Autumn in Gyamda brings clear skies and light clouds. At the Fritillaria cirrhosa cultivation base in Minda Village, Gyamda County, at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, villager Tashi Jampa lifts the greenhouse door curtain and bends down to inspect the seedlings.

"In the past, digging wild Fritillaria cirrhosa was all a matter of luck. Now we grow it right at our doorstep—there's rent from the land and wages from the work, and I feel much more secure," he said, capturing the change that the Fritillaria cirrhosa industry has brought to the lives of farmers and herders in Gyamda County.

Fritillaria cirrhosa is a precious traditional Chinese medicinal herb with high medicinal value and strong market demand; many Fritillaria-based cough medicines sell well both domestically and abroad. Wild Fritillaria cirrhosa is found in all 13 townships of Gyamda County, which enjoys exceptional resource endowments. However, disorderly harvesting once put pressure on the survival of wild resources and the local ecological environment.

In 2023, Gyamda County partnered with Shangri-La Tianquan Fritillaria Cirrhosa Technology Co., Ltd. to launch greenhouse trial cultivation in Wangba Village. By the end of 2025, Xizang Minda Fritillaria Biotechnology Co., Ltd. was established in Minda Village and built a standardized cultivation base- about 4.67 hectares in area, with 56 greenhouses.

The base operates on an"enterprise+ Partybranch + farmer household" model. The company handles seedling supply, technical guidance, and guaranteed-price purchasing; the village Party branch coordinates land transfer and labor arrangements; and farmer households contribute land and labor.

Li Shaofei, head of the village task force stationed in Minda Village, laid out the numbers: land transfer brings rent-villager Baga receives 8,000 yuan(RMB) a year; working at the base brings wages-local residents are hired daily at 200 yuan a day; selling cow dung brings cash-the pastoral area has abundant humus soil and natural cow dung organic fertilizer reserves, and the company buys villagers' cow dung at 13 to 15 yuan per bag. "The project benefits extend to 92 households and 471 people in the village, and is expected to increase collective economic and household incomes by more than 600,000 yuan per year. Life is getting better and better for local people," Li Shaofei said.

The industry has brought not only income but also a shift in mindset among farmers and herders.

Villager Tashi Jampa has gone from a farmer who "left everything tonature" to a salaried technician, learning pest and disease control and temperature and humidity management from Zhang Hui, the manager and technician sent by the company. Zhang Hui said: "We want to train a group of local experts who will stay."

In April this year, trials were launched simultaneously in Bolo Township, Dengke Township, and Dedeng Township, and the crops are currently growing well. In 2027, Gyamda County plans to expand the cultivation scale to over 13.33 hectares, invest 6 million yuan(RMB) in assistance funds to upgrade the base, build a comprehensive demonstration base integrating superior seed breeding, seedling cultivation, technical training, product buyback, and primary processing and sales, and promote courtyard cultivation in suitable townships across the county.

From "digging" to "planting" represents a shift in the entire development approach. Artificial cultivation has transformed farmers and herders from those who take from nature into a main force that protects the ecology and develops industry. "Grass has grown back, and life has gotten better," Tashi Jampa said.

Translator: Zheng Yujie

First Review: Pan Lu, Liu Fang

Second Review: Drakpa Wangchen

Third Review: Hu Rongguo