Yunnan Religious Food

Yunnan is a religious resort well known in China as well as an important place where many world religions gather. Many religions are widely distributed among the multi-nationalities in Yunnan, including Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity, Islamism as well as the Dongba Religion, Benzhu Religion and other minority primitive religions. Here we introduce the Yunnan Religious Food for your reference.

Religious Food in Yunnan

1. Halal Food in Yunnan

Now, Islam has spread all over Yunnan Province, mainly in Kunming, Yuxi, Honghe, Wenshan, Dali, Baoshan, Zhaotong, Chuxiong, Simao, and Qujing prefectures and municipalities. It is believed by the Hui, some Dais, Bais, Tibetans and Zhuangs. 

Halal Food is guided by strict religious criteria. Halal food can never contain pork or pork products, any alcohol or fresh blood. The common meat they serve is beef and they prefer the wild ingredients rather than farm-raised ones. Since there is a large group of Hui People in Yunnan, you will have the chance to enjoy some fresh and healthy food in Halal restaurants in Yunnan.

Famous Halal Food in Yunnan:

Recommended Muslin Tour Packages in Yunnan:

2. Taoist Diet in Yunnan

Many Taoist priests regard their diet as extremely important to their physical, mental and spiritual health in one way or another, especially where the amount of Qi in the food is concerned. The invention of the vegetarian food Tofu was credit to a Taoist. Taoist religious orders and literatures often encourage practitioners to be vegetarian to minimize harms, because all life forms are considered sentient. 

The Taoist diet is based on eating locally-grown organic produce in season when possible and avoiding acidic foods, artificial food additives, heavily processed foods and those difficult to digest. The Taoism diet consists of 50 to 70 percent whole grains, 20 to 30 percent vegetables and 5 to 10 percent animal or bean products. Products that contain little or no nutritional value are avoided, such as refined white flour products and sugar.

3. Buddhist Diet in Yunnan

The widely spreading Buddhism in Yunnan includes three divisions, namely Hynayana (Small Wheel or Southern Buddhism), Mahayana (Big Wheel or Chinese Buddhism) and Tibetan Buddhism (Lamaism) among which, in China, Hynayana can only be found in Yunnan Province. Buddhist cuisine is a distinct sub-style of food that emerged within the Buddhist monasteries which traditionally prohibits any and all animal meats. Buddhists considers all life to be sacred, a belief that often translates into vegetarianism. They follow a no killing rule of any sentient being. In addition to this, alcohol and other intoxicants are forbidden because they may result in the violations of others. 

Most of the dishes considered to be uniquely Buddhist are vegetarian, but not all Buddhist traditions require vegetarianism of lay followers or clergy. Tibetan Buddhism has long accepted that the practical difficulties in obtaining vegetables and grains within most of Tibet make it impossible to insist upon vegetarianism. In some Buddhist traditions, onions, scallions, garlic, chives and leeks are prohibited foods, as they are said to lead to anger and passion.

See Yunnan Vegetarian Food.

4. Christian Food in Yunnan

Christianity is a minority in Yunnan province of China. There are two divisions of Christianity in Yunnan Province: Protestantism and Catholism. There are more than a million Protestants in the province.

Protestant Christians do not follow any specific, uniform dietary guidelines. The Bible, states Norman Geisler, stipulates one to “abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals”.Catholics love food! For every feast day there is a special food or feast prepared. Fish have very deep roots in Catholicism, so I dub it “So Catholic You Must Put Out Into the Deep to Catch It”. Historically Catholics have abstained from meat on Fridays as an additional fast to show self-discipline. 

Yunnan Food Culture Travel

For people who are interested in Yunnan food, it is a good choice to take a Yunnan food culture tour, which can help the tourists better understand Yunnan cuisine. Yunnan cuisine, also named as Dian cuisine, is an compound of the cuisines of the Han people and other ethnic groups in Yunnan Province, southwest China. With the largest number of ethnic minority groups, Yunnan cuisine is vastly varied. Many Yunnan dishes are quite spicy, and mushrooms are featured prominently. The ingredient is diverse and rare, like flowers, ferns, algae and some insects. Curious about Yunnan food? Why not start a Yunnan food tour?

Recommended Yunnan Food Culture Tours

Read more about Yunnan Food Tours.