In April last year, he led his team into Bomi county in Nyingchi and set up a company dedicated to promoting the Tibetan gastrodia elata industry.

The company is also cooperating with Southwest Forestry University and Kunming University of Science and Technology, both in the industrial application of the honey fungus and the selection and breeding of Tibetan gastrodia elata seeds.

It is also working with the Kunming Institute of Botany, a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which is helping Tibetan gastrodia elata obtain national designation as a new variety.

To help local residents raise their incomes, the company has hired farmers and herdsmen to collect wild gastrodia elata, and it has also established a training center to teach them planting techniques and provide one-on-one instruction to those who want to become more professional planters.

Each worker will receive from 150 yuan ($23) to 300 yuan per day, depending on the proficiency of their skills.

By the end of last year, Chou's company had cultivated about 33 hectares of the herb, gained an output value of 26 million yuan, employed 2,800 people and helped local farmers and herdsmen increase their income by 2.1 million yuan.

"Tibetan gastrodia elatais is of very high quality, so there is no worry about the lack of a market. We need to continue to take advantage of local resources, help local people learn the techniques and produce the best gastrodia elata possible on this pure land of Tibet," Chou said.