A local resident performs traditional horse racing during a celebration marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in northwest China's Qinghai Province, August 4, 2021. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A Tibetan girl is reflected in a mirror, as she gets ready for her performance during an event organised to mark the 88th birthday celebration of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama in Kathmandu, Nepal on July 6, 2023. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Sheep walk as they are herded to summer pastures in Serra da Estrela, near Seia, Portugal June 27, 2015. In late June, shepherds young and old in the Seia region of central Portugal start guiding sheep, goats and cattle to the Serra da Estrela, the country’s highest mountains, in search of better pastures. There they stay until the end of September. Modern-day shepherds may have mobile phones to keep in touch with family and friends, but their lifestyle has changed little for centuries. The sound of cowbells and the bark of longhaired mastiffs starts early in the morning as the animals – often decorated with traditional woollen balls on their horns – are herded up steep, narrow paths. (Photo by Rafael Marchante/Reuters)

One-month-old cubs given birth by giant panda “Su Shan” are seen at Shenshuping giant panda base on August 17, 2021 in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province of China. (Photo by He Haiyang/VCG via Getty Images)

Waldo, a 6-year-old Tibetan Terrier belonging to Susan and Mike Leverette of Sebastian, competes in the third heat of the medium dogs division at the Hang 20 Surf Dog Classic at Carlin Park in Jupiter Saturday, August 29, 2015. “The waves are a little bigger than we are used to”, said Susan. (Photo by Bruce R. Bennett/The Palm Beach Post)

Monks attend a prayer service for blessing at the Gandan Temple in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, February 5, 2020. Tibetan Buddhist temples held prayer services to support novel coronavirus-infected areas in China. The monks here were also organized to donate money to help fight against the epidemic. (Photo by Chogo/Xinhua News Agency)

“There are over 680 documented species of the sac fungus genus Ophiocordyceps, and one of the best known of these is Ophiocordyceps sinensis, colloquially known as caterpillar fungus. The fungus is known in Tibetan as yartsa gunbu or yatsa gunbu. O. sinensis is known in the West as a medicinal mushroom and its use has a long history in Traditional Chinese medicine as well as Traditional Tibetan medicine. The highly valuable fungus-caterpillar combination is hand-collected and is used as an aphrodisiac and as a treatment for a variety of ailments from fatigue to cancer”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Nomads dig for Chinese caterpillar fungus from a mountain May 25, 2007 in Guide County, Hainan Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Nomads can earn about 2,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan (about U.S. $260 to $653 ) through their work during the fifty-day Chinese caterpillar fungus gathering season. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

Kangba women carry barrels to fetch water at a village on April 10, 2005 in Zuogong County of Tibet, China. Kangba people began to fetch water with the traditional barrels hundreds of years ago. Kangba people are one of the Tibetan tribes living in Kangba Region, a juncture area of Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Kangba people are famous for their beauty, toughness and straightforwardness. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)