“Model workers are the elites of the nation, the examples of the people, and the contributors to the state.' It is the greatest honor of my life to get such a comment from the general secretary". The journalist met the National Model Worker ZHU Weidong in the ShouXianGu Organic TCM Health Park in Wuyi County. He was full of pride and respect when recalling the commendation conference for National Model Workers and advanced workers in the Great Hall of the People on 24 November 2020.

ZHU Weidong, born in 1971, is the Director of the Base of Zhejiang ShouXianGu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and has been awarded as a National Model Worker this year. He has been engaged in the research and cultivation of edible and medicinal fungi since 1989 with remarkable achievements in the breeding of improved varieties of edible and medicinal fungi and rare and precious medicinal materials, wild-imitated organic cultivation, and technology promotion. He is a "grass-root expert" developed from scratch based on his years of devoted study.

"The walking dictionary of traditional Chinese medicinal materials"

In the Wuyi Medicinal Plants on the desk of ZHU Weidong, the scientific names, pictures and effects of 1,301 medicinal materials of 216 families are clearly marked. This book, a detailed list of all kinds of traditional Chinese medicinal materials discovered in Wuyi, marks the 12-year painstaking efforts of ZHU Weidong and others.

According to ZHU, "It is a fundamental work of great significance to record the traditional Chinese medicinal materials that can be planted and utilized in Wuyi and the endangered species to be protected in Wuyi." The team established by ShouXianGu in 2008, consisting of ZHU Weidong, some local pharmacists, teachers and students of universities for the elderly, and senior cadres of the institute of pharmaceutical administration, have carried out field surveys in the mountains for years, recording and compiling the traditional Chinese medicinal materials they discovered. Although not officially published yet, the book is undoubtedly a strong proof of the biodiversity and unique climate of Wuyi County.

ZHU Weidong often helps colleagues with basic knowledge about traditional Chinese medicinal materials, so he is called "the walking dictionary of traditional Chinese medicinal materials". However, his knowledge is acquired through diligent self-study and research instead of a higher education in an institution. He is good at learning from books and consults others when encountering problems. He insists on the principle of "not leaving any problem to the next day"; understands that practice is the only way to test the truth, tries to cultivate different kinds of edible fungus and medicinal materials, and learns from failures; is not satisfied with the current achievements, and keeps planting and exploring new varieties after making achievements in the existing fields.

"In many academic exchange activities, the university professors and experts who asked about my educational background won't believe that I had never even been to a senior high school". From a migrant worker, to the entrepreneurial tutor of Zhejiang Academy of Agronomists, the part-time professor of Zhejiang Farmer University, and the chief expert of edible fungus industry in Wuyi County, ZHU Weidong proved that "grass-root expert" can be just as effective as experts with a professional background.

Dedicated to the cultivation of Dendrobium Officinale in the medicinal garden

Dendrobium Officinale is a kind of rare and precious traditional Chinese medicinal materials, whose medicinal and health effects are recognized. Zhejiang Province is a major producer and consumer of Dendrobium Officinale products. However, the problems in artificially cultivated Dendrobium Officinale, such as hybrid varieties, low planting level, low yield and uneven quality of finished products, affect the further development of the Dendrobium Officinale industry.

Since the end of last century, ShouXianGu has been determined to cultivate and produce Dendrobium. The breeding of improved varieties went through many procedures, such as wild transplantation, separation, small-scale test, pilot test and finished product certification. ZHU Weidong has participated in seven or eight cultivation projects of Dendrobium, lentinus edodes, ganoderma lucidum and saffron crocus in more than 20 years, from the transplanting of wild Dendrobium in 1998 to the successful cultivation of "Xianhu 1" in 2008, and the continuous improvement of "Xianhu 2" and "Xianhu 3".

Different from the short cultivation period of edible and medicinal fungi, it takes ten years or longer to breed Dendrobium, a rare medicinal material. As ZHU Weidong said, the seeds of an improved variety of Dendrobium are "bred in the bottle in the first year, planted in the field in the second year, and begin to grow taller in the third year". The breeding takes a lot of time and energy through the rounds of separation and trial planting. It is a challenge for the breeders to stay calm during the long boring and lonely process. Over the years, ZHU Weidong indulged himself in breeding, spending 360 days of a year in the medicinal garden in ShouXianGu Base. Far from the noisy urban environment, ZHU Weidong devoted to cultivation for decades, waiting, observing and taking care of the seedlings every day.

In 2008, "Xianhu 1" was certified as a non-major crop variety in Zhejiang Province. The new variety cultivated by ZHU Weidong features high survival rate, high yield, high polysaccharide content and strong disease resistance, and has reached the standard for industrialized planting and production. The efforts turned out to be fruitful, which excited ZHU Weidong for several nights.

Innovating planting technology and remaining true to the original aspiration of a medicinal herb grower

As a member of the Communist Party, ZHU Weidong has always been practicing his original intention when he joined the party, and making unremitting efforts for the development of traditional Chinese medicine and the human health and longevity.

In order to promote the green and industrial production of Dendrobium Officinale, ZHU Weidong participated in the research of "wild-imitated organic cultivation technology", and established a standardized circulation mode of ecological agriculture. In order to imitate the growing environment of wild ganoderma lucidum and Dendrobium, non-toxic tree species such as Quercus serrata, german oak, white oak, and Quercus spinosa over 20 years old were selected as the planting substrate by ShouXianGu for wild-imitated cultivation. Aerial planting was carried out based on the aerial rooting of Dendrobium, to isolate pests and diseases as far as possible without using pesticides. The culture media of ganoderma lucidum, lentinus edodes and Dendrobium were recycled, and the ganoderma lucidum, Saffron and organic rice were rotated to ensure the safety and quality of products.

In 2004, ShouXianGu TCM Base passed the examination of China organic product certification, and has been recertified every year since then. In December 2008, the Base was certified according to the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP). In March 2012, it was certified as a GAP Base of traditional Chinese medicinal materials by China Food and Drug Administration. The planting, production and processing of rare medicinal plants such as Dendrobium Officinale, ganoderma lucidum and saffron in the Base have been certified as organic by China, the European Union, the United States, Japan and other countries or regions, which is rare in the industry.

Over the years, ZHU Weidong has been committed to promoting the cultivation of lentinus edodes and traditional Chinese medicinal materials, helping farmers in and beyond the county to get rid of poverty. At present, many new varieties bred by ZHU Weidong, such as lentinus edodes, Dendrobium Officinale, and ganoderma lucidum, have been popularized and applied in more than 20 provinces and cities, including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Yunnan, which have achieved good benefits and created jobs for local people.

Looking at the ShouXianGu TCM Base, which has become a tourist attraction now, ZHU Weidong often recalls the humble shed in the early stage of the project. As the Director of the Base, he never moved away from his old office. It is not easy to cultivate good varieties and ShouXianGu is a rare case, which has grown from a century-old medicine brand into a listed company.