Yunnan's 'lonely' orchid king is self-taught expert

A man researchers rely on

Gradually, scientists began to hire Guo for assignments, including plant surveys, specimen collecting and even pollination experiments. Effectively, he has become a research project contractor.

Because they needed to be able to drive researchers in the wild, Guo's wife, Wang Yongchun, learned in 2007 and is now a seasoned hand. "She was the first to learn to drive in the family, and drove me around looking for plants," Guo said. "She once even drove me to Tibet on an orchid survey."

Guo himself has refused to learn. "In the car, I need to be on the constant lookout for plants," he explained.

He charges researchers 1,000 yuan to collect a plant specimen. "If they ask me to collect 40 different specimens, I might lower the fee to 700 yuan per species," he said, adding that it is a tough and challenging job and he often needs to hire a driver to travel around southeastern Yunnan and other local guides, too.

"Some plants are truly rare and can only be found in a small patch of forest in a remote area," he said. "A single commission can take between one or two days to two weeks."

Guo said he often has to combine several jobs before setting out into the field. Otherwise, he risks losing money.

Some of his other jobs also require endurance and can be physically intensive, too, he said.

Once, he spent 15 days with a group of doctoral students observing the pollination process of the Paphiopedilum dianthum, an endangered orchid species found only in China, Laos and Vietnam. Their goal was to discover the insects involved in the process.

They spent hours each day in the wild, watching and waiting for any insect to enter the orchid's large frontal pouch, but it wasn't until the 15th day that their patience paid off.

Just as they were about to give up, Guo noticed that a nearby orchid was moving. He quickly grabbed his camera and DV camcorder to capture the moment, and managed to catch the insect with a net.

As a result, the students were able to complete their thesis about the orchid's pollination process.

Guo has lost track of the number of times he has done these kinds of experiments. Sometimes, he spends a month in the mountains, working around the clock to help experts from across the country explore southeastern Yunnan.

For many botanists and researchers, he has become the man they rely on, and whenever they come to Malipo, Guo is the first person they seek out.

Since 2002, an average of 50 to 60 specialists call on him for research purposes a year. Some stay for just two or three days, while others stay for as long as 40 or 50.

Every summer, a large group of graduate students come to study at his plantation.

To house the increasing number of visitors, Guo and his family built a four-story building in their old compound in 2012, and then a second one nearby in 2016.

Over the past three years, strict epidemic control and prevention measures have had a negative impact on the number of visitors, but despite this, Guo said that he is busier than ever.

He explained that due to the constraints on travel, some specialists chose to outsource their field collection and experiments almost completely to him.

There are cases of sealable bags in his office, along with a computer, a printer, an electron microscope and a refrigerator. "I'm a big customer of Shunfeng Express's Malipo branch," Guo said.