Tibet and Yunnan stand out from other tourist destinations for many reasons. Both regions offer immersive cultural experiences, outdoor adventures, and untainted natural beauty, with dramatic landscapes. One of the best ways to indulge in the region’s rich culture is to explore ethnic folk arts and crafts. Yunnan and Tibet handicrafts are folk treasures of the snowy plateau, conveying centuries-old traditions and culture of the local people.  

Yunnan-Tibet's handmade treasures include black pottery, thangka paintings, wooden bowls, Tibetan incense, and prayer flags, etc. Explore thangkas and Tibetan incense to learn about Tibetan Buddhism over the past 1,000 years. If you’re interested in pottery, visit the Nixi area to learn black pottery-making traditions dating back to 850 B.C. Tourists can also explore traditional home décor pieces such as Tibetan rugs refined over 2000 years. Take some time to learn how locals accessorize with the Tibetan knife. Yunnan-Tibet handicrafts have something for everyone.

You can visit Yunnan and Tibet to explore the folk treasures of the snowy plateau and support local craftsmen. Songtsam curates its tours to include Yunnan-Tibet handicrafts. During your visit, interact with carpenters, stonemasons, and coppersmiths. Then, purchase handicrafts to help preserve cultural treasures and traditional craft-making methods.

Tibetan craftsman making handicrafts

Nixi Pottery: The best utensils for making delicacies

The beautiful Tibetan village of Nixi in Shangri-La County is renowned for its black pottery. Here, locals use traditional pottery-making techniques passed down from generation to generation for nearly two thousand years. It is a complicated process that requires perfection in selecting and mixing raw materials, white and red clay, and powdered sandstone. But what makes these folk treasures unique is the firing method of Nixi pottery, dating back to around 850 B.C. The pottery embryo is buried with vantage wood ashes and fired naked. This low-temperature firing process gradually turns the pottery from clay-colored to black, with rustic shades and low-key undertones.

Traditional pots are baked in enclosed kilns with high temperatures, making Nixi's open-air firing in low-temperature unique. When visiting Yunnan and Tibet, take some time to learn the exquisite artistry and craftsmanship of the Nixi pottery-making process. Remember, each pottery has to undergo 12 procedures to deliver the desired result. You can learn all this from Sunnuo Qilin, Nixi village's master pottery maker. In 2008, Sunnuo Qilin was included in the "representative inheritors of Chinese intangible culture heritage" list.

Exploring Nixi pottery goes beyond the pots to include cultural aspects linked to these household utensils. Nixi residents use the black pottery to stew chicken, a local delicacy served in wooden bowls with spicy Jompa pepper. These potteries contain natural elements that retain the original taste, flavors, and nutrients in the ingredients in cooked or stewed foods. In Nixi, you’ll also find uniquely designed black potteries for drinking highland barley wine.

Songtsam cooperates with local pottery workshops operated by inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Visit a pottery workshop to learn traditional pottery-making techniques. Then, make a black pottery item to take home as a souvenir. Don’t forget to drink local chicken soup and home-brewed wine from black pottery to get an immersive Tibetan cultural flavor and food experience.

Stone-pot chicken cooked in Nixi pottery

Benzilan Wooden Bowls: More precious than gold

Benzilan in Deqin county, Yunnan province, is famous for its Tibetan wooden bowls. Also known as tsampa boxes, Tibetan wooden bowls are household utensils for daily use and works of art. The history of making wooden bowls in Benzilan dates back more than 200 years. This idyllic village on the Ancient Tea Horse Road enticed merchants seeking to exchange their tea for Benzilan wooden bowls. Benzilan expanded into a trading hub and rose to fame as the go-to source of artistic Tibetan wooden bowls. At the height of the tea trade, the township had several famous wooden bowl artisans.

Although the wooden bowl is produced in other areas across Yunnan Diqing and Tibet, Benzilan stands out from the crowd. Bowl-making techniques in Benzilan have remained unchanged since ancient times. Benzilan wooden bowls undergo more than 12 processes, including material selection, drying, boiling, molding, scraping, lacquering, and airing. These folk treasures of the snowy plateau are an integral part of Tibetan culture and strike a balance between artistry and functionality. Here, you can enjoy the Benzilan drink ghee tea or wine in a Tibetan wooden bowl that is more precious than gold. No other tourist destination can deliver this cultural experience.

