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 The
Dai people eat rice as a staple food, but love
sour and hot foods. In addition to beef, chicken
and duck, they enjoy fish and shrimp. Some of
the most popular vegetables among the Dai are
cabbage, carrots, bamboo shoots, and beans.
The Dai also love wine, liquor and betel nuts.
The Dai live in Xishuangbanna ("the beautiful,
ideal wonderland"), and they have a legend
surrounding the discovery of this "wonderland."
Long ago, Pyalawu, the Dai chieftain, led hunters
into a forest where he found a gold-colored
deer. The deer, wounded, fled from the group.
They followed the deer over 9,999 mountains
and 9,999 rivers. The deer then plunged into
a lake and disappeared. Lotus flowers with a
delightful fragrance bloomed in its wake. The
petals on each lotus flower numbered 1,000.
Here they settled in the beautiful, ideal wonderland
known as Xishuangbanna.
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