Qinghe is the first region in Where Winds Meet, and it quietly does something important: it teaches you the game’s obsession with cats. There are two different cat systems here that often get blurred together:
- Cat Plays – static cat NPCs you simply walk up to and pet.
- Meow Meows – magical cats that give you timed challenges and puzzles.
Both feed into exploration progression and cosmetic rewards, but they live in slightly different parts of the map and UI. Qinghe is where you first meet both.
Qinghe static Cat Plays: every known kitten location
Cat Plays are the straightforward ones: there’s no timer, no puzzle, just a cat waiting to be pet. Petting them counts toward Sentient Being exploration and grants Area Exploration rewards.
| Kitten | Subregion | Landmark | How to find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daylily | Bamboo Abode | Northern Bamboo Grove boundary stone | Head southeast from the Northern Bamboo Grove boundary stone; the cat sits by a cliff between two small wooden bridges. |
| Rainbowback | Battlecrest Slope | Oddity Collector | From the Oddity Collector, walk directly south to a small shed; the kitten is inside. |
| Cloudlump | Battlecrest Slope | Northern Vow Ruins | Move west from Northern Vow Ruins toward a makeshift cooking area; Cloudlump is lying near the cooking spot. |
| Bighead | General's Shrine | Shrine compound (back entrance) | Use the rear entrance of the General’s Shrine compound; Bighead waits just outside by the back door. |
| Shadowthief | General's Shrine | Shrine compound (interior) | Start from the same back entrance, then move through the compound into a smaller inner building; the cat is tucked into a corner. |
| Patchwork | Stonewash Strand | Stonewash Strand boundary stone | Stand at the Stonewash Strand boundary stone and scan nearby roofs and alleys; Patchwork is very close to the marker. |
| Petal Cyclone | Heaven's Pier | Moonveil Mountain Wayfarer | Find the Moonveil Mountain Wayfarer at Heaven’s Pier and look to the immediate right; the kitten naps beside the path. |
| Silent Drum | Heaven's Pier | Docks | Walk the wooden docks until the end corner on one pier; Silent Drum curls up right against the rail. |
| Twin Tufts | Heaven's Pier | General Shop Merchant | Locate the General Shop Merchant in Heaven’s Pier; Twin Tufts is seated right next to the stall. |
Each of these kittens is a one-tap interaction. No special skills or stats are required; they exist mainly to pad out exploration progression and to give you a small, low-friction reward loop while you move between more complex content.
How Cat Plays feed into exploration rewards
Every completed Cat Play contributes to the Sentient Beings category in Qinghe’s exploration system. The game tracks these as part of Area Exploration and awards:
- Area Exploration points – filling the Qinghe bar toward chests and unique rewards.
- Exploration Attribute – a small permanent bump to one of your exploration-related stats.
Cat Plays sit alongside Boundary Stones, Oddity Collections, Meow Meows, and other Sentient Beings, so you never need to chase them in isolation. If you are short on Explorer Skills that explicitly ask you to “pet cats,” though, these nine Qinghe Cat Plays are guaranteed, static progress.
Meow Meows in Qinghe: how the challenge cats differ
Meow Meows are where Qinghe’s cats start behaving more like content than scenery. These magical cats offer four main kinds of activities across the region:
- Will-o’-the-Wisp Collection – timed runs through rings of blue wisps.
- Puzzle interactions – environmental logic challenges that hinge on simple observations or unlocked skills.
- Unstoppable Bamboocut – time-limited bamboo chopping tasks.
- Cat Chases – aerial chases that briefly loan you Lightness Skills.
Clearing these Meow Meows earns Bells (spent at the Meow Meow Temple shop), Echo Jade, coins, experience, and Qinghe Exploration points. Some puzzles also award Erudition or mystic skills, which makes them quietly important for character growth.
Will-o’-the-Wisp Meow Meows in Qinghe
Will-o’-the-Wisp tasks follow a simple pattern: touch the red sword hilt to start, then sprint along a route collecting a minimum number of blue wisps before the timer expires. Extra wisps on the path mean you can miss a few without restarting. Qinghe has fourteen of these.
| Meow Meow # | Location | Wisps required | Core idea |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Bamboo Abode | 11 | Simple ground route that loops around a small hill. |
| #2 | Bamboo Abode | 6 | Short sprint over elevated planks; minimal jumping. |
| #3 | Bamboo Abode | 7 | Mixed terrain run that nudges you into light parkour. |
| #4 | Stonewash Strand | 16 | Long shoreline route with generous time and density. |
| #5 | Starfall Spring | 6 | Compact loop around rock outcrops near the water. |
| #6 | Crimson Cliffs | 12 | Cliffside run that uses ledges and vertical changes. |
| #7 | Crimson Cliffs | 8 | Shorter variant focused on quick cornering. |
| #8 | Peace Bell Tower | 8 | Loops around the tower platforms and stairways. |
| #9 | Sage's Knoll | 7 | Gentle hillside run threading between trees. |
| #10 | Sage's Knoll | 12 | Extended version that circles the knoll and nearby paths. |
| #11 | Twinbeast Ridge | 13 | Ridge-top course with moderate jumps and narrow walkways. |
| #12 | Twinbeast Ridge | 14 | Longer ridge run, pushing camera control and precision. |
| #13 | Kilnfire Ridge | 12 | Route weaving between rock pillars and slopes. |
| #14 | Riverside Station | 9 | Run across docks and riverbanks near the station. |
All Will-o’-the-Wisp runs in Qinghe are tuned with generous timers. The game often lets you fall into the water or miss a small jump and still finish with seconds to spare, as long as you keep moving forward along the wisp line.
