Kashgar, Xinjiang | Rare and precious Yingjisha panda sheep.
📍Yingjisha, Xinjiang, was a post station on the ancient Silk Road, known as the "Town of Small Knives, Intangible Cultural Heritage Town, and Chinese Apricot Capital". It has a long history and rich cultural resources, including pottery, Dawazi, and small knives, which are all representatives of intangible cultural heritage. The last article was about the pottery village, where I experienced the charm of traditional culture. In the second article, I came to the place of origin to see the story of sheep and the intangible cultural heritage Yingjisha small knife.
🐼🐑I have seen pandas, but this is the first time I have heard of and seen panda sheep. In Yingjisha, Kashgar, I met a magical Novish sheep, which is known as "panda sheep" because of its unique appearance and rarity. Black ears, black eyes, black nose, this kind of sheep that looks like a panda has been on CCTV, and it is rare to look like a national treasure. Xinjiang "panda sheep" is really cute.
⛰️Due to long-term grazing on saline-alkali land, the meat of Novish sheep is tender and not greasy. At present, there are only 27,000 sheep in stock. It is a rare breed formed by the self-breeding of Yingjisha farmers and herdsmen for more than 400 years. It is very precious. CCTV host Guo Jia said that roasted Novish mutton skewers are the "second most delicious mutton in the world", while boiled Novish mutton is the first. Because there are few, most people have not eaten it, including me...
🐑I got close to the pasture and hugged them by myself. I took pictures and put my face on them. I almost made them social phobia haha (are you polite?)... I hope they will have a lot of production in the future, and I can eat all kinds of 🐑 meat soon.
🔪I have heard of it a long time ago. Yingjisha small knife, as a traditional handicraft in Kashgar, Xinjiang, was listed as the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects in 2008. Its production process has a history of about 480 years. Yingjisha small knife is famous for its exquisite shape, beautiful decoration and sharp blade. It is known as the three famous knives of Chinese ethnic minorities together with the waist knife of the Chinese Baoan ethnic group and the Hu Sa knife of the Achang ethnic group in Yunnan.
🗡️The shape of the Jisha small knife is unique. The traditional shapes include curved, straight, arrow, and pigeon. Each knife contains a unique national art style. Its decoration is beautiful, and it is often decorated with ethnic patterns, making the small knife practical and highly artistic. Look at this one that won the top prize of 128,800, isn't it luxurious and exquisite?
🛠️In the Knife King's former residence, the small knife museum also saw its production process. The best steel is extremely fine in every link from forging, joining, quenching, tempering, grinding and engraving, and the requirements are extremely high. The production of the knife handle and the scabbard is also very particular, often using various metal materials, gems, animal horn bones, etc. for inlay decoration, pearl light and precious air, rich and gorgeous, pleasing to the eye, and love it.
🍽️The Uyghur people in Xinjiang like to eat beef and mutton and produce fruits. Various styles are suitable for cutting meat and peeling melons and fruits. It can be said that it is closely related to the local customs. Now it is sold at home and abroad, with prices ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands. This is a treasure of intangible cultural heritage created by local craftsmen from generation to generation, and it is of great collection significance.
🔪I also bought two for myself. I came here. The silver ornaments and stones on it are really beautiful. I will use it to cut meat when I go back~ I can’t carry it on the plane, I can help express it after purchase~