Luliang Matsutake

Luliang Matsutake

　　Luliang matsutake is a specialty of Luliang County in Qujing City, Yunnan Province. The mushrooms are mainly harvested within the Colorful Sand Forest National Park. Since 1988, they have been primarily exported to Japan.

　　The Colorful Sand Forest is located in Zhaokua Town, Luliang County, in the southern part of Qujing City, Yunnan Province, about 18 kilometers southeast of Luliang County’s urban area, and is a uniquely scenic tourist destination.

　　The matsutake produced in the Colorful Sand Forest is a specialty of Luliang County and has been primarily exported to Japan since 1988.

　　Matsutake, scientifically known as Tricholoma matsutake, also called pine mushroom, songxun, or hejun, is a rare and precious natural medicinal fungus in the world and a second-class endangered protected species in China. It contains 18 amino acids, 14 essential trace elements for the human body, 49 active nutrients, 5 unsaturated fatty acids, 8 vitamins, 2 glycoproteins, abundant dietary fiber, and various active enzymes. It also includes three valuable active substances: double-stranded matsutake polysaccharides, matsutake peptides, and the world’s only anticancer compound—matsutake alcohol—making it one of the most precious natural medicinal fungi on Earth. Matsutake is not only nutritionally balanced and rich but also offers multiple health benefits, such as boosting immunity, fighting cancer and tumors, treating diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, anti-aging and skin beautification, promoting gastrointestinal health, and protecting the liver.