Nai zha: the tangy curd left over from Tibetan butter-making
Markets in Shangri-La town
Herding families around Shangri-La churn their milk for butter, then heat the sour whey that's left until white curds separate out. Drained in small bamboo baskets and sometimes smoked over the stove, the curds become nai zha: soft and mildly sour when fresh, pebble-hard once dried. Families bring it down from the pastures with their butter, and both are sold at the markets in town.
What locals sayOlder Tibetans chew the hard pieces like sweets, while visitors trying them for the first time say they need a long, patient chew.
- Time
- 15 min · on a market visit
- In Chinese
- 奶渣
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Based on what locals and regular visitors share, checked against current sources · Updated September 2026. Details change — check opening times locally.
