3. Edible mushrooms

Dandong sits in the eastern mountainous part of Liaoning and has plentiful forest resources. One of these, the edible mushroom, has developed fast in recent years, thanks to artificial cultivation. The amount of land planted in edible mushrooms covers 9.98 million square meters, while total output is 21,900 tons, and exports, 10,300 tons, with a total output value of 165 million yuan.

After China entered the WTO in 2001, market demand grew, fueling increased production in Dandong of Pholiota nameko and Lentinus edodes. More than 10 varieties of mushroom -- including the Pleurotus ostreatus, Agaricus bisporus, Volvariella volvacea, and Flammulina velutiper -- have been developed.

Mushroom production has greatly improved thanks to the introduction of new cultivation methods such as planting Lentinus edodes in fields, and the inter-cropping of grains and mushrooms, and especially, the popularization of planting in a culture medium, making the large-scale planting of edible mushrooms possible. Timber byproducts, straw and animal manure are the raw materials used in the cultivation of edible mushrooms.