Nujiang 1

As if to prove that Chief Pan was not bragging at all, just minutes off the main road, we stepped into a patch of field covered with wild opium poppies.

Host: "Check this out!"

Pan: It is used to relieve inflammation.

The evergreen broad-leaved forests, deciduous forests and bamboo woodlands are characteristic of this region.

This brief expedition into just a miniscule fraction of the Gaoligong reserve already broadens ten times my knowledge base on plants and herbal medicine.

And make sure ask for Mr. Pan's number when you decide on a trip into Gaoligong mountain, without a local guide like him you will miss out on the best stuff.

Pan: We are grateful toward the mountain because it has given us way too much. Now time to go home!

Learning that Chief Pan's brother is a renowned herbalist in the area, I insisted that he brought me to his house and pay a visit.

According to Chief Pan, without much of formal school education, his brother taught himself everything about herbal medicine.

Host: Can these flowers I just picked outside be used as herbal medicine?

Pan: Yes. There are seven different kinds of such plant in Nujiang area. We would pick the flower, dry it, and drink it as herbal tea. It is good for the throat.

Host: Amazing, almost every piece of plant you run into can be used as herbal medicine here!