The best wooden bowl is comparable to gold because of the scarcity of raw materials, such as rock cypress and birch burl. These materials also have anti-poison properties. Watch out for the unique woody taste and fragrance infused into your drink by the bowl. During your visit, witness the carving process of Tibetan wooden bowls. You can stay at Songtsam Lodge Benzilan to learn this century-old heritage and make your own wooden bowl under the guidance of local artisans.

Benzilan Wooden Bowl

Heqing Handcrafted Copperware: Tempered fine art

Tibetans have been using copper for centuries. Located in Dali City, Yunnan, Heqing is renowned as the "Kingdom of Metals." Copperware and metal handicrafts from Heqing have a unique aesthetic. They are an integral part of Tibetan culture. These folk treasures have immense cultural and spiritual significance among Yunnan’s ethnic minorities.

Coppersmiths in Heqing Xinhua Village make copperware pieces using traditional metal forging techniques and tools. Experienced coppersmiths craft “hammer eyes” on their products with small hammers. They use bronze made of pure purple copper, with 99.9% copper content. Each handmade copperware piece has unique characteristics and irregularities, enhancing its charm and authenticity.

During your visit, you can find handcrafts in Songtsam boutique shops in every lodge. All Songtsam properties proclaim the region’s fine craftsmanship, with artistic copperware such as vases and candlesticks.

You’ll also notice copper cladding on doors, washstands, and staircases throughout the property. Each copperware masterpiece in Songtsam lodges is designed by the expert coppersmith, Master Wang, from Heqing Xinhua Village, Dali.

Songtsam and Master Wang have collaborated for years, perfecting the unique patterns and shapes on Songtsam copperware. The most popular Songtsam copperware includes Tibetan Style Red Copper Moiré Vase, with traditional cloud patterns for good luck and blessing.

Songtsam also offers Tibetan Style Red Copper Round Teapot and Tibetan Style Red Copper Hot Pot, a mini version of Tibetan copper pot. Guests can purchase these three masterpieces and more handmade copperware at any Songtsam lodge.

Copperware masterpiece in Songtsam

Tibetan Prayer Flags: Colorful messenger with auspicious meaning

When traveling in Yunnan and Tibet, you’ll notice colorful prayer flags fluttering in the wind. Locals believe that these five-colored sutra streamers hold their hopes and prayers. So, they're hung high above the roof where the wind can carry their prayers. Tibetan prayer flags feature five colors symbolizing life-supporting elements. Blue for the sky, white for the clouds, red for fire, green for water, and yellow for earth. The colors also represent directions; North, South, East, West, and Center.

The local people print these flags themselves, adhering to color arrangement requirements. You can stay at Songtsam to experience this hand-carved prayer flag printing method handed down for centuries. Take some time to learn this spiritual tradition and print your own colorful prayer flags to carry your aspirations and expectations in life. This immersive experience will expose you to the charm of Tibetan handicrafts and culture.

Tibetans hanging the Tibetan Prayer flags

Thangka Paintings: The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Culture

Also known as tangka or tanka, a thangka is a religious scroll painting with cultural significance to the Tibetan people. This treasure of Tibetan folk art mainly features Buddha statues mounted on colorful satin. The beautiful colors of thangka have evolved for more than 1,800 years, accumulating the history and traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Thangkas are revered as the encyclopedia of Tibetan culture.

Thangkas serve as records of contemplative experience and pictorially convey iconographic information. They are hung for worship to provide guidance on contemplation based on the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. Nomadic monks and believers living on the plateau take the thangka with them. They construct a temple whenever they unfold the thangka, allowing them to practice contemplation, worship, and receive Buddha’s blessings. During your Tibet visit, learn more about this cultural heritage of Tibetan people and their role in meditation and worship.

