Ginseng picking

Every year ginseng matures at the beginning of autumn, particularly in Wusong, a town located at the foot of Changbai Mountain.

The history of ginseng picking can be traced back to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when many people left their hometown, came to NE China and lived on the herb. Even today, many pickers enter the mountains looking for matured ginseng.

The lush forest of Changbai Mountain is shaded from sunlight as the ginseng pickers find their way in the hot and humid weather.

A wild ginseng plant needs thirty to forty years to mature and everyone must obey the old rule: pick the matured ginseng plants and leave the immature ones, which guarantees the sustainability of ginseng production in the mountains.

Today, many other rules are also strictly applied by ginseng pickers.

1. A team of people must be gathered to enter the mountains and pick up ginseng. The number of the team can only be a single and not a double number.

2. A ritual showing respect to the god living in the mountain must be done as soon as the team enters the area.

3. Ginseng pickers use a special slang when telling each other the results of their search.

4. Circle the ginseng with red strings before digging.

5. Never assess the value of the ginseng before getting down from the mountain.

Ginseng picking became a national intangible heritage of China in 2008.