When talking about traveling to Inner Mongolia, the endless green of the Hulunbuir Prairie will first come to mind. Many people have been to that East Mongolia route.

This time, I went to the relatively niche Simon Route and reached Hohhot and Ulanqab, the capital of Inner Mongolia.

It turns out that Inner Mongolia not only has flat grasslands, but also alpine meadows like Huitengxile, which subverted my subjective concept of Inner Mongolia.

This is really a great place to escape the heat! That night, I stayed in a yurt on the Huitengxile Grassland in Ulanqab. I didn't turn on the air conditioner at night, and I still felt a little cold even though I was covered with a thick quilt.

I went to a "Horse Fraud Banquet" that night, which I will never forget. It was an unusual experience, grand, luxurious and magnificent, with a strong sense of immersion.

The horse feast really has nothing to do with eating horse meat. Horse fraud, in Mongolian, refers to the whole animal with its hair removed.

Regarding the origin of the Horse Fake Banquet, according to the article "The Mongolian Horse Fake Banquet in History", it is briefly summarized as follows: The Horse Fake Banquet is the most solemn palace banquet of the ancient Mongolian people. An "Inner Court Banquet" that combines singing, dancing, games and competitions.

The horse banquet is said to have originated in the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, Genghis Khan entertained meritorious ministers in the form of a horse banquet.

It was the highest-level state banquet with the highest specifications, the largest scale, the longest duration, and the strongest national characteristics at that time. It contains profound historical and cultural heritage and can be called "the crown jewel of Inner Mongolia's food culture."

The Horse Feast on the Grassland was held in a huge yurt, with "Genghis Khan's Horse Feast" written on the door. When I entered, I was told that I had to change my clothes before entering. There were separate dressing rooms for men and women.

Everyone had changed into Mongolian clothes and wore Mongolian hats, and looked at each other, a little unrecognizable.

All the men are wearing navy blue clothes, and the women are wearing dark pink clothes, except for four of them. The two most distinguished men and the two most distinguished ladies, dressed in relatively grand fashion, acted as the Khan and the princess of this horse-racing banquet.

I accidentally acted as a princess and needed to sit in one of the four most important positions.

The entrance ceremony was also somewhat grand. The four of them waited for all the guests to take their seats, and the host said, "The Great Khan and the Princess are here for me." When the music started, the four of them could slowly take their seats.

Where to sit at the horse fraud banquet is very particular. The Great Khan sat on the "Seven Treasures Cloud, Dragon, and Yutai" on the high platform in the tent. The rest were seated according to their dignity: the middle one was the most respected, the right one was the next, and the left one was the bottom one.

In front of me, there are all kinds of snacks. Various Mongolian specialty snacks: Mongolian dumplings, butter puff pastry, Urimo, Chagan Hurda, Daigo, milk sticks, fried rice, etc.

The furnishings in the yurt, the style of furniture, the calligraphy and paintings on the walls, and the clothes of the service staff all closely refer to the word "ancient", making you feel like you are in a time-travel drama.

There are four main types of drinks at the Horse Feast: milk tea, kumiss, wine, and liquor. Mineral water, local yogurt, etc. are also placed on my table.

The banquet that night was a supreme banquet, suitable for a high-end banquet of 25 people, and was conducted in the style of a separate table in the Mongolian palace. It is said that there is also an auspicious horse scamming banquet attended by more than 100 people, and it is equipped with a golden-topped whole cow.

The master of ceremonies began to recite in Mongolian: "The highest in the sky, rules all living things, shines brightly across the continent, and bestows hundreds of officials with thousands of positions in all directions..."

According to legend in history , the real horse-racing banquet is divided into seven important processes, mainly: 1. Welcome guests in the golden tent. Second, thousands of officials and grandchildren. Third, the kings enter the banquet. Fourth, pray for blessings and good fortune. Five, royal delicacies. Sixth, the Khan gives blessings. Seven, feast and say goodbye.

However, the modern horse racing banquet lacks many procedures, but it is still very grand. Whether they are waiters or performers, the costumes they wear and every move they make are quite spot on.

The Mongolians believe that all food and drink are gifts from the ancestors of heaven and earth to mankind, so everyone must perform a satsa ceremony to express their gratitude before enjoying food and drink.

The so-called Sacha ceremony refers to a kind of etiquette and custom of offering sacrifices to the ancestors of heaven and earth before eating food and drink. It is one of the important etiquette and customs in Mongolian food culture.

The specific operation process of the Sacha ceremony is: first, offer the sky, then offer the earth, and then offer the ancestors. Tourists who acted as the Great Khan, and under the explanation of the host, everyone completed the Sacha ceremony together.

"The Great Khan" also said a few words, to the effect that all generals have worked hard, and there is a banquet here today, so everyone can toast and drink.

The Mongolian people have been good at singing and dancing since ancient times, and the Horse Feast is always accompanied by singing and dancing. This is also a feast of original Mongolian music.

Compared with the food, what attracts me is these wonderful performances. The melodious sound of the morin fiddle and the natural sound of "Khumai" are played one after another.

The atmosphere was very lively and there were rounds of applause during the performance.

Waiters dressed in Mongolian costumes served dishes one after another between performances.

The most exciting part of the horse-racing feast is the fragrant roasted whole lamb tied with red silk being ceremoniously brought up.

According to the "Mongolian Customs Record", the most expensive meals in the horse feast are whole cattle and whole sheep. It’s really hard to imagine what it would be like to have a whole cow pushed up?

The four guests sitting in the most distinguished seats were invited to go to the roasted lamb. The "Great Khan" made a cross on the lamb's back with a knife, and then cut the first piece of lamb and fed it to them. princess.

After the ceremony, the roasted whole lamb was pushed down and divided into small pieces for everyone to enjoy.

My princess look was like this that day, and I couldn’t even recognize myself.

After the performance, you can also request songs for 100 yuan each, and the singing never stops in the yurt.

The entire horse-stealing feast lasted for two hours, and the essence of Mongolian national food culture was fully displayed, which was endlessly memorable.

The Horse Fake Banquet is not only a banquet or a single food culture, but also a national cultural heritage that integrates food, etiquette, clothing, music, and dance.

Grassland Feast - Horse Fraud Feast, if you come to Ulanqab Huitengxile Grassland, you must experience it.

Tips:

1. Currently, there is a horse racing banquet in the Huitengxile Scenic Area, with a discounted price of 298 yuan/person.

2. Advance booking is required , single reservation is available

3. The time is around 19:00-21:00 in the evening