Living on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, diets of Tibetan people are mainly red meat, butter and zanba, because of their unique natural conditions. However, thanks to the unique geographical conditions of Nyingchi Prefecture, there is some special food.

Matsutake must grow in the primeval forests in cold temperature zone with an elevation of over 3,500 meters where pines and oaks gather with abundant underground mineral content.

The special hard growing environment also gives special aroma back to it, which combines the fragrance and delicious taste of fungus and fresh mineral flavor from the plateau.

Regarding the natural food material matsutake, there are a variety of cooking methods, such as cooking delicious soups together with seafood or meat, in order to highlight the rich fragrance of matsutake from the delicate soup, or directly roasting on the ovenware in order to get a fresh and tender taste; it can also be used to make dry fry, stuffing and sauces.

 
Photo shows the matsutakes just picked from forests, and the caps of those matsutake with better quality are still not opened, and their bodies are also stronger. [Photo/ China Tibet Online]

 
Photo shows that a Tibetan girl exhibits a matsutake delicacy on the "Third Nyingchi Matsutake Food and Tourism Cultural Festival" which kicked off on Aug. 16, 2013. [Photo/ China Tibet Online]  

 
Photo shows the elicacies made of Nyingchi Matsutake.[Photo/China Tibet Online] 
Photo shows a cuisine made of matsutake named "the charm of Basum Lake". Matsutake is the best condiments for cooks, since cuisines can be much more delicious with the participating of matsutake. [Photo/ China Tibet Online]  

Honey produced locally is another specialty from Nyingchi Prefecture, which became popular on electronic business platform as the second season of the documentary "A Bite of China" premiered in 2014.

In the first episode of "A Bite of China" (II), audiences' eyes were caught by the story of a Tibetan honey hunter Pema Dradul, who endeavored to gather wild honey after three-hour climbing of a 40-meter high tree without any protection measure but some vines. That became a good advertisement.

In Nyingchi areas, bee farmers move according to different flowering seasons, staying in a same nectar sources no more than 50 days. They chase pear flowers and plum flowers in March, peach blossoms in the midmonth of April, as well as apple blossoms and rape flowers in the end of April.

Bees prefer pure natural fragrance to flowers treated with pesticides, thus we would move to chase different wild flowers. Being a bee keeper, the most tiring thing is moving the bee farm from one place to another.

However, the hard work is rewarded. The preferred temperature for nectariferous plants flowering and producing honey is 16℃ to 30℃, on an altitude of 1,500 meters to 3,000 meters. The larger the temperature difference is, the more honey can be produced.

In Tibet thanks to the large temperature difference caused by the elevation difference, a stereoscopic nectar sources distribution has been formed, and produces high-quality natural honey. Butter mixed with honey is one of the cates loved by Tibetans, which has health care effect to human's internal organs.

 
Photo shows a screen capture from the second season of the documentary "A Bite of China", reflecting that a Tibetan young honey hunter climbs a 40-meter high tree with only some vines to gather wild honey. [Photo/ Baidu] 

 
Photo shows a screen capture from the second season of the documentary "A Bite of China", reflecting that a Tibetan young honey hunter climbs a 40-meter high tree with only some vines to gather wild honey. [Photo/ Baidu]  

 
Photo shows a screen capture from the second season of the documentary "A Bite of China", reflecting Tibetan cate, butter mixed with honey. [Photo/ Baidu]

 
Photo shows a screen capture from the second season of the documentary "A Bite of China", reflecting Tibetan cate, butter mixed with honey. [Photo/ Baidu] 

 
Photo shows a screen capture from the second season of the documentary "A Bite of China", reflecting Tibetan cate, butter mixed with honey. [Photo/ Baidu]