eight provincial research platforms, standardized production, and high-value processed products like shiitake mushroom sauces and medicinal capsules.

The Qingyuan shiitake mushroom brand is now valued at nearly 14.64 billion yuan ($2.17 billion), with its market achieving a nationwide trade network.