Yushu Culture

Most people in Yushu are Tibetans, who have different culture worthy of experiencing. For example, Tibetans’ costumes, dwellings, singing and dancing.

Tibetan Costume and Ornaments

The men's robes are trimmed with the leather of the tiger and the leopard to show bravery. Women's robes are more luxurious and gorgeous. Trimmed with high-quality otter leather, the edge of the decoration of a robe is very wide, especially the lower hem, which can be more than 0.3 meter wide or more.

Tibetan Dwellings

Yushu Tibetan houses are generally 2 to 3 floors of buildings, the plane is square. Many buildings rely on the mountain and stones are used to build walls. Walls do not need stakes inside, but they can be built glossy and orderly. Often dozens of households occupy a row of buildings and they are like ancient castles.

Tibetan Marriage Customs

Any person who has a father or maternal blood relationship shall be prohibited from intermarriage. Most Tibetan families in Yushu are small families with small population. There are very few extended families with several generations or cousins and sisters-in-law. Single men and women socialize freely, generally there are no parents arranging marriage. Divination is the first step of marriage. The dowry depends on family circumstances. The rich often send expensive clothing, jewelry, a large number of land, cattle and sheep, while the poor send sewing new clothes.

Celestial Burial

Celestial burial is a burial custom practiced by ordinary Tibetans. According to the funeral procedures of Tibetan Buddhism, they recite the sutra and then send the body to the celestial burial platform to be eaten by vultures after being decomposed by celestial burial masters.

Folk Singing and Dancing

Yushu has always been known as the "hometown of singing and dancing". There is a saying in Yushu: "If you can talk, you can sing; if you can walk, you can dance". Singing and dancing are an integral part of Tibetan life in Yushu. Yushu folk song and dance is an art form of collective participation and have extremely high artistic and research value of folk custom.