Qinghe Meow Meow puzzles: statues, fireflies, and skills
Puzzle Meow Meows are the slower, observational counterpart to the sprint-focused wisps. In each case, the cat waits near an arrangement of statues, plants, or NPCs, and the solution usually emerges from a single obvious clue or nearby object you can “Investigate.”
| Meow Meow # | Location | What to do | Key notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| #15 | General's Shrine | Pick up the missing small statue and place it in the empty slot opposite the others. | The movable statue sits near a Buddha; walk close until the “lift up” prompt appears. |
| #16 | Stonewash Strand | Rotate two statues until they face one another. | A nearby standing stone spells out the correct orientation; each interaction turns a statue. |
| #17 | Crimson Cliffs | Collect fireflies, unlock the Mystic Skill “Glow of Fireflies,” then use it on wilted plants. | The final plant to heal is on a wooden bridge above the main patch. |
| #18 | Kilnfire Ridge | Strike four statues with the specific attacks they request so they all face toward the center. | Each statue explains its requirement when investigated; some attacks rely on the Shadow Step ability. |
| #19 | Sage's Knoll | Use the Meridian Touch skill on a group of cats. | If Meridian Touch is locked, find Yan Qiren in Stonewash Strand and complete his side quest first. |
| #20 | Twinbeast Ridge | Turn nearby statues so they face a particular tree next to the clue stone. | The standing stone message points to the correct target tree. |
| #21 | Twinbeast Ridge | Switch off the lit lamp and switch on the lamp at the back of the room. | The Tasting Ledger on the table hints that the lights are “wrong” and need reversing. |
| #22 | Witherwilds | Collect small statues scattered nearby and place each in front of a corresponding large statue with a lit fire. | Wind Sense, unlocked in the Talents menu, highlights the minis if you struggle to spot them. |
| #23 | Witherwilds | Use Celestial Seize to clear poisonous plants around an Herb Gatherer. | Celestial Seize comes from the “Foul Play” side quest in Heaven’s Pier; trying to pull the plants by hand drains your health quickly. |
| #24 | Riverside Station | Talk down a Grave Robber using the Gift of Gab system to free the cat. | Speaking to the Grave Robber kicks off a short argument-style interaction. |
| #25 | Still Shore | Give the cat a fish. | If there’s no fish in your inventory, fish nearby or buy one from the vendor opposite. |
Several of these puzzles gate on Mystic Skills or Talents you might not have slotted yet. If a prompt mentions a named skill (Meridian Touch, Celestial Seize, Shadow Step, Wind Sense), the solution is never to brute force it; the intended answer is to unlock or equip that ability first, then return.
Unstoppable Bamboocut in Qinghe
Bamboo challenges are the most straightforward of the Meow Meow assignments. A sword hilt near a bamboo grove starts a countdown and asks for a fixed number of stalks to be cut before it runs out. Any weapon you have equipped is valid.
| Meow Meow # | Location | Bamboo required | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| #26 | Bamboo Abode | 15 | Dense, small grove; wide swings cut several stalks at once. |
| #27 | Peace Bell Tower | 15 | Scattered clusters around the tower base. |
| #28 | Twinbeast Ridge | 25 | Largest requirement in Qinghe, but compensated by thick bamboo density. |
| #29 | Blissful Retreat | 15 | Short, tight grove near the retreat building. |
Cooldowns and attack strings matter less here than basic positioning: sprint into the heart of a cluster, then mash simple horizontal attacks to slice multiple stalks per swing. The timers are generous, and the game lets you retry immediately if you come up short.
Cat Chases and borrowed Lightness Skills
The final two Qinghe Meow Meows flip the formula again. Instead of you activating a sword or statue, the cat runs, and you chase.
| Meow Meow # | Location | Goal | Movement detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| #30 | Crimson Cliffs | Catch the fleeing cat before the timer ends. | Pass through a white, smoky circle and jump to trigger a temporary flight-style Lightness Skill. |
| #31 | Witherwilds | Catch the cat using aerial mobility. | Same smoke-ring mechanic, with a slightly different route and elevation changes. |
These chases are effectively a taste of the game’s full Lightness Skills. A white circle boosts you into the air; each time the skill gauge refills, another press of your jump button extends your glide, letting you steer toward paw-print markers in the sky. Even if you don’t yet own a permanent flight skill, these Meow Meows loan it long enough to close the gap.
How Qinghe’s cats tie into the Meow Meow Temple
Every completed Meow Meow activity pays out Bells on top of the usual exploration currency. Those Bells are the only way into the Meow Meow Temple shop, a dedicated storefront run by the cats themselves. Reaching the temple for the first time comes naturally if you follow early Meow Meows around Qinghe; once there, you can trade Bells for:
- Cosmetic items like masks or avatar pieces.
- Boxes that bundle coins or other resources.
- Occasional utility items that save grind elsewhere.
Because Qinghe alone contains thirty-one Meow Meow quests across wisps, bamboo cuts, puzzles, and chases, it’s possible to walk into Kaifeng with a healthy Bell stockpile and a head start on cosmetic unlocks, just by finishing everything the cats ask of you in the opening region.
If exploration skills or achievements demand that you “pet more cats,” treat the region as two overlapping checklists: nine static Cat Plays and thirty-one Meow Meows. Clearing both sets in Qinghe sets you up well for the heavier expectations waiting in Kaifeng and beyond.
