Hainan Qingbuliang

Hainan Qingbuliang

　　　The days in Haikou during summer are long and hot, but once the sun sets, the temperature drops. With the cool breezes, one Qingbuliang stall after another gradually pops up under the coconut trees.   

　　Qingbuliang stalls in Hainan are typically set up by the road, with small tables and display windows, alongside insulated ice buckets, several sets of plastic chairs, and wooden tables. The small display windows of the stalls hold rows of plastic bowls. Customers can pick what they want to eat right in front of the stall—the quantity and variety are all up to them, or the owner can help choose and put the ingredients into the bowl. Then, he will fill the bowl with sugar syrup (or coconut milk), and finally top it off with a large piece of ice. If only sugar syrup is added, it’s regular Qingbuliang; if coconut milk is added, it becomes coconut milk Qingbuliang—refreshing and delicious either way!

　　Hainan Qingbuliang is a beloved, refreshing dessert that’s hugely popular across the tropical island of Hainan. It is primarily made with a variety of ingredients such as red beans (or mung beans), Job’s tears, peanuts, cellophane noodles, coconut flesh, red dates, watermelon cubes, pineapple cubes, quail eggs, grass jelly, coconut milk, and more, all combined into a cooling and thirst-quenching drink. A bowl of Qingbuliang is like a vibrant painting. Its colors are bold yet subtly elegant. Bright red watermelon, dark red dates, long wavy red cellophane noodles, milky-white and fluffy wood ear mushrooms, cute green mung beans, plump quail eggs… each ingredient adds a splash of lively color. It is rich in vitamins, gentle in nature, and offers benefits such as reducing internal heat, cooling down the body, clearing toxins, lubricating the intestines, strengthening the spleen, nourishing the lungs, reducing fat, and beautifying the skin. It tastes sweet without being cloying, smooth and soothing on the throat, cool and delicious. It is highly favored and praised by tourists from all over the country—who often find themselves wanting to have it again and again.