During the height of summer, within the Wuyi Understory Standard Plots managed by the Qucun Forest Farm under Fujian's Shunchang County State-owned Forest Farm, dense shade blocks the sun. Understory crops such as Dendrobium officinale (iron-skin stonecrop), Radix Tetrastigmae (three-leaf green), and golden camellia are thriving.

These Wuyi Underforest Standard Plots represent one of the innovative practices by Nanping City to expand and enhance the "Forest Ecological Bank." Led by the Shunchang County State-owned Forest Farm, the project covers a total area of 200 mu (approximately 13.3 hectares). It employs a "State-owned Forest Farm + Cooperative + Farmer Households" model to build a development community with shared interests and risks, establishing a win-win mechanism where "the forest farm provides land, the cooperative manages operations, and profits are shared proportionally."

In 2018, the Shunchang County State-owned Forest Farm planned and began developing an understory economy demonstration forest at the Qucun Forest Farm, steadily advancing the cultivation of specialty crops and the construction of supporting management facilities.

In early 2026, the locality further deepened the reform of the collective forest rights system. By introducing the industrial "standard plot" development concept, it systematically upgraded and standardized the existing demonstration achievements, creating the "Wuyi Understory Standard Plots" to propel the understory economy towards a higher level of standardization and intensification.

"Previously, developing understory industries involved many steps and high costs, such as finding land, preparing it, and building supporting infrastructure. The understory standard plot standardizes and integrates the understory space, allowing operating entities to 'move in ready' and focus solely on production and market expansion," explained Lin Qiang, Deputy Director of the R&D Department at the Shunchang County State-owned Forest Farm.

As of the report, the project's 200 mu of general-purpose standard plots have been put into use. The Shunchang Hongtu Ecological Agriculture Professional Cooperative has moved in, routinely conducting ecological simulation cultivation of medicinal herbs like Dendrobium officinale and Radix Tetrastigmae. Additionally, 100 mu of customized standard plots have been selected from evergreen broad-leaved forest land of the Fagaceae family, specifically dedicated to expanding the propagation and increasing the yield of red mushrooms, helping surrounding farmers achieve stable income growth.

The standardized understory planting environment also strengthens the high-quality raw material supply chain for local industries. Within the project area, 10 mu of forest land uses an intercropping model to cultivate mesona chinensis (grass jelly herb). Leveraging the suitable canopy density and natural humidity of the forest, the produced grass jelly herb is rich in pectin and has a pure aroma, directly supplying it as a core ingredient for Shunchang County's intangible cultural heritage food, "Grass Jelly."

"The grass jelly herb grown under the forest produces a dense, smooth texture and a mellow, herbal aroma after boiling, allowing us to preserve the authentic taste of this intangible cultural heritage," said Huang Meizhu, head of Wangying Grass Jelly. She noted that previously, raw material sources were scattered and quality fluctuated, but now, with direct supply from the standardized cultivation base, the quality of the intangible cultural heritage food has a solid guarantee.

Currently, the Shunchang County State-owned Forest Farm has overall plans to construct six Wuyi Understory Standard Plot sites. Four of these are already under construction, with a total of 3,000 mu of forest land now open for market investment.

"In the next step, we will continue to expand the coverage of Wuyi Understory Standard Plots, diversify understory cultivation and breeding activities, improve mechanisms linking farmers and benefiting them, and help more village collectives and farmers share in the benefits of industrial development. We aim to continuously transform lucid waters and lush mountains into invaluable assets, providing a replicable and promotable living example for the high-quality development of the county's understory economy," stated Zhan Xuanchang, Director of the Shunchang County State-owned Forest Farm.