Tuan was born in 1930 in Tientsin, China. He was the son of a rich oligarch and was part of the top class in the Republic of China.

Tuan attended University College, London, but graduated from the University of Oxford with a B.A. and M.A. in 1951 and 1955 respectively.[1] From there he went to California to continue his geographic education. He received his Ph.D. in 1957 from the University of California, Berkeley.