by Eric Brand

Qingping Market in Guangzhou is one of China's largest herbal markets. The three largest wholesale herbal markets in China are located at Anguo in the North, Bozhou in the East, and Guangzhou in the South. Of these, Guangzhou is the only one that is urban; Bozhou and Anguo are both very rural and inconvenient to get to. Owing to its southern location, Guangzhou is the main place that serves the wholesale markets of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Herbal bosses from all over come to Guangzhou to purchase goods for shops in their home country, and the emphasis on export has made Guangzhou a major center for premium products such as ginseng, velvet antler, and cultivated cordyceps. While Anguo is geographically much closer to the production region of ginseng and velvet antler, Guangzhou actually tends to have superior products because it has a more high-end focus.

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The herbal district is quite huge, and can be fairly overwhelming for the first few visits. Several new buildings have been built for the vendors, and there is an area covering several city blocks that is nothing but herbs. Streetside shops abound in all the alleyways, and the large buildings host hundreds of individual shops. Two of the three big buildings carry high end stuff like cordyceps, shi hu, and ginseng, while one houses all the cheap common stuff like shu di huang and dang gui.

American ginseng, Chinese ginseng, shi hu, and cordyceps are the most prominent things in the market overall, though some unusual things like huge sacks of scorpions, centipedes, ganoderma, and seahorses stand out visually.

Chinese-grown American ginseng is common and is far less expensive than the North American grown product, but it is often slightly more yellow at its cross section and is generally inferior in flavor. Cross-fertilization with ren shen is common in the Northeast, which also affects its genetic purity and brings down its quality. Some crosses are even difficult to distinguish visually, though they can be readily differentiated with chemical testing (one ginsenoside is completely unique to Panax quinquefolium and serves as a definitive identidy marker). Discerning the quality of American and Chinese ginseng is complex, so I will be writing about it in another blog.

Shi hu, dendrobium, is a medicinal that is very prevalent in Chinese wholesale markets but remains somewhat rarely used in the US. Shi hu is a yin tonic that is derived from cultivated orchids. The wild product is endangered and subject to strict CITES laws, so it is virtually never seen on the market. The cultivated product is an epiphyte that is generally grown in forests on a host tree. Different qualities are sold in small wrapped bundles, and it should be fresh and slightly resinous. Shi hu is particularly popular in Japan.

Cultivated cordyceps is another medicinal that many U.S. practitioners are not familiar with. It is a new medicinal in the sense that it is different from the traditional product, which is a fungus that infects a caterpillar in the high mountains of Tibet, Nepal, Sichuan, and Gansu. Cultivated cordyceps is grown in a lab in glass jars, with a base of rice or soybeans and milk. It is the isolated fungus so no insect is involved, and it has a dramatically different appearance than the natural product. Natural cordyceps is shaped like the caterpillar that is overtaken by the fungus, with the fruiting body growing out from the head of the deceased caterpillar. Cultivated cordyceps has no caterpillar and is divided into its mycelium and fruiting body; the mycelium grows under the substrate and the fruiting body grows out above the substrate. The fruiting body gets long and is graded based upon its fragrance, color, and shape. Fruiting body that naturally has a worm-like shape is preferred, and the fragrance should be pleasant and fresh. Good quality product has a rich, creamy, yellowish orange color reminescent of chanterelle mushrooms. The mycelium or "below ground" portion is larger and bulbous, with a similar fragrance and color, but is much cheaper.

Cultivated cordyceps is rich in polysaccharides and sometimes even surpasses the natural product in terms of its chemical profile. Nonetheless, it is generally regarded as inferior to the natural product because of the difference in their growing environments. It is essentially a new medicinal that has not been on the market for long, so there is not yet a clear consensus about whether the lab-grown and natural products can be regarded as interchangeable. However, it is hundreds of times less expensive than the threatened wild product, so it is increasing in popularity.

All serious herbalists that pass through Guangzhou owe it to themselves to pay a visit to Qingping Market. It is right across the street from a big TCM hospital, and is also directly across from the beautiful Shamian island, making it an easy place to visit. Shamian was the only place that foreigners could stay in China during a long period of the Qing dynasty, and it retains its ancient feel and distinctive architecture. Seeing the huge wholesale markets of Guangzhou really gives one an appreciation for the feel of a true ancient Asian trading hub. I'd highly recommend it!

Copyright Blue Poppy Ent. Inc., 2009. All rights reserved.