On December 15, British influencer Ethan arrived in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, by plane from Shanghai. Although he has lived in China for many years, this was his first time visiting Yunnan. “I heard that Yunnan has many rare wild edible mushrooms. This time, I specifically came for a ‘super amazing’ mushroom!” In his conversation with reporters, Ethan’s humorous words revealed a sense of anticipation.

The “mushroom” he mentioned is the black boletus (*Boletus aereus*). Previously, black boletus relied entirely on natural growth, appearing on the market in concentrated amounts only from June to August each year with limited output. Today, a group of persistent agricultural technology pioneers has changed this situation. They successfully achieved the artificial domestication of black boletus and established the world’s first factory-cultivation R&D and production base in Yunnan, allowing this limited mountain delicacy to “fly” into ordinary homes and become a regular favorite on fresh food e-commerce platforms and daily dining tables.

Currently, in beautiful Xishuangbanna, the black boletus has formed an integrated industry chain combining R&D, cultivation, processing, and sales, growing from a “gift of nature” deep in the mountains into a distinctive industry card valued at over 100 million yuan. Enterprises have developed their unique capabilities through this, while providing local farmers with more employment opportunities and income streams, serving as a vivid model for rural revitalization. Let us take a look at the growth journey of this super amazing black boletus—

From 0 to 1 for Black Boletus

Ethan’s main purpose in visiting Xishuangbanna was to attend the 2025 International Black Boletus Technical Innovation Conference. “I want to see with my own eyes how black boletus achieves large-scale production right out of the mushroom rooms,” he said.

Entering the black boletus production base of Jinghong Hongzhen Agricultural Science and Technology Co., Ltd., tens of thousands of bottles that have completed inoculation, mycelium growth, and soil covering are conveyed to smart fruiting rooms. On tall shelves inside the mushroom rooms, rows of plump black boletus emerge from the soil. Next, by precisely regulating environmental parameters such as temperature, light, humidity, and airflow, staff can conduct refined management according to different growth stages to ensure harvesting at precise moments.

“Including the spawn culture time, the growth cycle of a black boletus takes only 45 days. Production runs year-round inside the factory, completely breaking natural seasonal limitations. The highly automated and intelligent production process enables us to achieve a stable daily production capacity of nearly 20 tons,” explained Ji Kaiping, Chief Technical Officer of Hongzhen Biotechnology Group.

After harvesting, the black boletus mushrooms are sent to the sorting workshop for trimming and grading, then locked in freshness using unique substrate preservation technology and low-temperature pre-cooling packaging technology to extend shelf life, before being packed and dispatched nationwide by workers.

“British people love eating boletus mushrooms very much. I didn’t expect to be able to eat black boletus anytime, anywhere in China. The advanced technology and smart production in Chinese agriculture are truly amazing!” Ethan praised sincerely.

The path to artificial domestication of black boletus is a journey of exploration from technological breakthroughs to industrial leadership. Li Yu, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, national model for poverty alleviation, and chairman of the Academic Committee of Jilin Agricultural University, stated that the edible mushroom industry is a classic representative of “small mushrooms, big industry, benefiting people’s livelihoods.” As a distinctive variety, black boletus holds significant value in aiding rural revitalization, ensuring food safety, and promoting Healthy China construction. “This is not only the success of a single variety, but also a model of converting China’s unique wild resources into industrial advantages, providing a groundbreaking mindset of ‘offering what others lack and innovating what others have’ to break current development bottlenecks in the edible mushroom sector.”

At the conference, the International Society for Medicinal Mushrooms awarded Xishuangbanna the title of Global Black Boletus Industry Innovation and Leadership Hub. Behind this honor lies the nourishment of Yunnan’s fertile land, as well as the dedication of researchers and innovative R&D by leading enterprises.

Through 12 years of core scientific research and an investment of nearly 1 billion yuan, Hongzhen achieved the world’s first artificial domestication and factory mass production of black boletus, acquiring a series of invention patents and walking an independent innovation path “from 0 to 1.” Driven by leading enterprises, more and more farmers have joined the black boletus industry, gaining stable employment and income through planting, harvesting, and processing. Meanwhile, industrial development enables hundreds of thousands of tons of crop straw and rubberwood sawdust generated annually in Xishuangbanna Prefecture and Jinghong City to turn waste into treasure, improving the local rural environment and ecological protection to win-win economic and social benefits.

AI + “Revamping” the Edible Mushroom Industry

Using “small mushrooms” to leverage a “big industry” requires deep integration of technological and industrial innovation; only thus can the shackles of low-level competition be broken.

