The Naxi ethnic minority mainly lives in various counties of Yunnan Province in southwest China. The Naxi ethnic minority was originally a branch of the ancient Qiang ethnic minority in northwest China. It migrated to and settled down in the Lijiang area in about 3 AD. The Lijiang area is located at the southern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with high and steep terrains, magnificent mountains and valleys, and rich resources and products. The Naxi people are ready to accept advanced culture. For example, the cooking skills of Naxis are greatly influenced by the Hans and Tibetans, and also preserve the features of the minority. Buttered tea has become one of the traditional dishes of Naxis.

Naxis have three meals a day, with steamed bread or boiled rice cake for breakfast. Lijiang boiled rice cake is a special food of Naxis.

 Wedding Dietetic Custom

The wedding dietetic custom of Naxis embodies the people's beliefs and concepts, as well as their peaceable and virtuous characters. The feast during the engagement ceremony is called three-stage water feast, where four cool meat dishes, small-bowl dishes and big-bowl dishes are respectively served in three stages. Among these, there must be cool lotus roots implying wisdom and cleverness, vermicelli indicating longevity, lily implying endurable marriage, and meat rolls indicating reunion and luck, so as to add more happiness to the engagement feast.

 Dietetic Taboos

The dietetic practices of Naxis are significantly influenced by the Dongba religion. They abstain from eating meat of horses, dogs, cats or frogs, or killing lives on the first and the 15^thday of a lunar month, or having meals at solar eclipses and lunar eclipses. When cooking tea, they must not splash water into the fire. They must not eat meat at breakfast on the New Year's Day. Families with a person born in the pig year must not kill pigs on pig days.

 Special Food

Ham Cake

Huotuibaba(ham cake) is a traditional food of the Naxi people. It is prepared by pressing fermented dough into cake base, casting ham crumbs on the surface, pulling both ends together, filling in sweet nut stuffing, and frying in a pan.

Banta

Banta is a kind of food of the Naxi people for the Mid-Autumn Festival, carrying the meaning of reunion and happiness. The wordBantacomes from the Naxi language and means solid sweet food.

When making a Banta,the Naxi people will coat peach kernel, rose sugar, and fine stuffing in a thin slice of dough made of flour, brown sugar water and fat. Then they dust sesames and press patterns on the surface before baking.