Toasting Yourself Without Drinking, Wedding Choice at Midnight, Eight Wonders of Qinghai, You Say They're Strange or Not?
Everyone says Tibet is a disease, and you need to treat it or you won't be cured; Xinjiang is an addiction, once you go there, you can't break free. So, come to Qinghai! Feel the beautiful natural scenery and experience the different local customs. Perhaps because of the unique geographical environment or the gathering of many ethnic groups, Qinghai's multiculturalism makes every tourist who visits Qinghai unforgettable, amazing. Some cultures are the result of centuries of historical sedimentation, while others are just everyday life, but either way, they are all very distinctive and characteristic of Qinghai. Today, let's chat with you about my eight weird things about Qinghai, and see how much you know!
The first weird thing: There is no air conditioning in the room. This situation has been said by many friends, indeed, in many hotels and guesthouses in Qinghai, it's hard to find air conditioning. Moreover, Qinghai locals don't install air conditioning. This is because Qinghai's altitude is high, and the summer weather is cool, with average temperatures below 25 degrees Celsius, which is a comfortable temperature for people. Tourists traveling to various places in Qinghai for their trips don't need air conditioning. Of course, in recent years, some hotels have also installed air conditioning one after another, but in my opinion, it's unnecessary.
The second weird thing: You need to add salt when drinking tea. In Qinghai, many places require adding salt when drinking tea, of course, if it's brewed tea. In Qinghai, there's a saying: 'Tea without salt is like water, people without money are like ghosts.' This shows the importance of salt in brewing tea. Without salt, tea is no soul. The Qinghai brewed tea is made with ( - buckwheat tea bricks), pepper, star anise, and salt. The tea is a yellowish-brown color, fragrant and delicious, and when you taste it, you'll feel a slight saltiness. It's usually used for relieving fatigue and thirst, but nowadays, except for home brewing, it's hard to find authentic brewed tea in restaurants.
The third weird thing: Only the groom's guests are allowed to toast. Many foreign tourists are annoyed because of this when they toast in Qinghai. So, how do Qinghai people toast? Generally, they use a small dish with 4, 6, or 8 small wine glasses, fill them with wine, and hand them to the guest to drink. This is completely opposite to the 'first to toast' custom in other places, and they also take turns to toast, which makes it very headache for the guests.
Actually, here I need to explain that Qinghai people's toast tradition is not deliberately trying to make guests unhappy. It's because in the past, Qinghai was short of wine, and the best thing for ordinary people's homes was wine. However, Qinghai people were very hospitable, so they didn't want to drink the wine themselves, so they wanted to give it to guests. Over time, this habit developed. But in recent years, people have gradually stopped toasting, unless the relationship is very close or they are relatives and friends, they won't do that.
The fourth weird thing: The bread looks like a pot lid. Qinghai has a lot of different types of bread, such as buns and rolls are just common, the most distinctive bread in Qinghai is Qinghai's big bread. Generally, there are two types: 'Kun Pot Bread'. Kun Pot Bread is made with flour, mixed with oil, beans, and seasonings, and then baked in a round pot using a grass-wood fire. This Kun Pot Bread is very big, like a pot lid, the outside is crispy and the inside is soft, it opens up like a flower, the colors are bright and beautiful, and the aroma is fragrant. It's crispy and delicious.
The other type is Qinghai's big mooncake. In Qinghai, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called 'Fifteenth Day of August'. During this time, Qinghai people will make or buy Qinghai's big mooncakes. These big mooncakes are usually steamed in a large steamer, with snakes coiled on the mooncakes and flowers blooming around the snakes. They're sweet and delicious.
The fifth weird thing: Master the art of grabbing meat. Qinghai is a place where people don't live without meat, because it's one of the Four Great Grasslands in China, and its livestock industry is developed. For Qinghai people, 'eating a lot of meat and drinking a lot of alcohol' is a normal thing. But unlike many places, Qinghai people eat meat by hand, they call it 'grabbing meat'. Since you're grabbing, you need to use your hands to grab it. It's very generous. And Qinghai's beef and lamb have many ways to eat, such as hand-grabbing lamb, roasting whole lamb, and cooking lamb stew. Everyone takes action, letting foreign tourists stare in amazement.
The sixth weird thing: Snow in June. Compared to the warm spring flowers in inland China, it's normal for it to snow in Qinghai in June. But no, it's not uncommon for it to snow in Qinghai in June. Maybe people think 'snow in June' is just a phrase in opera, but when many tourists visit Qinghai, they see the news that 'it snows in Qinghai in June,' and they're really surprised. It's possible for it to snow in Qinghai in June, and Qinghai is truly magical. Especially in high-altitude areas such as the Big Winter Tree Mountain Pass, Yangling Ridge, and Laizi Mountain, it's still June, but it can still snow. Therefore, when foreign tourists visit Qinghai in the summer and encounter snow, they are amazed by the scene of 'snow in Qinghai in June,' and they say it's truly unique!
The seventh weird thing: The wife is married at midnight. In many places in Qinghai, especially in the Huiang area, the bride is married at midnight. This is very puzzling to many people, of course, if you are not a local Qinghai person, you may not do this. Many people are curious about why Qinghai people marry their wives at midnight. According to experts, in the Huiang area, Han Chinese families married their wives at midnight, mainly because they followed the ancient customs of the Qiang people. In the old days, the Qiang people generally asked the bride's family to give a lot of gifts, because they were afraid that the wedding would be robbed of gifts, so the groom would go to marry the bride early in the dark. There's also a situation that some young men couldn't afford to give so many gifts, so they simply went to the girl's house to 'kidnap' her. There's also a saying that marrying at midnight is to avoid evil spirits, so as to avoid bad luck.
The eighth weird thing: Salt is abundant. Qinghai has the most salt, and there are more than 100 salt lakes, which is the most in China. The three most famous salt lakes are Tea Card Salt Lake, Charhan Salt Lake, and Koko Salt Lake, all of which are located in the Dabeiermo Basin. Tea Card Salt Lake was praised by travelers as 'the sky in one mirror' and was listed as 'one of the 55 must-visit places in China' by the National Tourism Geography Magazine. Charhan Salt Lake is located in Gergili, and the road on Charhan Salt Lake is 32 kilometers long, paved with salt, and is as smooth as a paved road. It's also used by pedestrians and vehicles. It's estimated that only Qinghai has a road paved with salt.
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