The traditional costumes of male Manchu people are a narrow-cuffed short jacket over a long gown with a belt at the waist to facilitate horse-riding and hunting. They let the back part of their hair grow long and wore it in a plait or queue. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) the queue became the standard fashion throughout China, eventually becoming a political symbol of the dynasty. Women coiled their hair on top of their heads and wore earrings, long gowns and embroidered shoes.

Linen was a favorite fabric for the rich; deerskin was popular with the common folk. Silks and satins for noble and the rich and cotton cloth for the ordinary people became standard for Manchurians after a period of life away from the mountains and forests. Following the Manchu people' southward migration, the common people came to wear the same kind of dress as their Han counterparts, while the Manchu gown was adopted by Han women generally.

Most of the people wear Qi-pao in daily times, and in the Qing Dynasty, Qi-pao has been popularized throughout the whole country as the national costume. It has the following characteristics: It is round-collared with big open front. Besides, there are big openings at either side of the hem ornamented with buttons and buckles. Women wear straight long robes with bag-sleeves, making them appear slender and beautiful, graceful and elegant. And men would wear robes with wide horse-hoof shaped sleeves for the convenience of movements on horseback.

The Manchu women pay much attention to the ornamentations on their Qi-pao, they would embroider the robe with several pieces of laceworks or colored buds on the front openings, on the sleeves margins, and on the collars. Sometimes, they would even embroider 18 pieces of lacings in combination with the multicolored broad sleeves, making them appear flamboyant but elegant. Ordinarily, the Manchu women would not bind their feet, their feet are popularly called the "Big Feet".

They would wear a kind of high heeled Qi- shoes with wooden soles, while men of the Manchu ethnic minority group wear boots in most cases. For a long period of time in history, the Manchu people have been engaged in agriculture, at the same time, they would do various other byworks like hunting and gathering industry. Their stable food is millet, and they are fond of sticky food.

They are good at raising pigs, so they like to eat white pork, blood sausage and the stewed pork with sour cabbage and vermicelli. They would eat Jiaozi on holidays, and on the New Year's Eve of lunar calendar they must eat grilled pork. The favorite dim sum of the Manchu people is "Saqima", and they are addicted to smoking and drinking.

China.org.cn, Chinatravel