Farmers converse and laugh while gathering mushrooms in the greenhouses of the mushroom professional cooperative in Xijinglin village, Shangdian town, Linqing, a county-level city in Liaocheng, Shandong province.

Mushroom planting provides more income to villagers in Shangdian town, Linqing, Shandong province. [Photo/Dazhong News]

"Xijinglin village built new mushroom greenhouses this year and mushroom planting has become an approved way to create wealth. Local villagers are willing to take part in the business and I will do my best to help them increase mushroom production," Qiao Peilin said.

Qiao, a mushroom planting expert in Shangdian town, has more than 30 years of mushroom planting experience.

Qiao has been concentrating on oyster mushroom planting and variety optimization since the 1980s. Qiao has mastered the entire process of mushroom cultivation and breeding, marketing, and selling after years of research.

Qiao's mushroom varieties have been sold to provinces in the surrounding areas.

An aerial view of mushroom greenhouses in Shangdian town, Linqing, Shandong province [Photo/Dazhong News]

In addition, Qiao provided technical assistance for mushroom farming in the surrounding communities. Siwa village, Xijinglin village, and other localities created mushroom greenhouse industries under his direction, considerably increasing local farmers' incomes.

Xijinglin village established a mushroom professional cooperative in 2020 to provide local villagers with mushroom growing technologies, base materials, and sales channels.

By 2023, the town hopes to have built 100 mushroom greenhouses and set up a mushroom trade market.

A farmer in Xijinglin village gathers mushrooms at a greenhouse. [Photo/Dazhong News]