Forest Floor Fortune: How Guizhou's 'Humanistic Forestry' Is Turning Woodlands into Wealth
Guizhou's mountains, wetlands, and grasslands are not just an ecological barrier for the upper-middle reaches of the Yangtze River; they also embody the local wisdom of living in harmony with nature. To advance high-quality forestry, the province has woven a "humanistic forestry" approach into its broader efforts, covering beautiful, ecological, law-based, wealth-building, and safe forestry. This strategy gives forestry work both cultural depth and a focus on people's livelihoods, ensuring every patch of green has a soul and a story. The lush mountains are rich with charm, and their spirit is rooted in culture.
A Milestone for Bijie Gastrodia
"60 billion! The output value of Bijie Gastrodia has reached 60 billion yuan!" This exciting announcement was made in November 2025 at the Bijie City Gastrodia Production and Marketing Matchmaking Press Conference by the Bijie City Commerce Bureau and the Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. This scene is a vivid snapshot of the booming forest economy in Guizhou. The total output value of the province's forestry industry grew from 337.8 billion yuan in 2020 to 500 billion yuan in 2025, an increase of 48% with an average annual growth rate of 9.6%. By the end of 2025, the province's forest economy utilized 35.2 million mu of forest land, generating a full-industry-chain output value of 95.2 billion yuan. It has established 30 national-level forest economy demonstration bases, cultivated 266 leading forestry enterprises, and successfully registered public brands such as "Guilinkang" and "Tongkang You," while also releasing its first batch of public brands. The forest health industry has been planned with a "one core, four zones, multiple nodes" layout, and over 70 forest health bases have been upgraded. The forest economy has become a new engine for increasing farmers' income, effectively revitalizing the province's forest resources. As a major forest resource province, Guizhou, with its 92.5% mountainous and hilly terrain and 166 million mu of forested land, uses the forest economy as a key vehicle for turning "lucid waters and lush mountains into invaluable assets."
From Highland Treasure to Industry Benchmark
"These forest-simulated wild Gastrodia have good appearance and high medicinal potency; they are easy to sell," said Ding Xunwen, a forest farmer from Gaochao Village in Yinxi Township, Qixingguan District, Bijie City, his face beaming with the joy of harvest. The fresh Gastrodia is transported to the workshop of the Two Mountains Gastrodia Industry Company in Qixingguan District, where it undergoes cleaning, steaming, and slicing to be processed into high-value-added products like calming oral sprays and facial masks. "We have developed 63 products across four major categories: health tea, nourishing wine, medicinal food, and cosmetics, which have significantly boosted the value of Gastrodia," the company's head explained. By 2025, Bijie City's Gastrodia cultivation area had reached 369,000 mu, with an output of approximately 105,000 tons and a value of 60 billion yuan. Bijie's forest-simulated wild cultivation scale is now among the highest in the country. Why has it become so popular? Firstly, the region's geography and ecological environment provide unique advantages for growing high-quality Gastrodia. As early as 2008, Dafang County in Bijie City was awarded the title "Hometown of Gastrodia in China" by the China Food Industry Association, cementing its special place in the national Gastrodia industry landscape. However, despite its quality, Bijie Gastrodia had not achieved sufficient cultivation scale or sales volume.
Policy and Technology Fuel Growth
The rise of Bijie Gastrodia is inseparable from the high-level institutional push for forest economy development in Guizhou Province. In July 2021, Guizhou took the national lead by issuing the "Opinions on Accelerating the High-Quality Development of the Forest Economy," incorporating the responsibility for forest economy development into the performance evaluation and assessment of cities and counties, establishing the strategic position of the forest economy from the top-level design. Subsequently, documents such as the "Special Statistical Survey System for the Guizhou Forest Economy," the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Guizhou Forest Economy," and the "Guide for the Use of Forest Land for High-Quality Development of the Guizhou Forest Economy (Trial)" were released, providing an institutional framework for a production pattern that is distinctive, complementary, and efficient. In terms of financial support, Guizhou innovatively launched the "Guilin Loan" financial product to promote investment in the forestry industry from both financial and social capital. It also actively introduced funds from projects like the World Bank's Guizhou Rural Development Project to support the development of green agriculture under the forest economy. Over the past three years, Qixingguan District in Bijie City has integrated 10 million yuan in agricultural funds, cultivated 611 family farms and 52 specialized cooperatives, built 12 standardized Gastrodia demonstration bases, and leveraged 1.145 billion yuan in social capital, forming a co-construction pattern led by the government, with enterprises as the main players and farmers participating.
On the other hand, technological advancements have also been indispensable. The Bijie Qixingguan District, relying on the scientific research team of Professor Jiang Weike from Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, has built a collaborative innovation system of "industry, academia, research, and application" and has made a breakthrough in the development of "branch material substitution technology." This new technology uses fungal sticks to replace traditional wood, utilizing biodegradable materials to artificially cultivate slow-release Armillaria mellea fungus material, completely replacing natural wood. This process eliminates the need to cultivate fungus material in advance for planting. The new material is not only easy to obtain and simple to make but also convenient to use during cultivation. Furthermore, it stabilizes and improves the quality of Gastrodia output. The technology saves more than 80% of wood usage, and the yield of Gastrodia has increased by 2 to 3 times. These technological innovations not only reduce production costs but also fundamentally minimize the consumption of forest resources, achieving a dynamic balance between industrial development and ecological protection.
