Located in the old city of Lhasa, Bakuo Street has a history of more than 1300 years. In July 2021, when General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Tibet, he walked to check the style and features of Bakuo Street, walked into the specialty stores, and asked about the development of tourism and cultural innovation industry, inheritance and protection of Tibetan culture, etc. The General Secretary said with emotion, "The thousand year Bakuo Street is a Bakuo Street built by all our ethnic groups. The cultures of all ethnic groups are exchanged and mingled here, and our Chinese family is happy here."
A corner of Baguo Street in Lhasa. Photographed by Li Haixia on People's Daily Online
Around the ancient city of Baguo in Lhasa, there are many Tibetan clothing stores. Photographed by Li Haixia on People's Daily Online
Change: Tibetan clothing store becomes a window for spreading national culture
After entering the peak tourist season, tourists from all over the world come to the ancient city of Bakuo in Lhasa to enjoy the folk culture, and the Duogoucang store on Bakuo Street has become a necessary online red card punching shop. "I saw in the news that the General Secretary came to your store, so he came here specially and wanted to buy a Tibetan costume as a souvenir. Boss, would you please help me see which one is suitable?" Ms. Wu from the Northeast said while selecting clothes.
The store's Tibetan costumes of different styles and colors are arranged in order. The owner Zhuoma is busy greeting guests, and she always has a smile on her face. "There are two kinds of Tibetan clothing here: ready-made clothes and customized clothes. Tourists prefer to buy ready-made clothes because they are more convenient. They used to be one size fits all, but now they have different sizes to meet different needs of everyone. From shirts to gowns, the price ranges from tens to hundreds of yuan. Locals usually come to the store to customize them during the holidays, and the price is relatively high." Zhuoma said, "In the peak season, there are a lot of tourists, with a monthly income of 30000 to 40000."
Customers are choosing clothes in Zhuoma's Tibetan clothing store. Photographed by Li Haixia on People's Daily Online
Recently, Zhuoma also played dithering to introduce Tibetan costumes online. "Generally, when there are no customers in the morning, I will take some videos and send them to the Internet to let more people know how to wear our hidden clothes and what kinds of clothes we have. I don't bring goods with me, and the business in the store is very busy, so I can't pay attention to them."
As the videos and content introductions are becoming more and more "popular", Zhuoma, a clothing store, has become a window to spread national culture. "Someone came to the store to watch my video," Zhuoma said happily.
Inheritance: display national culture through Tibetan costumes
Dan Zeng Zhuoma is the daughter of the shopkeeper Zhuoma. She just returned to Lhasa from Fujian after the college entrance examination to help her watch the shop at home. "The words of the General Secretary have always been remembered by our family. It is our mission to promote national culture. In the past, people came to buy and then left. Now everyone will ask a lot of questions, and I am very patient to answer them." When introducing his own Tibetan clothing and talking about the national culture in his heart, once Zhuoma appeared more calm and confident than a year ago.
Confidence is not only reflected in her words, but also in the number of times she wears Tibetan clothes. "In the past, there were few opportunities to wear Tibetan clothes in school, usually during artistic performances. Now I often wear Tibetan clothes. Teachers and classmates will ask me a lot of questions about Tibetan clothes, such as the classification of Tibetan clothes and how to wear different styles. Everyone is also very interested in some of our other cultures, and I feel very happy." Dan Zengzhuoma told reporters.
Taking advantage of her graduation vacation, she plans to write some articles about Tibetan culture and post them online to let more people know about it. "The post-00s also have responsibilities," said Dan Zengzhuoma proudly.
Carry forward: Tibetan clothing should also keep pace with the times
At this time, at the other end of Bakuo Street, Dan Zengzhuma's uncle, Mima Geli, was busy cutting cloth and sewing Tibetan clothes. He and his disciples made all the hidden clothes in the shop. Unwitted, he bent his head to work. Soon, several pieces of cloth of different sizes formed a complete dress. "I don't have the habit of drawing samples. I think of a style that can be cut directly from cloth, and then adjusted after sewing out the sample." With more than 20 years of experience, he has a clear idea of how to make clothes.
Mimagli is sewing Tibetan clothes. Photographed by Li Haixia on People's Daily Online
In order to improve his skills, Mimagli would go to the park every morning. When he strolled around, he carefully observed the cloth and style of people's clothes to find inspiration. At lunch, discuss with the disciples about the new style. Afternoon is their sewing time.
Various styles of Tibetan clothing. Photographed by Li Haixia on People's Daily Online
"As the culture becomes more diverse and people's needs become more and more, our Tibetan clothes should also keep pace with the times and make some adjustments. My uncle is not very good at expressing, but he has many ideas." Danzeng Zhuoma said, "Now many Tibetan shirts and gowns are directly sewn together, because tourists feel it is convenient to wear and take off in this way. This year, we added lace and other elements on the basis of traditional fabrics, which are particularly popular. I think this should be inheritance and innovation, and also a reflection of cultural confidence and tolerance. "
Miguel never thought that one day his Tibetan costume could be seen by General Secretary Xi Jinping, which made him proud. "I used to work as a tailor to support my family. I want to do better and let more people wear my clothes." Mimaggli said with a smile.
"Now our family all think that in addition to selling clothes to make money, it is more important to spread our national culture further with Tibetan clothing," said Dan Zengzhuoma. (Li Haixia)
