Global significance

For thousands of years, local residents have made rational use of forest resources to cultivate mushrooms, invented and developed an agroforestry system with mushroom and forest co-culture technique. Throughout the heritage system, the forests provide a growing environment and nutrients for edible fungi, which accelerate the decomposition of organic matter in the forests, and the decomposition of dead woods and litters increases the nutrients in the forests.

Food and livelihood security

Through various production methods, a range of agricultural, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery products, such as mushrooms, forest trees, nuts, fruits, oil plants, traditional Chinese herbal medicines, cereals, potatoes, vegetables and aquatic products, are produced to meet the food, nutrition and daily life needs of local residents. According to the statistical data, the Farmers’ income from the QFMCS accounts for 46.9%, which is an important livelihood source for local people.

Agrobiodiversity

There are a large number of native or semi-native forest vegetation types in the site, which preserves many primitive and ancient biological populations. The site is an important fungal resource bank in China, rich in wild fungus resources and genetic diversity, and 398 species of macro fungi have been identified. At present, there are about 60 kinds of main cultivated crops in the site. Many of them are local traditional varieties.

Local and traditional knowledge systems

The traditional knowledge and techniques accumulated by Gumin (farmers who mainly cultivate mushrooms), such as natural forest conservation, mushroom forest management, forest utilization, utilization of resources under the forest and cyclic resource utilization, all help to realize the organic integration of forest conservation, mushroom cultivation and agricultural production.

The site is the birthplace of Xianggu (also called shii-take, the scientific name is Lentinus edodes) cultivation technique and follows a complete cultivation technique evolution chain from Duohua to wood logging and material substitution methods, which can be called “The Living Museum of Mushroom Cultivation Technologies”. In the production process, the waste such as forest logging residues, crop straw, mushroom dregs, excrement of livestock and poultry, etc. Are recycled, which is a typical model of ecological circular agriculture.

Cultures, value systems and social organizations

The most typical culture is centered on the natural worship of mountain forests such as worshipping Shanshen (the god of mountains) and and Gushen (God of mushroom, namely WU Sangong), acknowledging Shuniang (taking a tree as a mother), maintaining Fengshui in the forest, etc. Gumin have lived in mountain forests for generations, creating a unique language and customs. Their social organizations such as Sanhe hall, mushroom guild focus on cooperation and mutual assistance among farmers.

Landscapes features

"Forest-Terrace-Village-River" are distributed from high mountains to river valleys and compose the unique geographical landscape traditionally described as “90% of the area is covered with mountains, 5% with water and 5% with field”. There are many cultural landscapes such as ancient villages, bridges, roads and architecture. In particular, the region’s Langqiao construction is unique in the world.