Shared Prosperity and Diverse Models
In Bijie, the Gastrodia industry has established multiple interest-linkage mechanisms, including shareholding cooperation, labor collaboration, and contract management, forming a pattern of "village-enterprise alliance, industry linkage, base connection with households, shared responsibility, and equity unity." At the Haiba Village forest-simulated Gastrodia planting base in Wenge Township, Qixingguan District alone, wages paid for labor in 2025 exceeded 2 million yuan, with over 100 villagers from surrounding areas working at the base daily. Depending on the role, daily wages range from 100 to 200 yuan. Deeper benefits come from share dividends and industrial driving. Guizhou Jiulong Gastrodia Co., Ltd., through a "company + cooperative + grower" model, allows farmers to participate in a share of the planting management profits. The more than 1,000 households involved have cultivated over 300,000 square meters, with each household increasing their income by about 18,000 yuan. Guizhou Two Mountains Gastrodia Industry Group has introduced a "five unifications, two divisions" model: unified seed supply, unified technology, unified standards, unified branding, and unified sales, combined with household management and household revenue, increasing growers' planting income by more than 40%.
A Blossoming Landscape Across the Province
The high-quality development of Guizhou's forest economy is flourishing in many places. Bijie's Gastrodia, edible fungi from Jianhe and Kaili, Dendrobium from Chishui, and Rosa roxburghii from Guiding are just a few examples of products that have grown strong across the province. "Guizhou has a good ecology and abundant forest resources. Our company has established a Chinese herbal medicine base in Taijiang County, signing planting agreements or placing orders with village collectives and cooperatives," said a representative of Taijiang Tianhe Bencao Company. "We mainly grow Huangjing (Polygonatum), Poria (Fu Ling), and Epimedium (Yin Yang Huo)." This company is a microcosm of the forest economy development in the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture. The local government has introduced enterprises from Zhejiang and other places, using "company + village collective + farmer" and "company + cooperative" models to develop forest-based industries like Chinese herbal medicine planting. "Iceberry is a unique medicinal herb in Qiandongnan, very popular in the market," said Yang Guangming, general manager of Taijiang Tianhe Bencao. "Our planting method is 'nurturing long-term with short-term,' meaning we use short-cycle crops to support long-cycle ones. For example, Huangjing takes three years to harvest, so while it has a high unit price, farmers can simultaneously plant the annual crop of Epimedium, which can yield 10,000 yuan per mu in a year. Our company has had good profits in Taijiang over the past few years, and this year we have developed a new Chinese herbal medicine base in Zhenyuan County."
In the Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, by June, the pink flowers of Rosa roxburghii in the mountains of Guiding County are fading. Luo Zhixiu, a large-scale grower from Huoju Village, looks forward to the upcoming fruit with great anticipation. "Last year's harvest was excellent, and we've made many organic upgrades this year, so we should sell even better." Rosa roxburghii is a special industry in Guizhou, known for its "King of Vitamin C" reputation, which has helped it gain popularity in the market in recent years. Guiding County, a major area for Rosa roxburghii cultivation, is seeing its industry thrive. Data shows that in 2025, the total fresh fruit output of Rosa roxburghii in Guiding County reached 44,000 tons, with a fresh fruit value of 176 million yuan. The county has built four large-scale, standardized planting bases of over 1,000 mu each, obtained organic certification for 18,000 mu of Rosa roxburghii bases, and created 15 high-yield and thousand-kilogram demonstration gardens. To improve standardized planting, Huoju Village in Guiding County has innovatively implemented a "Party branch + cooperative + farmer" model, providing unified technical guidance and field management through the cooperative. To reduce risks for growers, the county also offers them policy-based insurance. The insured area expanded from 32,000 mu in 2025 to 37,300 mu in 2026, achieving full coverage of key bases.
In product development, Guiding County has built a diverse product line including Rosa roxburghii juice, oral liquids, dried fruit, canned goods, fruit wine, blended beverages, and fruit tea. Rosa roxburghii black tea has been particularly outstanding, with an output value of 150 million yuan in 2025. It won third place in the 16th Hong Kong International Tea Exhibition's Famous Tea Competition and secured a 50,000 US dollar export order from Germany. The total comprehensive output value of the Rosa roxburghii industry in Guiding County is currently around 950 million yuan, with products covering diverse consumption scenarios from school nutrition meals to supermarkets. The county has also nurtured enterprise brands like Shanwang Guo, Junyue Fruit Wine, Tianlong, Minzi, and Xuan Yima, and holds trademarks such as "Shanwangguo," "Gaoyuanmiaoxiang," "Minzi," and "Jiugecijili."
From the Gastrodia bases deep in the Wumeng Mountains to the medicinal herb gardens at the foot of Leigong Mountain, and on to the rolling sea of Rosa roxburghii flowers in Guiding, Guizhou's forest economy is blooming in many places, transforming vast woodlands into a "green bank" for rural revitalization. When farmers harvest Gastrodia, Huangjing, and Rosa roxburghii under the forest canopy, they are not just pocketing real money; they are reaping the lasting benefits of a path that prioritizes ecology and green development.
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