Cities > Yuanyang County
Overview
Chinese Name: 元阳县English Name: Yuanyang County
Climate Conditions: Subtropical Mountain Monsoon Climate
Background
Yuanyang County is located in the southern part of Yunnan Province. The terrain is entirely mountainous, with no plains. The lowest altitude is 144 meters, and the highest is 2939.6 meters, with a relative difference of 2795.6 meters. The annual average temperature is 24.4°C; the annual rainfall is highest at 1189.1 mm, lowest at 665.7 mm, and an average of 899.5 mm. Yuanyang County is one of the important production areas for tropical fruits, cloud tea, and gold in Yunnan.Climate
The climate within the county is a subtropical mountain monsoon climate, characterized by a "one mountain, four seasons, and different weather within each valley" type of climate. The annual average temperature is 24.4°C, with a maximum temperature of 44.1°C and a minimum temperature of 3.7°C. The annual rainfall is highest at 1189.1 mm, lowest at 665.7 mm, and an average of 899.5 mm.Ethnic Culture
The various ethnic groups residing in Yuanyang County have each created their own traditional ethnic cultures, forming cultural sites, historical artifacts, residential buildings, clothing, food, musical instruments, singing and dancing, knives, religious artifacts, social gifts, handicrafts, household items, and production tools with distinct ethnic characteristics. These also include mythological legends, epic poems, fables, music and dance, festivals, folk customs, etiquette, taboos, religious ceremonies, village rules, moral habits, and other material and non-material cultural heritages, totaling 312 items. This has given rise to terraced field culture, fire pit culture, Bema culture, and butterfly culture, among others, representing diverse and colorful ethnic folk traditions.Among them: ethnic clothing includes the Yi people's sun and moon waistbands, the Miao people's pleated skirts, the Yao people's ponytail hats, the Zhuang people's waistbands, and the Dai people's flower-waisted clothing; ethnic traditional festivals include the Hani people's "Angma Tu," "Kai Yangmen," and "Kuzhaza" festivals, the Yi people's "Torch Festival," the Miao people's "Cai Huashan" (Flower Mountain Festival), the Yao people's "Panwang Festival," the Dai people's "Water Splashing Festival," and the Zhuang people's "March 3rd" festival.
Yuanyang County is a major gathering place for the Hani people. Hani culture includes ecological culture represented by forests, farming culture represented by terraced fields, food culture characterized by long street banquets, architectural culture represented by mushroom houses, clothing culture mainly represented by clothing embroidery, festival culture celebrating the harmony between humans and gods marked by the "Kuzhaza" festival, etiquette culture centered on "dragon heads" and village interactions, singing culture marked by the palm fan dance and wood sparrow dance, art culture represented by totems and hand embroidery, religious culture marked by Bema, medical culture mainly based on Hani medicine, drum culture marked by gong drums, and ritual culture marked by funerals, and so on.
Specialty Foods
Niu Ganba (Dried Beef)
Hani Niu Ganba is made by selecting cattle with smooth hair and a good balance of lean and fat, which are slaughtered. The best quality lean meat is cut into strips, seasoned with salt, chili, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cardamom powder, and liquor, and marinated for one to two days. The meat is then skewered on bamboo sticks or thin arrow bamboo and hung in the kitchen or above the fire pit to be smoked dry. When eating, it can be steamed in a wooden steamer or wrapped tightly in banana leaves and cooked in the embers of a fire pit. It is then ground into a fine paste in a wooden mortar with ginger slices, garlic, and green chilies. It tastes fragrant, unique, and very appetizing. It can also be sliced thinly and fried.Zhu Chong (Fried Bamboo Worms)
Bamboo worms, also known as bamboo bees or bamboo grubs, are parasites that live in bamboo tubes and feed primarily on young bamboo shoots. They eat down the bamboo from the tip, eventually hiding in the root tube. By November, they become fat and stop eating, making them ideal for capture, as they turn into pupae if left longer. Bamboo worms are not only favored by the Hani people, but also by the Zhuang and Buyi ethnic groups. In the valleys where the Buyi people live, the bamboo groves are dense. When the bamboo tips turn yellow, they can be split open to collect the worms. Fried bamboo worms are golden and oily, crispy and fragrant, and are rich in protein. They are a good accompaniment to alcohol.Kao Ruzhu (Roasted Suckling Pig)
Hani roasted suckling pig is made using small-eared pigs raised by the Hani people, and has a perfect combination of color, aroma, and taste. The main ingredient is a suckling pig within three months of age. The pig is cleaned of hair and internal organs, and seasoned with salt, chili, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, and liquor. It is then skewered on a bamboo pole and roasted over a fire. When the meat is cooked and the skin turns golden brown, a small amount of honey is brushed on, and the pig is roasted with a low heat until the skin is crispy. The finished pig is placed in a wooden basin, and parts are cut off with a knife for eating. This is a delicious dish to entertain honored guests.Hani Niurou Song (Hani Beef Paste)
Hani beef paste is made by using high-quality beef, which is marinated and dried to make Ganba (dried beef). Then, it is roasted over charcoal, and spices such as Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, ginger, raw garlic, and fresh millet peppers are added to a mortar and mashed into a paste. The taste is spicy and refreshing. This is an indispensable traditional side dish for entertaining guests in Hani households.Kulan Ji (Bitter Kulan)
Kulan Ji is a type of Ji vegetable (dragon claw vegetable), and only Xiaoxin Street Township in Yunnan has this king of Ji. Kulan Ji is wild and rare. It starts to sprout and grow from March to June, and its tender shoots can be eaten or used for medicinal purposes. Kulan Ji has a slightly bitter taste and can be made into delicious dishes with local Hani fermented bean curd and glutinous rice. It is the first choice for local Hani people to entertain guests during festivals. It has the properties of clearing heat, detoxifying, and aiding digestion.Famous Scenery
Honghe Hani Terraced Fields
The Honghe Hani Terraced Fields have a history of more than 1300 years. The people of various ethnic groups in Yuanyang County have carved out land from the mountains and diverted water to cultivate the fields, creating over 190,000 mu (about 126.7 square kilometers) of terraced fields and building 4653 water channels. The "Honghe Hani Terraced Fields" are distributed in 14 townships in the county, with an altitude range of 170 meters to 1980 meters. The terraced fields have a maximum of over 3700 steps; the largest single terraced field is over 10 mu (about 6667 square meters), and the smallest is less than 1 square meter.Lao Hu Zui (Tiger Mouth)
Tiger Mouth is located 50.5 kilometers south of the county seat, and 20.5 kilometers from the old town street. The scenic area includes over 6,000 mu of terraced fields, including Shang Mengpin, Dongpu, Baoshan Zhai, and A Mengkong, and is one of the core protected areas for the world cultural heritage application. Tiger Mouth was listed by a French newspaper as one of the seven new human landscapes discovered in 1993 and was called the most magnificent landscape by an American photographer.Mengnong Si Shu Scenic Spot
The Yuanyang Royal-Sealed Hereditary Mengnong Hani Si Shu (Office) was built in 1735 AD, 269 years ago. The Si Shu has four sets of stairs, connecting up and down, with a total of 127 steps. Each set of stairs has two-story wing rooms on both sides. The main hall, screen building, and wing rooms are exquisitely carved and painted, with red walls and yellow tiles complementing each other.
