Yunnan Butchers (Not for Sensitive Viewers)

This post is a spin-off of the main Yunnan Province thread, which covers a March 2012 trip to Shangri-La/Zhongdian, Lijiang, Dali and Kunming. I recommend reading the Shangri-La Market general thread first, for context.

Below, I have included pictures from the Shangri-La Market that will offend some viewers. These involve butcher's stalls for chicken, pork and yak. I do not post these with glee. However, this is what we saw. That some of the images were shocking to our sensibilities was not surprising. It reminded me of the late Linda McCartney's admonition not to eat anything "with a face." However, I am a carnivore in practice, and in principle, if one is going to eat meat I think it is better not to waste any part of the animal. Further, I make no judgment about the people of this region and their diets or practices.


Chicken Seller, Yunnan by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Ethnic Tibetan Women, Shangri-La by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Women Talking, Shagri-La by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Trimming Pork Roast, Shangri-La by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Meat Market, Shangri-La by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Chicken Stall, Shangri-La by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Preparing Chicken for Sale by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Pork Butchers, Shangri-La by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Snoots and Sausages, Shangri-La by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Yunnan Ham by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Yunnan Bacon by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Yak Butcher 2 by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Butcher's Aisle, Shangri-La Market, Yunnan by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Hoisting Side of Yak by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Yak Butcher at Work by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Air-Dried Yak and Bones by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Untitled by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Untitled by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Untitled by Josephine2004, on Flickr

That dog must be making out like a bandit. Really enjoying this Yunnan series.

We did see several happy dogs that morning. Glad that you are enjoying this series. There will be more on yak jerky in the main thread's Lijiang post.

Also, this morning I ran across this page from a website on Yak Husbandry that describes the use of yak products, (including the hides) in detail. One thing the article does not mention is something I was told by our guide to the Shangri-La market: that yak bones (seen above with dried meat hanging) are used to make a long cooked soup that is served to new mothers to help them regain their strength after childbirth. I recall eating a Korean bone soup once in Chicago. I hope the yak soup turns out just as good as that soup.

The website mentioned above also points out that some new businesses have been established to make European-style aged cheese with Yak milk.


Yunnan Yak Cheese by Josephine2004, on Flickr

We visited the shop of one of the Mei Xiang cheese makers and tasted their cheese. These residents of a remote mountain village of Langdu, Yunnan were assisted in this development project by a Wisconsin cheese maker. The video about the project can be found here. I recommend the video for its interesting photos of a more remote village than any we visited during our trip.

And the cheese? Delicious! A butteriness is the first impression, even thought this cheese is dry and nutty like a manchego or a Parmesan. Wrapped in bark, it is pretty to look at as well. Too bad it is not being sold in the US. However, it can be obtained in major Chinese cities.

Great stuff, Josephine! Am I the only one wanting to throw some yak ribs on the smoker this weekend?

As a former photographer, self taught butcher and cook, I really enjoyed your photographs.
This is how the world works.
Great job!-Dick

stevez wrote:Great stuff, Josephine! Am I the only one wanting to throw some yak ribs on the smoker this weekend?

+1 to both statements

Did I see the famous "black" chicken in one of the photographs?

Josephine wrote:One thing the article does not mention is something I was told by our guide to the Shangri-La market: that yak bones (seen above with dried meat hanging) are used to make a long cooked soup that is served to new mothers to help them regain their strength after childbirth. I recall eating a Korean bone soup once in Chicago. I hope the yak soup turns out just as good as that soup.

The practice of "sitting the month" in American (LA) was recently highlighted in the LAT. I s'pose when yak's more abundant than hog, you just sub the yak bones for pork bones. the soups in the post-partem diet regimen are "bland", but high in fat. They may be somehow even nastier than sulleongtang (though almost impossible)

One more thought: I always love there are so many female butchers in Asia, and they wear such masks of utter ennui, even when being filmed by a laowei. I attempted the same in SE Asia, but often I'd get nasty stares.

In wrapping up my Yunnan series, I've run across a few more pictures of meat and butchers that may be too much for some viewers.

The first images below come from inside an ethnic Tibetan home in northwest Yunnan. I have noticed that there may be a preference for keeping the head of a pig intact, though I am not sure why. I also saw this in Shanghai, in an upscale butcher shop, though the reasons for preserving the pig face may be different in each context. Perhaps it is something like keeping the feet on the raccoon carcass in the US, or the rabbit carcass in France - to assure the buyer that he or she is getting what is promised, and not another animal's flesh in the guise of the preferred meat.


Untitled by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Untitled by Josephine2004, on Flickr

These photographs are from the Xizhou and Dali markets.


Sausage Merchant and Customer, Yunnan by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Untitled by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Pork Butcher, Dali Market by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Pork Skin, Xizhou by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Raw Pork Skin, Dali Market by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Butcher, Dali Market by Josephine2004, on Flickr


Poultry Butcher, Dali Market by Josephine2004, on Flickr

awesome photos, thanks for sharing!

In researching options for another Yunnan trip, I came across this video on Youtube. It is a nice piece of filmmaking, very naturalistic, showing the operation of a pork and sausage shop from the moment the lights go on in the morning. I'm not sure of the location. Here is the link: