The Tu Nationality mainly concentrated in Qinghai Province and Gansu Province. They speak the Tu language which belongs to the Mongolian branch of the Altaic language family. The Tu are good at dancing and singing. When you study in China, you will have a better chance to get to know the Tu ethnic minority better. They are also know for their folk embroidery with designs like “five petal plum”, “cloud flower” and so on.

1. Religion and Belief
The Tu people used to believe in the polytheism. Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, they turned to believe in Buddhism, hut some believed in Shamanism, Taoism and Ben religion. Shamanism is a primitive religion which believes in animism and immortality. The ancient Tus believed in Shamanism when they were in Eastern Liaoning. Even today we can find some Shamanist customs in their life. their major religious activities include offering sacrifices at Mongolian cairn, worshiping White Tiger, and selecting the Sacred Sheep. The Ben religion was a primitive religion prevailing in Tibet in ancient times, which believes in all the gods and deities of heaven, earth, forest, mountain, water and lake, and lays stress on sacrificial offering, execration and divination. The religion was spread to the Tu area in the 8th century, and lost its prominence in th 14th century. Now there are only a few religions men in the appreciation of the imperial government, Sakyapa Buddhism were widely spread in the Tu area, where a number of Buddhist temples were set up in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

2. Eating
The Tu people mainly feed on highland barley, wheat and potato and make a dozen kinds of vegetables like radish, Chinese cabbage and lettuce. In their daily life, they have Chinese sauerkraut, with meat as supplement. They like milk tea and parched buttered flour. On happy occasions they make varieties of fried foods and handpicked pork or mutton, and during festivals, they like to have fried foods like “baoshizai”, “pansai” and “sanzi”. The most fastidious Tu food is the five-course wedding banquet: the first course is buttered milk tea and twisted rolls; the 2nd deep fried doughnuts and twists, rib beef and “youcha”; the 3rd oil, sugar and oily steamed dumplings; the 4th “naaren”; and the 5th hand-made noodles. Tu people enjoy drinking and most households brew barley beer at home. As a traditional custom, hospitality is well represented in the custom to offer three cups for guests. The host waits at the gate with cups and kettle in hands and offers three cups of liquor when the quest gets off the horse or cart and offers three cups as well when the guest departs.

3. The Nadun Festival
The Nadun Festival is a time of socialization and entertainment for the Tu people to celebrate a good harvest. Starting at the end of summer harvest, the festival lasts for about two months till the arrival of autumn. It is considered as “the longest carnival in the world”. The annual festival consists of collective activities organized the activities, with one as host village and the other as guest village. People line up like a long dragon, carrying colorful banners and beating drums and gongs. The festival starts with the arrival of the procession at the threshing ground when 40 to 50 people begin with the large scale dancing performance. In the dancing matrix, first come to the senior citizens in their long gowns with fans in hands, who are usually organizers of the festival and successors of the Nadun dancing, followed by young people with colorful banners and children with willow twigs. Simple as the dancing acts are, the performance if beautiful and forms a spectacular scene with well-ordered steps, harmonious jumping, accompanied bu the rhythmic sounds of drums and gongs. The festival is an important cultural and entertainment occasion in which people visit their friends and relatives, and exchange their experience of life and production. To the young people aware of love, the festival provides a time and occasion to find their life’s companion.