Guo Shaogui of Jinshantun Blazes a New Trail to Prosperity

    Guo Shaogui of the Dakunlun Operations Station in Jinshantun District began growing bagged black fungus (wood ear mushroom) in 1995, when he trial-planted 5,000 bags. Through years of practice, his cultivation technique gradually matured, and by 2003 he had reached a scale of 30,000 bags, with an average yield of about 1 liang per bag, inspiring more than 100 workers at the station to take up bagged black fungus cultivation. 
            
    As black fungus cultivation expanded nationwide, the market purchase price of conventional bagged black fungus declined year by year, while autumn fungus and small fungus became hot-selling products on the edible mushroom market. To adapt to market demand, Guo Shaogui began trial-planting autumn wood ear mushroom in 2005. Lacking cultivation techniques, he visited Mudanjiang and other places to study, bought books on autumn fungus cultivation, and explored growing experience through practice. After several years of development, his autumn wood ear cultivation technique had basically matured. In 2007, the 5,000 bags of autumn wood ear he planted averaged 0.8 liang per bag, and in 2008, his 10,000 bags of autumn wood ear averaged 0.9 liang of dried fungus per bag. To encourage his autumn wood ear cultivation, the Dakunlun Operations Station provided him free of charge with a site for placing the fungus bags and materials such as small poles, and organized management staff to do voluntary labor during the seasons of planting and harvesting the fungus bags, supporting him in further expanding his scale and playing a demonstration role. This year, he further expanded his autumn wood ear cultivation to 30,000 bags, which are currently in the picking stage, and by conservative estimate, the average yield per bag will be above 0.8 liang. 
            
    Driven by his example, the autumn fungus cultivation scale at the Dakunlun Operations Station reached 8 households and 150,000 bags this year. Drawing on years of practical experience, Guo Shaogui voluntarily explains autumn wood ear cultivation techniques to other growers, goes into the fields to provide technical guidance, and solves problems arising in autumn wood ear production. The autumn wood ear of the current growers is growing well, and the average yield per bag is expected to be no less than 0.8 liang. 
    
    This year, Guo Shaogui also planted 20,000 bags of spring wood ear, using hole-opening methods such as "V"-shaped holes, triangular holes, and small holes made with a nail board, comparing cultivation yields and exploring growing experience, playing an exemplary and leading role in the development of our district's black fungus industry.