Wearing the elegance of Lhasa: The costumes of Damxung and Linzhou

Damxung and Linzhou were once purely pastoral counties dominated by agriculture. Yet they have nurtured a distinct clothing culture on the high plateaus surrounding Lhasa in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region.

As a rural county, Damxung features vast expanses of land, high altitudes, and a relatively cold and dry climate. Local costumes are mainly made of fur, roomy and thick, warm and cold-resistant. Simple and practical, they are well suited to a nomadic lifestyle. Fox-fur hats look bold and elegant, while lamb-fur hats are delicate and tasteful; both provide excellent warmth as daily accessories for local herders. Fox-fur hats are trapezoid-shaped with a back slit, mostly using purple-blue or purple-red satin featuring floral medallions. Lamb-fur hats, crafted from pure white lambskin, are cylindrical with short crowns and two brim styles: curled and flat. The distinctive "bangdian dasuo" decoration, made with elaborate fabric applique techniques, has been inscribed on the Lhasa municipal intangible cultural heritage list and is a charming cultural sight across the grasslands.

Linzhou, located in the Pengbo River basin upstream on the Lhasa River, is also an agricultural county with both strong farming and pastoral traditions. Typical men's attire consists of a woolen pulu coat paired with the white linen shirt known as a "bure" trimmed with gold-woven jacquard fabric and topped with a golden-thread hat, presenting a simple and restrained style. The iconic women's daily outfit includes a black woolen pulu coat, a rainbow-striped apron known as a "bangdian," and a square scarf folded into a triangle and wrapped around the head. In Alang Township in northern Linzhou, during festive occasions, women wear gem-studded "bazhu" headdress and "aiguo'er" earrings. They dress in satin robes and waistcoats, accented with gold and silver waist chains, presenting an elegant and magnificent look that reflects the unique local aesthetic and profound cultural heritage.