The Salar Nationality

The Salar people with a population of 87,000, mainly live in Xunhua Salar Autonomous County in eastern Qinghai Province. Most Salars are engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. They have their own colorful language but Chinese is commonly spoken. The Salar young women are very good at music, especially at singing. In fact, the huaer, a special kind of Salar trilling song is very pleasing to the ear. The Salars retain many of the same physical characteristics as the Turks: they are tall and strong; their faces are long and have a ruddy complexion. In terms of their facial features, they tend to have round eyes and straight, high-bridged noses. The males have long hair and long beard. The courageous Salar people like practicing archery.


There is a saying: "When the train passes Riyue Mountain, one enters another world." To the west of Riyue Mountain are flourishing grasslands. To the east of Riyue Mountain is the Yellow River. The climate here is mild and resources are abundant.

The Salar people usually live in compact communities in the Salar Autonomous County in Xunhua County, Qinghai Province. Those who have close blood ties live in the same region. They live in flatª²roofed houses made of mud and wood enclosed by a yard. Flowers and fruit trees are planted in the courtyard.

The Salar's staple foods are wheat, highland barley and buckwheat which are cooked and prepared in different ways. Steamed bread, noodles, sanfan, mixed paste are their daily diet. The nonª²staple foods include beef, mutton, chicken and a variety of vegetables and beans. The Salars eat fried pasta (sanzi), mutton eaten with hands and cooked "bowl vegetables." The Salar people like drinking milk-tea and wheatª²tea. Every family has its own tea set which includes a heated kettle and covered cup. Everyone pays great attention to the method of making tea and the courtesy of drinking tea. They abstain from pork, animal blood products and eating animals that have died of natural causes.

Their dress styles are the same as the Hui's. Salar males always wear a black or white round hat. They like wearing a white "hanta," a green "jiajia" in the summer and a fur-lined jacket in the winter. Older men wear long gowns. They wind a "dasidaer" (a kind of head-binding scarf) around their head when they attend mosque ceremonies. The women put a "gaitou" (a head cover) on their head: young girls wear green, middle-aged women wear black, older women wear white. Young women prefer wearing colorful Chinese shirts which button on the right along with a sleeveless jacket. They also wear long trousers and embroidered shoes. Middle-aged and older women prefer long Chinese shirts which button on the right. They also like wearing rings, bracelets and earrings.

Spoken and sung literature is popular among the Salars and comes in many forms: tales, legends, proverbs, fables, folk songs, banquet songs and Huaer. Everyone knows the legend about how their ancestors changed their homelands. The most popular Salar folk songs are high pitched and rhythmically free. Their most distinctive musical instrument is the Kouxi, which is made of copper or silver and is not longer than 1ª±5 centimeters in length. When it is played, the volume is low and the notes flow quite smoothly. The Salar women are always moved to tears when they listen to it.

Marriage among the Salars follows a set process: inviting the match maker, selecting an engagement day, sending betrothal presents, inviting the Ahung to speak at the wedding ceremony. During the wedding ceremony itself, there are special customs such as Jimen, Duiwei and 'putting the needle and thread' which add a festive atmosphere to the ceremony.

The Salars live in mountainous areas in which rugged mountain paths diverge and the Yellow River flows by. In the past, the Salars depended on donkeys, mules and horses to carry their loads over dry land. In the river, they depended on sheepskin or wooden rafts. Nowadays, you can still watch the brave Salars steer their rafts along the Yellow River.

All Salars believe in Islam. Although their basic belief is the same, they have different religious sects which differ in explanation to canons, doctrines, and in details of religious rite. The Salars are just like the Hui, Dongxiang and Baoan nationalities who believe in Islam: they strictly obey the rules of studying the Muslim scripture, attending religious service, abstaining from pork, doing tianke, and going on pilgrimages. They also celebrate the major Islamic holiday such as Ramadan, Corban, and White Sunday. Small and large mosques in which the Salars perform religious activities are in every village.

Since the Salars settled in Xunhua, they have gotten along well with the other nationalities and made efforts toward common progress. They have continued to create and develop their rich culture through their own intelligence and hard work..