Herbs grow Tibetan farmers' fortunes

Farmers in the Tibet autonomous region's Nyingchi have been collecting medicinal herbs for years. Now they are using them to heal their poverty woes.

Manling county, which has a history of at least 3,800 years, is synonymous with Tibetan medical culture. Historical records show Yuthok Yonten Gonpo, the founder of traditional Tibetan medicine, trained practitioners and dispensed medicines in Manling, and wrote about its achievements in ancient times.

One of the reasons Manling is so integral is its abundance of medicinal herbs. It grows an estimated 3,800 types of plants and 680 kinds of macrofungi.