A documentary on wild fungi debuts in Hangzhou on May 22. [Photo/WeChat account: ls-mnews]

Junwu Wangguo, or Fungal Kingdom, China's first documentary on wild fungi filmed in nature, was officially released in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, on May 22 during International Day for Biological Diversity.

Filmed in the Baishanzu National Park in Zhejiang's Lishui city, the 25-minute documentary features more than 100 kinds of fungi in the area, including some common edible ones, some rare ones, and some newly discovered species like the Sarcomyxa baishanzuensis.

"Eleven photographers participated in the shooting. Some shots that lasted for only two or three seconds took more than 10 days to film," said Zhou Yong, director of the documentary.

Zhou said that the production team, which consisted of professional photographers, well-known domestic mycological researchers and documentary writers, stayed in Baishanzu for two years to capture all the footage.

Zhuang Wenying, a leading figure in Chinese mycology and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, praised the documentary, saying that it is an exceptional representation of the diversity of fungi.