Li Mingyan, chairman of Zhejiang Shouxiangu Pharmaceutical Co, checks the growth of lingzhi. [Photo/jinhua.com.cn]

The spore-releasing phase of lingzhi, or Ganoderma lucidum, is nearing its end in August at the Shouxiangu organic herbal base in Wuyi county, Jinhua, Zhejiang province.

Experts are shuttling between the planting base and the laboratory, tackling industry challenges through scientific innovation.

"Only by integrating ancient wisdom with modern technology can traditional Chinese medicine shine in the new era," said Li Mingyan, chairman of Zhejiang Shouxiangu Pharmaceutical Co.

In April, the company established the largest lingzhi germplasm bank in the world — housing 13,388 germplasm resources, earning Guinness World Records recognition and securing China's leadership in lingzhi breeding and resource preservation.

In the 1990s, after observing Japan and South Korea dominate the world market of lingzhi while China relied on wild varieties with unstable effective constituents, Li spearheaded efforts to build this repository alongside breakthroughs like developing the first domestically bred new variety in 2001.

In over 30 years, the company has been continuously upgrading its breeding technology from systematic breeding, space breeding and molecular breeding toward precision breeding, shattering international monopolies.

Now as an international standard-setter for lingzhi, Shouxiangu has reclaimed dominance over global competition in the industry once controlled abroad. So far, four ISO standards for Chinese herbs formulated by the company have been applied in many countries.

Digital farms use environmental sensors monitoring 13 parameters to boost yields up to 80 percent and stabilize effective constituents by 35 percent. Meanwhile, AI-powered tools enable precision drug-efficacy analysis in about 20 minutes.

Vice-Chairman Li Zhenhao said that from smart farming to smart factories and markets, Shouxiangu had established a digital management platform covering the full processes of the TCM industry.