“I have repeatedly emphasized the importance of precision breeding, smart cultivation, and high-value-added processing. Not only cultivation needs intelligence, but breeding, deep processing, and sales also rely on AI support and close integration,” Li Yu remarked, adding that the industry must embrace AI and step into a new era where AI and edible mushrooms are deeply integrated.

Currently, in the black boletus sector, a collaborative and symbiotic industrial ecosystem is forming: Hongzhen Biotechnology signed strategic cooperation agreements with Sinong Robot Industry Innovation Research Institute (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. and Guangzhou Suikai Power Co., Ltd. respectively.

“This is a vivid practice of deep integration between agricultural technology and intelligent manufacturing, as well as an important milestone in black boletus advancing toward modern factories,” Shi Wei, Chairman of Hongzhen Biotechnology Group, told reporters from International Business Daily. Intelligence and green practices are inevitable trends in edible mushroom development; as an industry leader, Hongzhen is empowering industrial upgrades with new quality productive forces. Joining hands with Suikai and Sinong will propel the company toward further upgrades in green electricity, unmanned operation, and automated production.

Wu Haisu, Deputy General Manager of Guangzhou Suikai Power Co., Ltd., believes that as agricultural industrialization enters deep waters, green energy and energy conservation help enterprises build core competitiveness. The key lies in constructing green, smart, and efficient new energy systems. Suikai will take this cooperation as a starting point to co-build a green smart agricultural energy ecosystem alliance with research institutes, financial institutions, and leading agricultural enterprises to drive sustainable high-quality development.

The new quality productive force of black boletus is also reflected in the extension and expansion of its industry chain. In recent years, the Xishuangbanna government and local enterprises have actively explored deep processing, developing high-value products such as black boletus condiments and health products. At present, the “Niu Furen” brand has built 10 sales outlets nationwide, established strategic partnerships with nearly 100 restaurant chains and supermarkets, and exported products to Russia, Poland, Spain, and other countries.

How Mushrooms Reshape a New “Food” Era

“On this trip, I was delighted to taste dishes cooked with top-quality black boletus by master chefs. In the past, black boletus appeared more as a side ingredient in Western food, but I observed that Chinese restaurants now increasingly use it as a primary ingredient with many innovative and delicious cooking methods! In supermarkets and online platforms across first-tier cities, black boletus can be found everywhere,” Ethan shared.

With the advent of the big health era, market recognition of black boletus continues to grow, and its aroma is spreading from Yunnan to a broader stage.

According to the Yunnan Mushuihua Wild Mushroom Trading Center, the nation’s largest trading hub for wild mushrooms, overall trading volume for black boletus maintains growth, with cultivated black boletus growing rapidly. In 2025, cultivated black boletus accounted for 20.92% of total trading volume, up 10.61 percentage points from 2024.

Cheng Aili, General Manager of the trading center, told reporters that consumer demand for “ready-to-cook” (no wash, no slice) black boletus grew at a rapid 42% in the C-end market, reflecting young consumers’ preference for convenient ingredients. Black boletus is rich in proteins and polysaccharides, with raw material demand for pharmaceutical use growing 22% annually. As consumer health awareness rises, the medicinal value of black boletus will see further development, offering broad market prospects.

“Currently, the global food industry is moving toward healthiness, functionality, and internationalization, bringing rare development opportunities for the black boletus industry,” Qian Keming, member of the Standing Committee of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and Deputy Director of the Committee on Education, Science, Health and Sports, expressed during the conference.

In the view of Liu Youcai, founder of Jianjianjian Health Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Vice President of Jiangsu XinNong Rural Revitalization Research Institute, functional agriculture focused on nutrition and health has become an important strategic direction for China’s agricultural transformation and innovation. Edible mushroom enterprises should focus not only on internal efficiency but also on discovering and expanding market demand.

“This is precisely where our company will direct its efforts next: continuously extending the industry chain and deep processing projects. While innovating diversified products like flavored snacks and ready-to-eat foods, we will anchor firmly on health foods, deeply extract functional ingredients from black boletus to make nutritional supplements and functional snacks, expanding the health food market,” Zhang Wen, General Manager of Hongzhen Biotechnology Group, told International Business Daily.

Today, “go global or go out” has become a consensus among mushroom enterprises. Zhang Wen said: “Boletus is a high-end ingredient. Our primary direction for expansion is Europe, while also taking note of strong demand in emerging markets like the Middle East and Thailand. Our goal is not just selling products, but sharing Chinese technology globally to achieve mutual value through licensing and brand collaboration.”

Over the past few days, Ethan and attending influencers from the United States, Colombia, Thailand, and other countries have been posting videos on social media platforms home and abroad, sharing their encounters with Yunnan black boletus. One blogger expressed emotionally in a video: “I love Yunnan, and I can’t wait to show everyone everything about China!”