Tibetan artisans painting Thangka

Tibetan Incense: The unique aroma of Tibet

For over 1300 years, Tibetan incense has evolved into an essential component of worship. Local Tibetans use aromatic incense to worship the gods and Buddha. But it is also used for other purposes, including body fragrance, purification, offering, and meditation. Tibetan incense is also used as medicine for flu prevention, to calm fright, heart, and spleen. The aroma of burning incense can induce deep relaxation, reducing blood pressure and heart rate. These benefits enhance the health of internal organs. Burning incense also helps meditators focus on their breath. As it permeates the snowy plateau, locals believe that their prayers have been heard by the gods.

Tibetan incense is an integral part of Tibetan culture and the most crucial practice of Buddhist virtue. Locals burn incense for Buddha to eliminate sins and attain good fortune and their desires in the next life. One thing that makes this incense unique is its aroma. Tibetans use the trunk of cypress trees growing in high mountains to make incense sticks. They polish them before rubbing them with dozens of aromatic spices, such as saffron, musk, sandalwood, and incense. Tibetans have guarded this secret incense recipe and unique fragrance with devotion for more than a thousand years. During your tour, you can smell burning Tibetan incense in almost every house. The pleasing aroma can calm your nerves, suppress restlessness, and induce deep relaxation.  

Tibetan Incense

Tibetan Rugs: Tibetan symbols that can feel the warmth

Tibet is a snowy wonderland with an average elevation of 14,370 feet above sea level, increasing the risk of altitude sickness. But locals don’t have to worry about the cold, thanks to their warm clothes and interior décor. Here, you’ll find Tibetan rugs made from sheep wool called changpel. Tibetan, Persian, and oriental art rugs are the three most famous rugs globally. But Tibetan rugs stand out from the three due to their warm sheep wool and unique patterns. Tibetan rugs are folk treasures of the Tibetan snow plateau.

Locals have refined and improved the traditional production process of Tibetan rugs for over 2000 years. The traditional weaving technique is mainly based on the "rod knotting method." This step involves combining, spinning, dyeing, priming, hand weaving, trimming, and washing. The end product is dense and durable but soft and delicate, with bright colors. The high-quality sheep wool is durable and resistant to fading. When visiting Tibet, learn more about the traditional Tibetan rug-making process. Take some time to analyze the distinct characteristics of Tibetan rugs.

Tibetan Rugs

Tibetan Knife: The king style from the snowy plateau

The Tibetan knife is an essential tool and an indispensable accessory for Tibetan men and women. Tibetans have been wearing a waist knife since ancient times, with its purpose evolving over time. In the old days, Tibetan knives were used for protection and daily activities, such as cutting meat and chopping wood. Tibetans today wear a waist knife as an accessory, complementing their stylish clothes. These accessories have shiny steel blades with artistic patterns or Tibetan text on wooden or leather sheath and handles made of ox horns, bones, or wood. Sophisticated Tibetan knives have exquisite sheathes adorned with gemstones, precious metals, and engravings of the dragon, phoenix, tiger, lion, and flowers.

The Tibetan knife is a stylish and sacred handicraft, officially known as the folded knife in honor of ZheLe Gampo. According to legend, ZheLe Gampo died protecting Tibetan nomads. Locals offer these folk treasures as gifts to suppress demons and ward off evil spirits. You can buy exquisite Tibetan knives for friends or family back home. Remember, waist knives are uniquely designed for men and women. Tibetan knives for men are rugged, while women’s knives are elegant. Explore the unique characteristics of Tibetan knives for each gender.

We’re all guardians of cultural treasures globally for future generations. Songtsam believes in the protection and preservation of local handicrafts and traditional lifestyles. Each Songtsam tour educates visitors on traditional handicrafts and provides an opportunity for them to support local handicraft workshops. The protection of local handicrafts is part and parcel of Songtsam’s corporate social responsibility. Songtsam cooperates with workshops operated by inheritors of Intangible Cultural Heritage. You can join any Songtsam tour of Tibet or Yunnan to help protect folk treasures of the snowy plateau. Stay at Songtsam lodges to explore local crafts and décor throughout the property and purchase artistic handicrafts. All handicrafts offered by Songtsam come from local craftsmen. Joining a Songtsam tour is the best way to support and preserve the cultural heritage of the local people.

Songtsam handicraft store