Walking through Sheung Wan Series(1): The Alchemy of Winter Worm & Summer Grass

What is "winter worm & summer grass"? How could anything in the world be a "worm in winter and grass in summer"? Well, first of all, it is actually a parasitic fungus inside a caterpillar. But then what has caused its bloom in the market? Is it purely due to its "medical values"? What roles did political economy and culture played in this process? How did the fungi rose from a total disfavor to such a golden value in just a few decades? What role did Hong Kong played in this metamorphosis? And how has the "All-Tibetan Gold Rush" for fungi in recent years affect the local ecology and society in Tibet?

In her article "The Alchemy of Winter Worm & Summer Grass", our former MPhil student Zelda Liang discussed the above issues based on her research. Click the picture below to see the full article in Hong Kong Discovery (Vol 72), Walking through Sheung Wan Series.