PEOPLE from the bustling city hubbub may find peace, fresh air, and idyllic surroundings on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in western China. There, the blue sky, fluffy white clouds, and green vista of mountains, forests and grasslands, as well as the local ethnic groups who live harmoniously with nature, provide a sanctuary from the relentless city treadmill.

Huzhu Tu Autonomous County in northeastern Qinghai Province is China's sole Tu ethnic group autonomous county, where 70,000 Tu people live. Its unique natural scenery and folklore have made the county a main sightseeing, folklore, and flora and fauna tour destination.

The Tu people were formerly a hunter-gatherer nomadic people. Their ancestors established the Tuyuhun Kingdom, which ruled for 300 years in the pastoral areas of Qinghai and Gansu. When the kingdom collapsed in the middle of the seventh century, its citizens stayed around Hehuang in Qinghai and intermingled with the Mongolian, Han, Tibetan and other ethnic groups to form a new ethnic group -- the Tu. In the following thousand years, the Tu people gradually discarded their nomadic way of life and settled down to farming.

Home of the Rainbow

The Tu people are known as the "rainbow people," and their homeland is referred to as "home of the rainbow." The Tu people worship nature and have a special affinity for the rainbow, which is reflected in their clothing and headgear. The sleeves of garments worn by young women are typically decorated with a pattern of five-color stripes -- red, yellow, green, blue and white. Within their culture, red represents the sun and happiness; yellow, the earth and harvests; green, crops and hope; blue, the sea and peace; and white, sheep, cattle and luck.

Transportation to the county is convenient. Weiyuan, the county seat, is 30 kilometers north of Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, and a bell and drum tower, built 377 years ago during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), stands in the town center. Most tourist sites in the county are located around Weiyuan Town.

Driving along the Pingda Highway from Weiyuan, there are several attractive tour choices. On travelling 14 kilometers westward, the Five Peak Temple, with its hills, waterfalls, and dense woods shading a wealth of towers, pavilions and other elegant structures springs into view. A farther 15 kilometers north is the Nanmenxia Scenic Area, with its alpine lake surrounded by pine forests, vast golden stretches of rape fields, flocks of sheep, and herds of cattle. On turning 30 kilometers eastward, one can visit the Youning Monastery, which at its zenith housed more than 7,000 monks, and enjoy the splendor of its magnificent halls and exquisitely painted architecture.

Besides being home to the Tu people, Huzhu County is also inhabited by other ethnic groups, such as the Han, Tibetans and Hui. Their different cultural and historic background has left the county a heritage of diverse religions and religious sites, including Buddhism, Lamaism, Islam, Catholicism and Taoism.

Seventy kilometers north of the county seat is the Beishan National Forest Park, which boasts a 113,000-hectare forest, the largest in Qinghai Province. The park has dozens of scenic spots, encompassing wonders and spectacles created by nature, and the change of seasons. The Greater and Lesser Hule Heavenly Lakes at the mountain summit, 3,700 meters above sea level, are perhaps the most impressive introduction to this scenic area. Apart from its scenic attractions, the park is also a flora and fauna paradise and has over 1,000 plant species, the largest collection in Qinghai Province.

Wedding Folklore

Visitors to the county may witness a reenactment of a Tu-style wedding, which includes standard formalities, such as fetching and seeing off the bride, and grandiose ceremonies -- the wedding and the wedding banquet.

On the evening prior to the wedding day, friends and relatives of the bridegroom, who are either eloquent in speech or good singers and dancers, will come to fetch the bride. At the entrance to the village where the bride and her family reside, the party will be greeted by mischief from tyoung women of the village, who will do their best to irritate them. After eventually arriving at the bride's home and sitting down to dinner, the bridegroom's family and friends continue to be pestered by strange questions from the same group of mischievous girls. All this harassment is intended to win the bride status in her husband's household, and no matter how irritated they may become the visitors must on no account lose their good humor. After dinner, the visitors and the girls dance together in the courtyard. Early the next morning, the bride dresses her hair and puts on her wedding dress. Before she mounts her horse, the village girls sing a wistful song to her, indicating their sadness at her departure. The bride then sings a song to thank her parents for bearing her and bringing her up, and to her relatives for their care and love. On arriving at the bridegroom's home she is welcomed into a festive atmosphere. After the couple has paid due respect to heaven, the earth, and their honored guests, the banquet begins, to the accompaniment of singing rituals. The entire event reflects the Tu people's love of life, their impish wit, and innate talent for singing and dancing.

The Wheel Swing and the Anzhao Dance

The Wheel Swing originates from a pastime that started on the threshing ground, when the Tu people would hoist up a cart-wheel, spin it, and swing on it for enjoyment. With the passage of time, the standard wheel swing, originally made from a rough wooden wheel and suspended with ox hair rope, has evolved into an exquisitely made and colorfully decorated folk pastime artifact, and has graduated from the threshing ground into the city. The Wheel Swing has been a feature at the China Traditional Ethnic Minority Sports Meet five times, and has won several prizes. It aroused broad interest on being part of a performance at the China Folk Art Festival in Hong Kong.

The Anzhao Dance is the oldest and most representative dance of the Tu people, reflecting the nomadic way of life, and wars and struggles of their ancestors. A performance of this dance presents a vivid image of the ancient Tu people, as they danced around a yurt or a bonfire in celebration of a battle victory, a harvest, or a wedding. The dance may be either slow or fast, relaxed or animated, and the accompanying songs express the Tu people's philosophy on life, and their sincere welcome to their guests.

Many of the dance movements have special significance. Bending the body to face the earth expresses the Tu people's worship of the land, while reaching up with their hands represents their reverence for heaven, and their outstretched arms are to show their sincerity towards friends. The Anzhao Dance and the Wheel Swing are often performed together, when people dance around in a circle within which the wheel is set spinning.

The Folklore Village and Highland Barley Liquor

The Huzhu Folklore Village in the western suburbs of the county seat is 6.3 square kilometers in size and represents the folk lifestyle of the Tu, Tibetan, Hui and Han people. It features natural scenery, gardening art, a folklore exhibition and demonstration, local snacks, and entertainment. The county has more than 10 folklore villages that provide colorful tents and log cabins for tourists, who come all year round to enjoy singing, dancing and general merrymaking with the locals.

Among the recreational activities available, drinking is the most popular way of expressing friendship. The Tu villagers are very hospitable, and it is their custom to offer highland barley liquor to their guests and visitors. Three is their lucky number, so when greeting and seeing off their guests, they offer them three cups of liquor.

The Tu people are justly proud of their highland barley liquor. The quality of the local groundwater, with which the liquor is made, gives it a superb taste. As early as the Ming Dynasty, the highland barley liquor of Weiyuan Town established its reputation throughout northwestern China. Today the Qinghai Highland Barley Distillery has developed from a small workshop to a big enterprise producing a Huzhu brand series, using highland barley, a crop unique to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, as its main ingredient. The distillery has maintained the traditional fermenting and distilling techniques and combined them with modern technology to introduce natural tonic plants into its products. Weiyuan Town is now China's largest highland barley liquor producer.

Today the distillery is a tour highlight, in which visitors can observe the whole process of distillation. Anyone going to the Tu community should take every opportunity to taste and savor its highland barley spirit.

BY WA SHIDE and MO ZICAI work in the Publicity Department of Huzhu Tu Autonomous County, Qinghai Province.