Tongqin is also known as "mang tube", "copper winter", "copper hole", "big copper horn" and so on. "Tongqin" in Tibetan means a large size. The Mongolian people call it "Bili", and the Chinese call it a large tube, a long horn, and a small copper horn. It is a very important bass instrument in Lamaist bands. This musical instrument has a history of at least 700 years in Tibetan areas.

Tongqin was used in the army in ancient times, and it was used in the court band of the Guge Kingdom in the Ali area of Tibet about 10 centuries ago. There is an image of Tong Qin in the "Painting Biography of Ba Si Ba Thangka" by Tibetan painters in the Ming Dynasty. It is now used in religious ceremonies, festive occasions and other occasions. Popular in Qinghai, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang.

Tongqin has a long history. In the existing frescoes of the Guge Dynasty ruins, there is a scene where the Guge Kingdom invited the famous Indian Buddhist scholar Adisha to preach in Ali in 846 AD. In the "Painting Biography of Phagpa Thangka" by a painter of the Ming Dynasty at the Sakya Monastery in Tibet, there is an axis that depicts Phagpa (1235-1280), the first imperial teacher of the Yuan Dynasty and the leader of the Sakya sect of Tibetan Lamaism, from In the picture of returning to Tibet from the mainland, there is also an image of playing Thongqin in the procession that greets Phagpa. At that time, the tongs that circulated were smaller than those of today. It can be seen from the above that Tongqin has a history of at least 1,100 years in the Tibetan area. In the second half of the 16th century, Tongqin was introduced to Inner Mongolia along with Tibetan Buddhism.