Heqing County Shopping
The interaction and collision of various cultures, customs, religions and colorful lifestyles offers visitors many things to see and buy. When you visit Heqing County, please don’t forget to buy some local specialty as keepsakes or to your relatives or friends.
1. Silverware
In May in the northwest of Yunnan Province at the 2000-meter high Heqing Bazi Plateau it is almost the harvest season. Along with the idyllic scenery of the ethnic village of Bai people of the Bazi a loud pounding noise can be heard. For over a thousand years this seemingly ordinary sound has represented the rhythms of different generations. An ordinary day in Xinhua Village where the Bai ethnic group lives always begins with the sound of pounding metal. The craftsmen who make this sound are called Yinjiu by the local people, which means "silversmith" in the Bai language. The sounds of hammering silver and copperware in the village is sitll like a long, drawn-out music for this season in this old town.
2. Heqing Tile Cats
Tile Cats are special mascots for Bai people in Heqing County, north of Dali Prefecture; they are usually set on the roofs of Bai traditional houses; it is believed that tile cats can bring good lucks, guard against evil spirits. A tile cat is made from clay and goes through the procedure of molding, modifying and kilning; since Ming Dynasty, Bai people in Heqing had already developed this life skill, and passed down from generation to generation.
3. Heqing Qianjiu Wine
Brewed by unique techniques and other 50 Kinds of Chinese Herbs, it can be preserved for a long time. Taste sweet and healthy for body.
4. Heqing Ham
The fresh ham is at first appropriately smeared with salt, and several salted hams will be kept in a vat for about 20 days. The salted ham will be gotten out of the vats and before hoisted in wind, it will again be smeared with salt to guard against going bad. Next, the salted ham will be kept (hoisted) in cool places. Generally speaking, such hams taste good after being kept for about one year.
