is a country with great ethnic diversity. Subject to influences from geographical environments, climate, natural resources, as well as religious faiths, social and historical elements, every minority nationality formed their own unique customs in food and drinks. For example, those minority nationalities that rely on livestock are accustomed to eating beef and lamb, as well as the animals' milk and related dairy products, such as milk tea. Whereas for agricultural minority nationalities, those in the south rely on grains as principal food, the northern groups mostly eat pasta and mixed rough grains. Those living in frigid climates enjoy having garlic, while those living in the humid regions prefer hot foods. The Hui and Uygur nationalities believe in Islam. To them, pork, meat of vicious animals and dead animals are forbidden. The Zang nationality, or the Tibetans, is barred by their faith from eating fish. If one does not know of these customs and prohibitions, feasting with minority nationalities can result in

In autumn, Tibetans harvesting in the grain field.

A Tibetan woman making food.

Young girls of Mosuo nationality must stand on fat pork as part of their coming-of-age ritual.

awkward situations.

    Many people have heard of such a story, "A traveler on a horse trudges through the endless plains of the Mongolian grassland while carrying a whole leg of lamb on his back. At sunset, he sees a Mongolian tent, so he dislodges from the horse to stay the night there. The tent's master invites him in and put his leg of lamb aside. Then the tent master goes to his own sheep pen to bring out one of his own lamb for treating the guest. After the meal, the man and the tent master's family sleep in the same tent. The second day, the tent master bids the traveler farewell and gives him a new leg of lamb." The traveler has ventured far in the grasslands, and yet every time he leaves from a family, he would always be carrying a leg of lamb. But it is no longer same leg of lamb as it has been replaced with fresh legs countless times.

    This story, by reasoning, should be true. The Mongolian nationality's warm hospitality is the most famous among all the minorities. Plus the lamb is the Mongolian minority's main food for treating guests. According to local customs, regardless of loosely related kin, close neighbors, frequent guests or first timers, all guests will be treated to freshly slaughtered and prepared lamb. The sheep is first presented to the guest, and only after the guest's acknowledgement would the sheep be slaughtered. This is called "asking the guest, slaughter the sheep," and is intended to show respect for guests. Out of all the ways of eating lamb, "hand-served lamb" is the most characteristic of the Mongolian minority's traditions.

    "Hand-served lamb" speaks of water-boiled lamb without any seasoning. After being cooked, large chunks of succulent lamb, thick with juices and oils, give off steamy appetizing aroma. The local Mongolians like to eat it with one hand clutching onto a large piece of meat, while cutting it with their Mongolian daggers in the other hand. If highly honored guests arrive, a feast with a whole lamb must be prepared. This is also referred to as "yang bei zL" where a whole lamb is boiled in a pot. For the locals, preparation time needs to be only 30 minutes. When the knife cuts into the meat, blood would still seep out. If the feast were prepared for Han Chinese, it would usually have to be cooked for an extra ten to fifteen minutes. Meat cannot go without wine, as the Mongolians are big drinkers regardless of gender. At a feast, the host pours three bowls full of wine, while holding onto a white piece of Hada (long pieces of white silk symbolizing purity, loyalty and respect), proposes a toast to the guests while singing the toast song loudly to show

Men of the Yi minority all have great capacity for liquor.

Men of the Va minority having lunch on the grain field.

    Xizang, or Tibet, with its unique highland scenery and local customs attracts more and more tourists from China and abroad. The Tibetan nationality's food and drink habits are also a delightful attraction for the tourists. Those who have been to Tibet would surely have tasted its buttered tea. The Tibetan nationality uses buttered tea to treat guests. The guest must first have three bowls of the tea. If one wishes to have no more, then one should pour the tea dregs on the ground. Otherwise the host would keep persuading the guest to have more. Principal foods of the Tibetans include vegetable noodle, buttered tea, beef, mutton and dairy products. A Tibetan family's wealth depends on its amount of grain storage, not meat or milk, which every family has loads of.

   Tibetans usually would not eat horses, donkeys and other animals belonging to the Perissodactyla order, meaning odd- toed. Fish, chicken, duck, goose and other poultry are also not on their menus. Instead, they prefer to eat meat of Artiodactylas, the order of hoofed animals with even numbers of toes, including pork, beef and lamb, especially dried beef. In the Tibetan highlands, food will not mold or decompose easily. Dried beef jerky, being able to preserve freshness, are very common in the Tibetan region. Every autumn, Tibetans cut fresh beef into strips and string them together, adding salt and powders of Chinese prickly ash, hot pepper and ginger, and hang it to dry at cool, vented areas. Its texture is crispy and the taste is of long-lasting fragrance, with touches of sourness.

