Eighteen Oddities in Yunnan (
Chinese:
云南十八怪; pinyin: Yúnnán Shíbā Guài; sometimes called Eighteen Wonders of Yunnan) are eighteen unique traits of the
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
province of
southwest China
Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China.
Geography
Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...
. The oddities, which are as follows, are generally presented in the form of a list, which is promulgated in promotional materials advertising the province to foreign and domestic tourists.
#
Eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
are tied up sold in rope-like clusters
photo
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#Bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...
hats are used as wok
A wok (; Pinyin: ; Cantonese ) is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan from China. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in China and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as ...
lids
#Three mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
es make up a dish - mosquitoes are so large that it is said that just three are large enough to make a meal
#Bamboo is used to make water pipes for smoking
#Erkuai
Erkuai () is a type of rice cake particular to the Yunnan Province of southwest China.
The name literally means "ear piece," a reference to the shape of one of its common forms. It is often served stir-fried with vegetables, and ''málà'' (麻 ...
- a local culinary specialty made of rice, whose name translates literally as "ear piece" (called ''zi ba'', 糍 粑 in Mandarin)
#The same dress is worn for all four seasons - clothing for all four seasons may be seen on a single day in Yunnan, as climatic conditions may vary widely according to altitude and region
#Young girls are called "Old Lady"
#Automobiles move faster than trains
#Toes are exposed all year round
#Rain here but sunshine there - the weather is often variable between areas just a few kilometers apart
#Girls wear flowers in all four seasons
#Girls carry tobacco bags
#Green vegetables are called "bitter vegetables"
#Grannies climb mountains faster than monkeys
#Trains go abroad but not inland
#Monks can have love affairs
#Children are raised by men - Yunnan women have a reputation for being hard-working, thus many men stay home to take care of their children
#Automobiles move in the clouds - many roads are high in the mountains
The items on the list are not fixed, so other versions of the list may include other oddities, including:
#Stone grows in the clouds - Yunnan's Shilin, or Stone Forest resembles stalagmites growing out of the ground
#Locusts or grasshoppers are eaten as a delicacy
#Fresh flowers are served as a vegetable
#Water and fire are worshipped as gods
#People sing rather than speak
#Tea leaves are sold in piles
#Non-slanting walls are built with cobblestones
#Keys are hung on waist belts
#Small, lean horses are hard-working
#Fresh fruits and vegetables are available in all four seasons
References
*Li Kunwu (李昆武, 2004). ''Yunnan Shiba Guai'' (云南十八怪; Eighteen Wonders of Yunnan Province). China: Yunnan University Press. .
External links
Eighteen Oddities in Yunnan pageEighteen Oddities in Yunnan pageIllustrated Eighteen Oddities in Yunnan page
Culture in Yunnan
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