Tibetan New Year: Ethnic Tibetans ring in New Year with Guozhuang Dance

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Meanwhile, ethnic Tibetans are celebrating the New Year on their Tibetan calendar. Our reporter Tao Yuan has more.

Ringing in the new year with traditional singing and dancing. Guozhuang means circle dancing. Ethnic Tibetans say they can sing before they can talk, and can dance before they can walk.

Danba County is home to the Jiarong Tibetans, a branch of the Tibetan ethnicity. Villagers put on their traditional garments. Men clad in sheep wool gowns and hats made of fox fur. Women in their pleated skirts, reserved for the most special occasions. But what's distinctive of the Jiarong people are the ladies' so-called "three pieces".

YANGJIN LAMU XIAOBAWANG VILLAGE "There's the front piece and the back piece, and there's the headdress, with beautiful embroidery and decorations. They all represent good fortune."

All day long, the music never stops. People sing about their blessed land, their Gods, and beliefs.

JIANGCHU LAMU, CHIEF XIAOBAWANG VILLAGE "In the Guozhuang dance, the men dance out a question, and the ladies dance out an answer. It is a musical conversation. There is a lot of repetition, so it is quite simple and everyone can join in."

But new year for the Tibetans isn't just about having fun. The Tibetans are devout Buddhists. On every special occasion, they gather to pay their respects to the Gods. Circling these holy towers, chanting Buddhist scriptures, praying for their families, and every family in the world.