Shangri-La Yak Meat

One very special experience of Yunnan that should not be missed is yak meat as a culinary specialty. Yak meat is one of the rarest kinds of high-grade meat in the international market. In Yunnan you can get it at its source.

The yak is itself a great wonder of nature. The yak is a kind of ox native to the part of the Tibetan plateau that stretches into Yunnan Province. There are both wild and domestic species of yak. About 95 percent of the yaks in the world are in China.  

Shangri-La yaks live in Shangri La County, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, in Hengduan Mountain area of Northwest Yunnan Plateau, the southern extension of Qinghai Tibet Plateau. The domestic yak has lived in a close relationship with people in the alpine regions since before the beginning of history.

The yak is a magnificent animal, a rare kind of hearty and noble creature that can live in some of the most extreme climatic and environmental conditions on earth. Yaks in Yunnan live at altitudes of 3,000 meters (or nearly 10,000 feet) and can live in temperatures of minus 38 degrees Celsius (or minus 36.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

Yaks have mighty, powerful bodies, with broad, muscular shoulders and lean, strong and lithe hindquarters. They have strong faces and formidable, proud horns. They bear some resemblance to the American bison.

Because yaks are so hearty and live in a very clean, high-altitude grassland environment, yak meat is very clean, and has absorbed many fresh nutrients from grazing on natural vegetation, free of industrial pollution, chemical pesticides or fertilizers.

People say yak meat tastes similar to beef, with perhaps a stronger taste. It is rich in protein and amino acids, as well as carotene, calcium, phosphorus and other trace elements. It has also absorbed some of the herbs that grown on the grasslands and are used as medicines, and the meat passes on those benefits.

Yak meat is believed to have a beneficial effect on the immune system, enhancing resistance to disease. Yak meat is said to promote cell vitality and healthy organ function.

It is one of the rarest high-grade meat in the international market, attracting culinary consumers from all over the world.

The meat tastes good prepared with salt and pepper, braised, stewed or dried to a crisp. It is good to have it accompanied with a local highland barley wine. The people in the Yunnan highlands have traditionally used the whole body of yak. The skin can be made into leather for clothing, boots, belts and bags. The head of yak is sometimes used to make handicrafts honoring the great beast that has traditionally meant so much to the people of the mountains.