Ethnic Culture of Chengguan District of Lhasa

In 2000, the Chengguan District has a population of around 170,000. Official statistics of the metropolitan area report that 70 percent are Tibetan, 34.3 are Han, and the remaining 2.7 Hui, though outside observers suspect that non-Tibetans account for some 50–70 percent. Among the Han immigrants, Chengguan District(Lhasa) is known as ‘Little Sichuan’. Tibetan nationality mainly live in Tibet Autonomous Region in southeast China, and neighboring provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan. Tibetan people have their own spoken and written language. Tibetan areas are rich in natural resources, and Tibetan people mainly live on farming and stock raising. Most Tibetans are devout Buddhists, and observe Tibetan Buddhism. Lamaseries spread all over Tibetan areas, and exhibit the rich culture and superb construction skill of Tibetans. 

Customs

Presenting hada is a kind of very common courtesy in Tibet. Presenting hada is to show purity, loyalty, faithfulness and respect to the receivers. Even when people correspond with each other, they won’t forget Hada. They always enclose a mini Hada in the letter for greeting and expressing good wishes. What’s more interesting is that when Tibetans go out they tend to take several Hadas with them in case that they may give them to friends and relatives they encounter in the journey. Buddhist believers must recite or chant Buddhism scriptures very often. For illiterate people, what they can do is to turn prayer wheels, with scriptures inside. Turning the prayer wheel is equivalent to chanting some scriptures and it has become routine work for Tibetan people.

Festivals

There are many different Tibetan festivals making up our list of Chengguan District(Lhasa) festivals and events. Tibetan New Year, the Shoton Festival and the Thangka Festival, when a giant Buddha painting unfurled, are the highlights. Other festivals are associated with Buddhist monasteries and local traditions and customs. Chengguan District(Lhasa) is center of all things Tibetan, so a Lhasa tour, especially one including a minority festival, is the ideal way to experience the culture of Tibet. More about Festivals of Chengguan District. 

Dining

While a little limited in ingredient options due to the harsh climate, its rather high altitude, very religious belief and ethnic customs endow the traditional Tibetan food with many unique characters which will offer your palate a rare and comforting treat. To resist the severe weather of the high attitudes, Tibetan cuisines mainly focus on a variety of high-calorie ingredients such as beef, mutton, yak meat, and dairy products. Fish is seldom served for the religious reasons. Regarding culinary practices, Tibetan cuisine enjoys a heavy influence of Chinese cuisine, neighboring Indian and Nepalese cuisine, as well as its nomadic lifestyle. More about Dining in Chengguan District.

Hand-made Crafts

These traditional crafts are made from a variety of things including precious metals, natural materials and so on. Silver and copper are precious metals and natural materials are bamboo, wood and even bones. Tibetan handicrafts are very popular in the whole world. The crafts include Tibetan rugs, masks, daggers and conch shell trumpets and carpets and textiles.