Beside the colorful pools of Huanglong, there lies a wine that can dance and a drum that can sing.
[Come to Huanglong only to see the Five-Colored Pools? You're missing out! Five "Snow Mountain Souls" Hidden in the Calcified Beaches, Every Song and Brew is Full of Tibetan and Qiang Flavor]
Don't just take pictures of the Five-Colored Pools when you come to Huanglong! Along the pilgrimage route of this "Jade Pool on Earth," there lies a more authentic atmosphere than the calcite—watch the "Salang Dance" in the Qiang village, where girls swing their ribbons and dance on tiptoe, the sheepskin drums sounding like snowmelt hitting rocks; learn "Zaba Wine Brewing" from the elders, where barley ferments in wooden barrels to produce a sweet aroma, a sip warms from the throat to the stomach, the elders say, "This wine has the strength of snowmelt infused in it"; you can even squat in the prayer hall to learn "Thangka Painting," mineral pigments depicting "Green Tara" on cloth, the brush tip dipped in yak butter-based glue, the painter says, "The color must be like the water of the Five-Colored Pools, lasting for a hundred years to be worthy of the gods."
📍Must-Try Huanglong Folk Customs List (Reviewed and Tested by Ctrip Users)
1. Salang Dance Interaction
Recommendation Index: ★★★★★ | 1 Hour Duration
A Qiang girl adorned with silver ornaments teaches you to "tap the drumbeats": "Your feet should feel like they're stepping on thin ice on the calcified beach, light enough to bounce; your hands should wave like prayer flags, fluttering freely." Follow along in the "Auspicious Year" dance, the ribbons drawing red arcs behind you. An old woman hands you "jiaotuan" (a type of porridge), saying, "Eating this coarse grain will give you the energy to dance; otherwise, you'll be panting like you've climbed Huanglong Temple."
👉Ctrip Booking Tips: Buy the "Salang Dance + Qiang Costume Experience" package and save 35 yuan. The drumbeats at the bonfire are even more intense, and the firelight reflects off the watchtowers, like burning a hole in the night sky.
2. Barley Wine Brewing Experience
Recommendation Index: ★★★★☆ | 1.5 hours of playtime
An elderly man in a sheepskin coat squats by the fire pit, teaching you how to "mix barley": "The yeast should be sprinkled evenly, like snowflakes falling on a beach. During fermentation, it should be covered with a woolen felt, as warm as a baby in its mother's arms." Stirring the fermenting barley with a wooden spoon, the sweet aroma mixed with the smell of alcohol rises. The man says, "I learned this skill from my grandfather. Back when the Red Army crossed the grasslands, we used this wine to warm their stomachs." The brewed barley wine can be put into bamboo tubes to take away. Sipping it is like holding a ball of fire in your mouth; the aftertaste is slow but powerful.
👉Secret Feature: The "yeast" used for fermentation is made from snow mountain herbs, including gentian and notopterygium. The man says, "This yeast contains the temperament of the snow mountain, making the wine strong enough."
3. Tibetan-Qiang Joint Feast
Recommendation Index: ★★★★★ | 2 hours of sightseeing
A long table beside the calcified beach is laden with roasted yak meat, jiaotuan (a type of porridge), and barley cakes. The most amazing dish is the "old cured meat," hung over the fire pit and smoked for half a year. It has a pine-scented aroma. The elders raise their cups and shout "Ya he hei" (Qiang language for "cheers"), and everyone uses wooden spoons to scoop up zaba wine and pass it around. An old woman says, "This meat has the years of smoked over the fire pit." During the feast, there is a custom of "hanging red," where red ribbons are tied to elders, saying, "This red should be like the edge of a colorful pool, so vibrant it can block wind and snow."
⚠ Avoidance Guide (Lessons learned the hard way by Ctrip users)
1. Don't buy "machine-printed 'Qiang embroidery'"! Look for handmade aprons from "Serchazhai Zhuoma," 260 yuan each. They are embroidered with "ram's horn patterns," five times denser than the printed fabrics in tourist areas, and feel like crumpled felt.
