Originating from Yunnan, the Wild Mushroom Hot Pot (云南野生菌火锅) boasts a history of hundreds of years. Initially invented by the local Tibetan ethnic group, they would cook freshly picked wild mushrooms and home-raised goat meat in a large copper pot, adding unique spices and seasonings to create a distinctive mushroom hot pot flavor. Over time, this unique cooking technique has been refined and passed down, resulting in the highly revered and complete culinary system of Yunnan mushroom hot pot that we know today. One of Lijiang's most famous foods is the wild mushroom hot pot. This is because this region of Yunnan Province more diverse mushrooms (over 800!) than anywhere in the country, and possibly the world.The best time to enjoy mushroom hot pot is during July and August, when fresh mushrooms are in seasons. During other times of the year, the mushrooms will be frozen. In our short 3 day trip right in the middle of mushroom season, we tried to eat as many mushroom hot pot meals as we could!There is a particularly famous variety called jian shou qing (見手青),that has hallucinogenic effects. Jian shou qing must be cooked for at least 20 minutes to destroy its psychedelic effects. Supposedly you start to see images of little people (小人人) if you eat undercooked mushrooms. The internet in China exploded in 2023 after Janet Yellen, while visiting China, was photographed having some.Jian shou qing literally means "meet hand blue/green" because the mushroom turns blue when it comes in contact with a human hand.