“Back in the Mountains After Beijing: When I Finally Feel Truly Human”｜Food Talk Vol.51

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This episode of Food Talk features an impromptu conversation recorded at ‘Jishi’, the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market’s physical space at Sanyuanqiao. We’ve welcomed back two old friends: Kang Li and Jin Peng. One is a Yi woman from Chuxiong, Yunnan, who funded her studies by selling mountain mushrooms and matsutake. The other is a ‘wild food’ practitioner from the Greater Khingan Mountains in the northeast, who traded city life for the woods and has made a living by foraging for over a decade.
In this episode, these two foragers—one from the south, one from the north—discuss the hard labour behind wild mountain produce, their deep ties with elderly villagers, and the challenges and hopes for agriculture in an era of climate change. While this may sound like a rather “primordial” way of living, it actually touches on many inescapable themes of modern society: trust, income, labour, pricing models, and the fundamental question of “what we’re really after when we eat.”

This is an unscripted, heartfelt conversation, and a collection of stories about “making a living from the mountains.”

Tune in to step into their everyday life in the wilds. This episode also marks the first instalment of the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market’s 15th-anniversary dialogue series. More engaging conversations to follow.

This/Episode’s/Guests

Jin Peng

Currently lives and works in Huye, a small forestry town in the Greater Khingan Mountains. Has partnered with local foragers to harvest wild ingredients for 15 years. He cherishes forest living, enjoys heading into the mountains to gather various edible treasures, and simultaneously documents and observes this pristine northern town.

 

 

 

Kang Li

Born in 1992, this Yi woman worked on rural development projects in Kunming and Beijing after high school. At the end of 2015, she decided to dedicate her life to the land, returning to Chuxiong, Yunnan to launch her own ventures. She founded two platforms, “Kang Li’s Local Produce” and “Happy Homeland”, using sales to support sustainable local foraging and cultural heritage.

 

 

 

This/Episode’s/Host

Tianle

Convener of the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market and founding editor at Foodthink.

 

 

 

Timeline

01:05 Memories of our first meeting: 15 years ago, among the earliest vendors at Beijing’s Organic Farmers’ Market

02:48 Why head back to the mountains? The choices of two young returnees

04:04 What is “mountain foraging”? The origins of matsutake, wild fungi, and other foraged goods

14:26 Do locals also have a taste for wild mountain harvests?

19:09 How are foraged goods priced? Not by market fluctuations, but to secure a baseline income for the gatherers

24:51 “We aren’t profiteering” — When customers say your prices are too high

27:10 The reality in mountain villages: A Yunnan village shrinks from 100 households to 80; a small town in the northeast has just 2,000 residents. Who is left to work?

33:59 Does foraging reveal the effects of climate change?

37:25 Mountains leased by “bosses”: The growing constraints on independent foraging

40:15 Coming back from the mountains: just a third of the work is complete

56:46 Bears in the woods? Wild does not mean easy: The risks, physical toll, and traditional knowledge of mountain harvesting

61:07 Is gruelling mountain foraging a declining trade? The freedom it brings may well be enough to keep going

Kang Li, a young woman from the Yi ethnic group.
Kang Li lives deep in the mountains of Yunnan. The pristine environment provides an ideal habitat for wild termite mushrooms. The foraging trail is beautifully scenic, backed by towering peaks and overlooking the Jinsha River.
A forager with a baby strapped to her back.
Fine specimens of wild termite mushroom.
Jin Peng, foraging in the Greater Khingan Range for 15 years.
The stunning Greater Khingan Range is rich in natural resources and far from pollution, with a forest cover exceeding 80%. The wild-harvested produce grows entirely in its natural habitat, free from artificial cultivation or management.
Wild blueberry (“Dusika”).
Cedar cones, fully ripe.
Wild wood ear mushroom growing on birch trees.
An assortment of wild mushrooms, Chinese skullcap, rose blooms, and rose hips, naturally sun-drying.
Various mushrooms, Chinese skullcap, rose blossoms, and rosehips air-drying naturally.
Mountain foraging seems to yield more than just wild edibles from the ancient forest. It also brings the woodlands’ scent and vitality, alongside the joy and ease experienced by local foragers during their work.
 

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All images are provided by this episode’s guest

Music: Banong

Production: Xiaojing

Episode Planner: Wen Jing

Episode Editor: Tianle

Contact: xiaojing@foodthink.cn

Published by Foodthink