2. Don't miss the "Free Lesson in Playing the Sheepskin Drum"! Every afternoon, drummers teach you at the threshing ground. Learn to beat it three times and you can exchange it for barley cakes—the aroma is so enticing it attracts bees!
3. Don't choose "scenic area hotels" when staying in a guesthouse! "Zangqiang Old Courtyard" is built of stone, with prayer flags flying from the roof. The host makes "potato cakes," and it has a 4.9 rating on Ctrip. Snow-capped mountains are visible from the window.
🚗Itinerary (Copyright Guide)
▶One-Day Tour (Folk Experience)
09:00 Visit Serqa Village (See Qiang Watchtowers) → 10:30 Learn to Dance the Salang Dance
12:00 Enjoy a Tibetan-Qiang Feast
14:00 Learn to Brew Zazu Wine → 16:00 Learn to Paint a Thangka (Simplified Version)
18:00 Photograph the Sunset at the Five-Colored Pools (The sunset dyes the travertine terraces golden-red, creating a dazzling contrast with the blue of the pools) → 20:00 Listen to the Elder Tell the Legend of Huanglong Zhenren (He said he created the Five-Colored Pools with his cane)
💰400+ RMB per person (Includes experience + meals)
▶2-Day Tour (In-Depth)
Day 1: 10:00 Arrive in Huanglong → 11:00 Overnight at a Tibetan-Qiang Inn
12:30 Follow the landlord to "gather alpine vegetables" (picking ferns and digging for cordyceps in the meadow; Dad teaches you to recognize "Rhodiola rosea")
14:00 Salang dance interaction → 16:30 Advanced zaba wine drinking (learning to drink wine using a bamboo tube)
18:30 Eat "fire pit baked flatbread" → 20:00 Learn to sing "Qiang flute" (the melody is as winding as the flowing water of a calcified beach; the flute sound can startle mountain sparrows)
Day 2:
09:00 Learn "Qiang embroidery" with an old embroiderer (embroider a "sun pattern" ornament, said to "protect against the high-altitude sun")
11:30 Learn to make "jiaotuan" (corn flour is stirred into a paste, drizzled with chili oil, so fragrant you'll stomp your feet)
12:30 Eat "butter tea with tsampa" (Tibetan breakfast, said to "make climbing hills easy and give you energy for prayer wheel circumambulation")
14:00 Return with Qiang embroidery aprons and barley wine.
💰850+ RMB per person (including accommodation and experience)
🚗Transportation: 2 hours by car from Jiuzhaigou. You can book a "Tibetan-Qiang guide" through Ctrip to learn "highland etiquette" (remove hats when entering the prayer hall, do not step on prayer flags).
🏨Accommodation Recommendation: Tibetan-Qiang Old Courtyard (Ctrip rating 4.9) The rooms in the stone watchtower are covered with wool blankets. Open the window to see snow-capped peaks topped with clouds. Wake up to the shouts of "threshing barley!" The host brings "potato cakes + pickled vegetable soup." Sit by the fire pit to warm your hands, and you can see girls embroidering Qiang embroidery in the courtyard, with prayer flags flapping loudly on the roof. 300 RMB per person per night.
🍜Must-Try Tibetan and Qiang Folk Delicacies
- Smoked Pork Belly: The signature dish of "Zhai Lao Kitchen," thinly sliced pork, blackened by smoking, is perfectly marbled with fat and lean meat, priced at 68 yuan per serving. Served with zaba liquor, it's incredibly flavorful with every chew.
- Cornmeal Porridge: Freshly made cornmeal porridge by an elderly woman, topped with minced garlic and chili oil, priced at 10 yuan per bowl. She says, "This is the Qiang people's 'comfort food,' it warms you up from head to toe."
The soul of Huanglong isn't in the colorful reflections of the famous pools, but in the rhythmic beat of the Salang dance and the sweet, strong zaba liquor. Save this guide, book a room at a traditional Tibetan courtyard on Ctrip, and let your footprints be stained with yak butter as you walk across the calcified land!