Tu

族About this people

The Tu people live in the Yellow River tributary valleys of eastern Qinghai, primarily in Huzhu Tu Autonomous County and the adjacent counties of Minhe, Datong, and Tongren (Rebgong). Their Mongolic language (sometimes called Monguor or White Mongol) reflects a historical connection with Mongolian pastoral groups that settled the region during the Yuan dynasty and blended with earlier Tibetan and Chinese populations.

The Tu are noted for their vivid material culture. Women's traditional dress incorporates wide sleeves banded in rainbow-coloured stripes — a feature so distinctive that one romanised form of the group's name, Monguor, is sometimes glossed as "rainbow-sleeve people." Embroidery (panzhi) is a central female craft, with intricate floral and geometric motifs worked in silk thread on collars, sleeves, shoe soles, and household items.

Religious life centres on Tibetan Buddhism in the Gelug school: the Youning Monastery (Guanghui Monastery) in Huzhu County is a major religious and artistic centre where Tibetan-style thangka painting and butter sculpture are practised alongside Chinese folk art influences. Tu festivals combine Buddhist ceremony with folk dances, including the distinctive wheel dance (lunzi wu) performed by women in rainbow-sleeved dress. The autumn Nadun festival, a harvest celebration combining Buddhist rituals with theatrical performances, is a major community event recognised as intangible cultural heritage.