"Silk Road Youth" Qinghai Xunhua Visits Salar Hometown | Salar Tribe | Youth

Xinhua News Agency, Xunhua, Qinghai, August 6th Question: "Silk Road Youth" Qinghai Xunhua Visits the Hometown of Salars

Author Pan Yujie

Being in an unfamiliar place during her first visit, Turkmenistan international student Tang Yihong felt like she had returned to her hometown. "The people here live in a courtyard, the food on the table, and the instruments in their hands are very similar to my hometown, especially when I hear them talking to me in familiar language, it feels both warm and magical," she said.

From August 4th to 5th, the second season of "Waiguoren takes you on a tour of Qinghai" entered Xunhua County, Haidong City, Qinghai Province. Foreign bloggers, international students, and overseas Chinese media reporters taste Sara banquets, watch ethnic songs, dances, and costume performances, experience the techniques of making Sara ethnic strings, visit local characteristic houses, and learn about Sara ethnic history and culture.

The picture shows "Wai Guo Ren" learning and experiencing the Salar people's oral string making skills. Photo by Ma Mingyan

Xunhua County is located in the eastern part of Qinghai Province, with the Qingqing Yellow River flowing through the county for over 90 kilometers. It is the only Salar Autonomous County in the country and the birthplace of the Salar people in China. Around the beginning of the 13th century, the ancestors of the Salar tribe entered China along the Silk Road from present-day Turkmenistan in Central Asia and settled here.

At the Folk Culture Park in Salar's hometown, ethnic characteristic dances and clothing shows are being performed. The fence building next to it is a traditional local residential building, with some walls made of tree and shrub stakes and fence strips. The hollow wall is warm in winter and cool in summer. In the small courtyard not far away, there is a double layered wooden Chinese style building with a corridor outside, and various potted flowers are planted in the center of the square courtyard.

The picture shows the fence building of a Salar ethnic characteristic residential building. Photo by Ma Mingyan

"In Turkmenistan, the city we live in is built on the Caspian Sea and doesn't have as many trees or farmland," Tang Yihong said. "But when I was young, like the children here, I lived in a two-story building with my grandparents and had an independent yard."

"The exterior walls of the houses I see here are mostly made of mud and bricks," said the well-known Iranian blogger Puya. "Houses made of this material are also very common in Iran. Bam is the largest group of adobe buildings in the world, but the architectural styles of the two places are very different."

Puya felt that the Sara people and their hometown have many similarities in terms of residence, diet, and lifestyle. "Salah's family banquet focuses on various types of pasta as its staple food, and Iran also highly values the staple food. There is also the most popular grilled skewer, which has similar methods but different flavors."

The picture shows the exchange between Tang Yihong and Puya, young people of the Silk Road, and the local Salar ethnic group. Photo by Ma Mingyan

In the courtyard, the Salar "master" sat on a small stool, lips slightly parted, and thumbs flipped the reeds around his mouth, playing tunes of varying lengths and heights. Foreign bloggers and international students sit around, trying to make musical instruments and learning playing skills.

It is reported that the Salar ethnic harmonica is a folk musical instrument that has been passed down among the local people. It is less than one inch long and weighs less than 5 grams, making it one of the smallest ethnic ancient musical instruments in China. When playing, it is necessary to hold it in the mouth and use the tip of the tongue to pluck the reed or fingers to pluck it, causing the reed to vibrate and produce sound in the mouth. In 2013, the production technique of Salar ethnic strings was included in the fourth batch of provincial-level intangible cultural heritage list in Qinghai Province.

"My aunt has also played a similar horseshoe shaped instrument with a clear and crisp tone," Tang Yihong said. "But now, we hardly know how to play this ancient instrument anymore, unlike the young people here who have been exposed to their elders since childhood and learn while playing."

In the afternoon of that day, the group went to the historical and cultural landmark of the Salar tribe, Camel Spring. In a clear spring, a white camel stone statue stands quietly. Foreign bloggers and international students listen to legendary stories and learn about the history and culture of the Salar people.

The picture shows the historical and cultural landmark of the Sara ethnic group in Xunhua County, Camel Spring. Photo by Ma Mingyan

According to legend, about 800 years ago, the ancestors of the Salar tribe who lived in present-day Turkmenistan in Central Asia migrated eastward and led a white camel carrying scriptures and hometown soil. When they arrived at Jiezi Town in Xunhua County, the white camel got lost and was later found by a spring, which had turned into white stone. Seeing that the soil and water here were exactly the same as their hometown, people settled down and named this spring "Camel Spring".

Having been in China for 15 years, Puya has visited the vast majority of provinces and regions. "Here, in the form of applying for intangible cultural heritage projects and setting inheritors, we protect the traditional culture of the Salar ethnic group. This approach is worth learning from."

It is understood that the second season of the "Waiguoren takes you on a tour of Qinghai" event is themed "Meeting with the Beautiful Qinghai and Tracing the Beauty of the Yellow River". It is organized by the Qinghai Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and the Qinghai Branch of China News Service, organized by the Qinghai Branch of China News Service International Communication Group Co., Ltd., and supported by China News Network as a special unit.

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