Nagqu Ethnic Culture

Nagqu is a prefecture-level city located in the northern part of Tibet – between Tanggula Mountains and Nyenchen Tangula Mountains. It borders Xinjiang & Qinghai Province in the north and Chamdo Prefecture in the east, adjoin Lhasa, Nyingchi, Shigatse in the south and Ngari in the west. Covering an area of 450,543 square kilometers, Nagqu is the largest prefecture in Tibet.

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.

Ethnic Groups

In the ancient and holy land of Nagqu, since ancient times, there have been 17 ethnic groups including Han, Tibetan, Hui, Salar, Uygur, Miao, Mongolian, Tujia and Yi. In the long-term common life, the people of all nationalities have established a deep friendship. Especially in recent years, children of all ethnic groups live in harmony, unite wisdom, and create a good situation for the development and stability of the Nagqu area, making an indelible contribution to regional economic and social development.

Monasteries in Nagqu

As a carrier of Buddhist culture, the temples and monasteries have far-reaching influence on the political, economic, educational, living and custom aspects of China. Through the temples and monasteries, we can see the vast history of Tibet, the splendid architecture, the extraordinary artistic achievements and the different traditional education. In the Tibetan area, from the south to the north, from the east to the west, from the city to the village, the temple is indispensable. The following is a list of some representative temples in Nagqu.

Ethnic Festivals

Various Tibetan festivals are celebrated in different ways in Nagqu. It is suggested to visit Nagqu during the festivals and enjoy the lively scenes with the local Tibetan people if time is free. Except for Tibetan New Year Festival, other festivals like Nagqu Horse Racing Festival are fun and attractive as well. 

The recommended tours including: