Yichun's markets are worth visiting not as a scenic attraction but as a practical introduction to the forest economy. The stalls and shops sell dried mushrooms (including shiitake and the prized matsutake), black wood ear fungus, fiddlehead ferns, wild blueberries, Siberian ginseng, pine nuts, and various herbal forest products that represent the non-timber harvest that has replaced commercial logging as the forest economy's main output.
The quality is generally high and the prices are low compared to what these products cost in cities. Everything you buy here was harvested in the surrounding forest by local collectors — a supply chain that is much shorter and more transparent than the same products sold in Harbin or Beijing. The mushrooms and dried berries travel well and make excellent provisions for the long journey home.