Ya’an Wood Ear

Ya’an Wood Ear

　　The “Ya’an Wood Ear” produced in Ya’an County, locally known as “Erzi,” is delicate in texture, smooth in taste, and contains more calcium than common wood ears.

　　Ya’an is located in the southern part of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, along the middle reaches of the Yalong River, in the central section of the Hengduan Mountains at the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It serves as a central hub on China’s Shangri-La Cultural Tourism Grand Loop and the center of China’s Most Scenic Highway, earning the title “First Ferry of the Ancient Tea Horse Road.” The region features a continental monsoon plateau climate. Ya’an County boasts the ideal natural, climatic, and geographical conditions for growing edible fungi such as wood ears.

　　Ya’an wood ears typically grow singly or in clusters. They range from 2 to 12 cm in diameter, mostly ear-shaped, cup-shaped, leaf-shaped, or petal-shaped. They are thin yet elastic, semi-transparent, and dark red to near blackish-brown or dark bluish-brown in color.

　　Wood ear is a highly nutritious and well-known edible fungus, often referred to as the “meat among vegetables.” It has various health benefits, including enriching blood and qi, nourishing lungs, stopping bleeding, moisturizing, strengthening the body, and aiding digestion.