Viagra Of Himalayas - Cordyceps Fungus On Mountains In China Is More Expensive Than Gold

Deep in the mountains of western China these people are on the hunt Cordyceps know as the Viagra of Himalayas. It's very difficult to find Cordyceps but people still go through the trouble because it is more expensive than gold.

Ma Junziao, a Muslim farmer in western china who climbs up the mountain to look for the fungus says he does it so that he can fulfill his family subsistence.

Each spring, Ma travels more than 600 kilometres (370 miles) by road from his impoverished village in Gansu to a jumbled knot of nameless peaks in neighbouring Qinghai province.

Here are some pictures that show how people come far away from their home to find the elusive fungus:

1. A man looks on as others scan the ground to find Ophiocordyceps sinensis.

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A fungus believed to possess aphrodisiac and medicinal powers, on a mountain in the Amne Machin range in China's western Qinghai province.

2. Ma Junxiao, 49, an ethnic Hui Muslim farmer from remote western China, scans the ground to find Cordyceps.

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There, he joins an army of about 80 people hired by a local company to find and pick Ophiocordyceps sinensis, a fungus believed to possess aphrodisiac and medicinal powers.

3. Cordyceps pickers search the ground on a frozen section of a river in a valley in the Amne Machin range in China's western Qinghai province.

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At the market peak in 2010, the street price of cordyceps was more than $100,000 per kilogram.

4. It's found in the Himalayas, Tibet and Qinghai's high-altitude grasslands, the caterpillar fungus, as cordyceps is also known, has become the most important source of income for local communities.

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Workers cordyceps income has more than halved to 7,000-8,000 yuan ($1,018-$1,164) per season as the fungus grew more scarce.

5. Cordyceps pickers rest in their tent at a base camp on a mountain in the Amne Machin range.

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Some experts say the enthusiasm has led to over-harvesting on top of less-hospitable climate, despite official insistence on sustainable production.

6. A picker digs out a cordycep on a mountain in the Amne Machin range.

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Cordyceps pickers are hired by a local company to find and pick the Ophiocordyceps sinensis.

7. Buyers and sellers negotiate price by touching each other's fingers gesturing numbers under a cloth at a cordyceps trade market in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

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8. Buyers check the quality of cordyceps at the trading market.

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9. Cordyceps are laid out on cloth for drying inside a cordyceps trader's house in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

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Grass-dwelling caterpillars deliver the fungus when they migrate, arriving as early as summer, after which the fungus lays dormant in its host through the frigid winter months.

10. Glaciers on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau have shrunk 15% in the past half a century as gains in local temperatures outstripped the global average by three-fold, Chinese state media reported last year.

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11. Cordyceps pickers cut up lamb carcasses at a base camp on a mountain in the Amne Machin range in China's western Qinghai province.

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Global warming has led to a higher rate of evaporation, resulting in less soil moisture and poorer grass cover, said Shen Yongping, a Chinese scientist who has observed the weather patterns on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau since the 1980s.

12. An ethnic Hui Muslim cooks steamed bread for cordyceps pickers at a base camp on a mountain in the Amne Machin range.

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13. A Tibetan cordyceps picker smokes a cigarette at a base camp on a mountain in the Amne Machin range

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14. Shoes belonging to cordyceps pickers lie on the floor inside their tent at a base camp on a mountain in the Amne Machin range.

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15. Tools belonging to cordyceps pickers are seen at a base camp on a mountain in the Amne Machin range in China's western Qinghai province.

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16. A skull of a yak lies in the valley in the Amne Machin range in China's western Qinghai province.

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17. Yaks walk on a mountain in the Amne Machin range in China's western Qinghai province.

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18. Ethnic Hui Muslim cordyceps pickers clean their bowls at a base camp on a mountain in the Amne Machin range in China's western Qinghai province.

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19. Ethnic Hui and Tibetan women wait to be hired by traders to clean up the freshly picked cordyceps at a cordyceps trade market in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

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20. Tibetan woman waits to be hired by traders to clean up the freshly picked cordyceps at a cordyceps trade market in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

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21. Ethnic Hui and Tibetan women remove soil from cordyceps at a cordyceps trade market in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in China's western Qinghai province

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22. Cordyceps pickers smoke at a base camp on a mountain in the Amne Machin range in China's western Qinghai province.

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23. Demand for the highly prized cordyceps has increased sharply in the last decade as an emerging Chinese middle class seeks it to cure everything from kidney disorders to impotence.

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