Travel taboos of various ethnic groups in China

Mongolian

The Mongolian people hate black and think black is an ominous color. In terms of diet, Mongolians avoid eating shrimp, crab, fish, seafood, etc.

Mongolians are taboo about others (including guests) dismounting at the entrance of the yurt or riding into the sheep, and they are taboo about entering the yurt with a riding whip. Guests are not allowed to enter the yurt without permission. They are not allowed to sit casually in the yurt, squat, or extend their legs toward the northwest or the stove. You are not allowed to step over the host's clothes, bedding, or pillows, you are not allowed to spit in the private room, and you are not allowed to step on the threshold when leaving the private room. Mongolians also taboo others using tobacco pouches, knives, scissors, chopsticks, etc. to point at their heads.

Tibetan people

Tibetans avoid eating fish, shrimp, mules, horses, donkeys, and dog meat; they generally prefer seafood. They do not eat poultry such as chickens, ducks, and geese. Because according to Tibetan tradition, animals with cloven hooves are eaten and other animals are regarded as evil. Chickens, ducks and geese have five claws, which is an odd number, so they are not eaten.

Tibetans regard Buddha statues, Buddhist offerings, scriptures in temples, bells and drums, and Buddhist beads worn by ordinary people as sacred objects and cannot be touched. They also tabooed cutting down trees, singing loudly, and fishing near the temple. In pastoral areas, men sit on the left side and women sit on the right side after entering the house. It is taboo to sit in a mixed manner. Lighting a fire at the door of the house, putting up red cloth strips, placing branches and standing the wooden pole upside down at the door means that someone in the family is sick or a woman is giving birth, and it is taboo for others to enter.

Among Tibetan people, sky burial is a relatively common form of burial. There are many taboos regarding sky burials, including taboos for strangers to watch.

Sky burials fill tourists with a sense of solemnity and mystery. Driven by curiosity and a sense of exploration, tourists want to see what is normal for people. However, tourists should fully realize the importance of respecting the customs and habits of ethnic minorities and do not go to sky burial sites to watch sky burials.

Miao Nationality

The Miao people are taboo with other ethnic groups calling them "Miaozi", but like their self-proclaimed "Meng". The Miao people in southeastern Guizhou and other areas cannot go to work within three days after the first spring thunder sounds at the beginning of spring.

The Miao people in western Hunan are taboo about picking excrement on the first and fifteenth day of each month in the lunar calendar.

The Miao people do not like to eat mutton and are taboo on eating dog meat. They are prohibited from killing or beating dogs. When eating glutinous rice cakes among the Miao people, you cannot eat them after dusting them. When playing with Miao people, do not tie them up with ropes or cloth tapes. The Miao people hang straw hats or place green leaves at the door, or when the Miao people hold weddings, funerals and other ceremonies, guests are not allowed to enter the house. When you meet newlyweds on the road, you cannot pass between them.

Li Nationality

The Hainan boat-shaped house is a traditional residential house of the Li nationality. If you want to visit the house or want to experience local folk customs and live in a boat-shaped house, remember to respect the customs of the Li people.

There are taboos in the boat-shaped house: you are not allowed to wear straw hats to enter the house, you are not allowed to whistle in the house, and you are not allowed to carry a hoe in the house. If many people are sick and the livestock is not prosperous, it is said that the house is "overcast" and "ghosts". "Occupy land" means moving and so on.

Dai Nationality

Xishuangbanna is the center of Theravada Buddhism in China. Therefore, most of the customs and taboos of the Dai people are related to Buddhism. When traveling to Xishuangbanna, you should pay attention to the following points: Encountering Dai people When worshiping the village god, be sure not to enter the village. Don't touch the little monk's head. You must take off your shoes when entering the temple. When entering a Dai people's home, you must not peek into the owner's bedroom, nor step over the tripod in the hall.

Zhuang

When a Zhuang family has a pregnant woman, a straw hat is hung on the door and outsiders are not allowed in. Neither family members nor guests are allowed to sit in the middle of the threshold; they are not allowed to walk into the home carrying a hoe or wearing a bamboo hat. On the second day of the second lunar month, the Emperor Longshan is worshipped. Trees in the mountain are not allowed to be cut down, and trees in the mountain are not allowed to be cut down, nor can one urinate or defecate in the mountain. When the Zhuang people pass tea to others, they should hold the cup with both hands and avoid serving with one hand. When picking up food, they should not pick and eat it back and forth.

Korean

Korean people don’t like to eat duck, mutton, and fatty pork. The elderly of the Korean ethnic group have a very high status, and their meals are usually made and eaten separately. If a father and his son sit at the same table, the son cannot smoke or drink in front of his father. It is taboo for Koreans to knock on the door. Visitors should call the host.

Uyghurs

The Uyghurs are most taboo about wearing shorts outdoors and cannot stretch their heads or feet or stretch their limbs flat when sleeping at night. When visiting a Uyghur home, do not wash dirty hands when washing your hands; wait until the elders are seated before sitting down; when eating rice, do not grab the whole plate or put the meat on the plate again; eat leftovers Don't throw the broken bones around, but put them on the tablecloth in front of you; don't step over the tablecloth or walk in front of the guests when going out to eat; don't spit in front of others when you are a guest.

Manchu

Manchu people are taboo about eating dog meat and do not wear dog-skin hats. When you are a guest in a Manchu home, you cannot just sit on the Western Kang.