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Echu Street is the top shopping destination in Daocheng, where you can buy silver jewelry with a strong Tibetan style. However, many silver pieces are fake, so be careful when purchasing. You can also buy authentic Sangji Zhuoma barley wine (cordyceps wine, Fritillaria wine), ghee products, air-dried meat, and wild mushrooms.
If you are lucky, you may encounter Tibetans selling medicinal herbs such as Rhodiola rosea, snow lotus, Cordyceps sinensis, Fritillaria, snow tea, Ganoderma lucidum, snow lotus, etc. that they have collected to shops along the street. Most of them are authentic and the prices are cheap. Be sure to take the opportunity to buy some.
Daocheng doesn't actually have any particularly unique local products, but if you're discerning, you can find plenty to add to your shopping list, like horse bells, earthenware wine jars, and rustic tsampa boxes—all of which make interesting souvenirs to take home.
Musk belongs to the Cervidae family. Musk is the dried secretion from the scent sacs of mature male forest and red musk deer. It has a pungent and warm flavor and has the functions of invigorating the mind, promoting blood circulation, dredging meridians, and relieving pain. It is also a valuable ingredient in the preparation of high-quality spices.
It is the tender antlers of male deer, which have not yet ossified. It is an excellent product for nourishing the kidneys and strengthening yang.
Also known as Cordyceps sinensis, this fungus grows in the meadow soil of the plateau at altitudes between 3,400 and 4,500 meters. Cordyceps is a premium natural tonic that replenishes essence and marrow, protects the lungs, benefits the kidneys, stops bleeding, resolves phlegm, and tonifies weakness. Cordyceps stewed duck is a famous medicinal dish.
Also known as Sichuan Fritillaria, this plant is primarily grown in the Kham region. It grows in alpine grasslands and rocky beaches at altitudes between 2,500 and 5,000 meters. Fritillaria has the properties of moistening the lungs and relieving coughs, clearing heat and calming the mind, and acting as a diuretic. Chicken stewed with Fritillaria is a famous medicinal dish.
This natural plant grows above 3,500 meters on the plateau. It has the same "plateau adaptation" effect as ginseng and Acanthopanax senticosus, but does not have the side effects of ginseng's overly strong excitatory effect or Acanthopanax senticosus's tendency to cause constipation.
Grown on the snow-covered grassy and rocky beaches of the mountains at an altitude of 4,000-5,000 meters, with Ganzi Prefecture as its primary production area, Snow Lotus has the functions of clearing away heat and toxins, removing rheumatism, and unblocking the meridians.
Also known as Qinggang fungus, it grows in mixed forests of fir, Qinggang and birch at an altitude of 2500-4000 meters. It is delicious, tender in texture, contains a variety of essential amino acids for the human body, and has anti-cancer and anti-radiation functions.
It grows in grasslands above 3,800 meters above sea level. It is white in color, delicious, and tender in texture. It is an edible fungus with high nutritional value.