Hometown Park of Tu People in Huzhu

Chinese name: 互助土族故土园(Hu Zhu Tu Zu Gu Tu Yuan)
Location: Tu Autonomous County of Huzhu, Haidong City, Xining, Qinghai
Ticket: Entrance ticket CNY60.00
Estimated time of tour: 2hours
Recommended time of visit: all year round
Nearby attractions: Qinghai Museum, Ta’er Monastery, Qinghai Lake, Zhalong valley, Drum Tower, etc.

Hometown Park of Tu People in Huzhu is a unique tourism attraction dedicated to preserve and showcase the culture and history of a less known ethnic group: Tu. It locates in Huzhu County, the only county in China with Tu people as majority in population.

Tu people are one of the 56 officially recognized racial groups in China. A demographic census in 2010 showed that there are around 290000 people with Tu ethnicity, making Tu one of the least populated race in China. They mostly habitat in Qinghai and Gansu province. Their language is considered as a branch of Altai-Mongol languages, very similar to the ones used in nowadays Inner Mongolia. History books documented very little of Tu people as a result of lack of written language among them. In 1979, Chinese government created a written language for Tu people based on Roman letters and Chinese Pinyin.

There are varieties of versions in academic circles concerning the historical origin of the Tu. Many believe that Tu people originated from Mongul, descendant from Genghis Khan’s army.

Huzhu County locates in Haidong City, Qinghai. It is the only administrative body for the Tu People in China.

● Highlights of Hometown Park of Tu People in Huzhu

Rainbow Tribe Park

This is a themed park dedicated to demonstrate the unique history and intangible cultural heritage of Tu.

West Ethnic Culture Village

This village locates in Weiyuan town. It is a place built to showcase the unique culture of Tu people by exhibiting their architecture, costume, culinary, songs and dances. Here you can experience the very special Circle Banquet. It found its root during the rein of Mongols (Yuan Dynasty). Such banquet usually is held during Tu weddings or funerals to entertain attending relatives or friends. It is always in a circular layout (hence the name circle banquet) where people sit on dry grass in the middle of courtyard. Every member of Tu community could attend such banquet. This banquet, without hierarchy, is an important social event to strengthen ties between different Tu families and tribes.

Barley Wine Manor (Nadun Manor)

This manor highlights the unique culture of barley wine making of Tu people. For more than 1000 years, people on this land have been making barley wine. Weiyuan Town, Huzhu County is one of the most famous places of barley wine making. In this manor you will walk through the history and cultural importance of barley wine. 

Xiaozhuang Ethnic Village

Xiaozhuang Village in Weiyuan town is a natural village with 98% of its population is Tu people. Currently there are 157 households, 596 people among which 560 are Tu people. Guesthouses of Tu features are open to visitors.