    China's southwest region is one of its main concentrations of minority nationalities. There are many minority groups here where dietary habits are also multifarious and vivid. Humid climate here makes sour and hot tasting foods, as well as dried, smoked, cured and other preserved foods the preference of the people.

The upper floors of houses of the Qiang minority are used as storage space for foodstuff and other sundries.

 The Miao minority, which populates much of the border regions of Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Guangxi and other provinces, commonly prefer sour- tasting dish, with Sour Soup in every family. The making of Sour Soup is by mixing rice soup and bean curd into an earthenware pot for three to five days until it ferments. It is used to cook meats, fish, and other vegetables. Preservation of food is commonly done by way of curing, for making sour vegetables, chicken, duck, fish and other meats. Almost every family has a "sour pot" for storage of cured foods. The Miao minority has a long history of winemaking. There is a very comprehensive set of procedures from making wine yeast, to fermentation, distillation, and storage in a cellar.

    The Dong minority of Guizhou also loves sour foods. There are

Women of the Va minority pounding rice.

   The mountains are full of treasures for diligent people, and every family has a full pot of sour foods." Furthermore, the Dong people's preserved duck and meat paste, fish and pickled ginger are all very well known. Interestingly for preserved fish, it must be sealed for storage underground for three years, sometimes even up to seven or eight years, before unsealed for use.

    The Bai minority is the most focused on foods for festivities among all the minority nationality groups. Almost every holiday has several holiday foods to go with. Ding-ding Candy is for Spring Festival. Steamed Cakes and Bean-starch Noodles are for the Third Month Holiday. Pure and Bright Festival (tomb-sweeping day) has cold jambalaya with dressing and fried crispy pork. Zongzi (sticky rice cake wrapped in reed leaf) and realgar wine are for the Dragon Boat Festival. Various types of sweets and candy are available for the Torch Festival. For Mid-autumn Festival, it is the "White Cakes" and "Drunken Cakes." Lamb is special food for the Double Ninth Festival. There still much more holiday food traditions of the Bai people. It is truly a bright and colorful life.

     The Zhuang minority has the largest population among the minorities. They mostly inhabit the province of Guangxi, with also small populations in Yunnan, Guangdong, Guizhou and Hunan. The Zhuang-inhabited regions are teeming with rice and corn, which is naturally their principal  food. The Zhuang people are not forbidden to eat any poultry or livestock meats; some areas even prefer dog meat. They often cook chicken, duck, fish and vegetables to about a medium degree, then just quickly stir-fried it before use to seal in the fresh taste. Rice wine is the main hospitality drink of the Zhuang people. Mixing the wine with animal innards, and we have Chicken Gallbladder Wine, Chicken Innards Wine, Pork Liver Wine and so on. When having Chicken Innards Wine and Pork Liver Wine, the drink is to be swallowed at once first, with the chicken innards or pork liver left in the mouth to be chewed slowly. These wines can be both a drink and a food dish.

A young girl of the Miao nationality.

A banquet scene during a funerary ceremony of the Baiku Yao minority.

Raw and marinade beef threads, raw tripe, and raw fish slices are all traditional fare of the Korean minority. Preserved vegetables of the Koreans are famed in history. Its ingredients are common vegetables, including Chinese cabbage, turnip, hot pepper, ginger and so on; salt is added before curing. The taste is refreshing with a stinging pungency, but with all five flavors present, being fragrant, sweet, sour, hot and salty at the same time. Korean pickled foods make fine complements to Chinese folk foods.

    The Hezhen minority nationality that lives in the Sanjiang Plains area of Heilongjiang Province is the only group in northern China to rely mostly on hunting and the use of dogsleds for living. Their diet is rather old- fashioned, keeping tradition of eating raw foods until this day. Its most distinguished dish is the "Kill Raw Fish," where raw fish is mixed with vegetables rinsed with boiled water, including potato threads, mung bean sprouts and leek, added with chili oil, vinegar, salt and soy sauce. It gives off a fragrant, fresh taste and tender texture. In the Daxing'an Mountains live the Elunchun and Ewenke minority nationalities. Being amidst their "natural zoo" environment, they have kept the primal dietary tradition of "eating meat and drinking milk." They can often have deer milk and meat, roe deer feast, snow hare meat, pheasants and other wild animals. But these wild foods are already extremely rare delicacies in the inland part of China.