China's Tibet

Tibet is not your ordinary Chinese province.

Since being claimed by the People's Liberation Army in 1950, Tibet has been held in check by the Chinese government, for the most part, through threat of military force.

Periodic sparks of protest or civil unrest have been put down swiftly and ruthlessly. Highly visible and highly armed soldiers are stationed throughout the city of Lhasa.

What's more, Tibet is now dealing with a sort of cultural imperialism.

In recent years, the Chinese government has been pushing a "develop the west" campaign, encouraging and providing economic incentive for Han Chinese to settle in Tibet. While this has brought modernization and greater economic opportunity, critics decry the erosion of traditional Tibetan culture. As more and more Han Chinese flood into Tibet each year, with their cell phone shops and convenience stores, the fear is that Tibetans will eventually be a minority in their own city and a repressed minority at that.

As a tourist arriving in Lhasa, it was eye opening visiting what is more or less a militarily occupied state for the first time. I was told that the Chinese military could lock down the city of Lhasa within an hour, and having been there I can believe it. Seeing armed soldiers being marched around the city or military snipers stationed on top of buildings, while tourists roam around down below snapping photos.

Snapping photos of the soldiers, by the way, is a no-no. After inadvertently taking a picture of one of the soldiers, my friend had her camera confiscated by a soldier and was forced to delete the picture.

I was also struck by the subtle forms of propaganda that permeate the city. During my tour of Potala Palace, after just having just read a book on Tibetan history, I listened to my Tibetan tour guide recount a very different version of historical events. Besides obviously omitting anything related to the currently exiled 14th Dalai Lama, the Chinese government is heavily invested in promoting the view that Tibet has continuously been a part of China since the Yuan dynasty of the 13th century.

Western historians recognize that Tibet has at different points been independent of the of any empire, and even while under the sway of the Mongol and Manchu empires was still unoccupied militarily and for the most part maintained autonomous rule.

I spoke frankly with my tour guide about it afterward, and he said that tour operators must recount the official Chinese governmental view of history or risk losing their jobs (or worse).

Bolder still is the monument in front of the Potala Palace commemorating the "liberation" of Tibet from foreign imperialists. This is how the Chinese government refers to military conquest of Tibet in 1950.

And even subtle everyday things like the English language tourist magazines that are explicitly titled "China's Tibet" rather than just being titled "Tibet".

The clash between Chinese and traditional Tibetan culture is interesting as well. A pattern I have seen throughout Tibet and Xinjiang over the past few weeks, is that the Han Chinese settle and develop on the outskirts of the original town, until eventually there is a Han Chinese side of of town and an "old town".

The Han Chinese part of Lhasa could just as well be any big city in China, filled with cookie cutter Chinese restaurants, convenience stores, and souvenir shops.

While the "old town" consists of traditional buildings, maybe a historical site or two, and locals going about their day-to-day business. Meanwhile mostly Chinese tourists stream through snapping photos and shopping for souvenirs.

So on one side of town I am able to walk the kora around Johkang Temple with Tibetan Buddhists, and half an hour later I can be shopping for new hiking shoes in a Chinese mall. Will the Han Chinese side of Lhasa continue to grow until it envelops the city completely and the aboriginal side of town is relegated to a historical curiosity for tourists?

I won't delve too much into politics. I will say that modernization is occurring all over the world in developing cities just as it is in Lhasa, as much a product of market forces as it is through any efforts of the Chinese government. And with the investment efforts pouring into Tibet come increased economic opportunity and a higher standard of living.

But while Lhasa was quite fascinating for me from a cultural and political point of view, it wasn't til I got out into rural Tibet that I really got a closer look at traditional Tibetan culture and the natural grandeur that Tibet is famous for...

Skytrain

From the city of Chengdu, there are two common ways to get to Lhasa.

The first option is flying. Several flights leave daily from the Chengdu airport, flying directly over the Tibetan plateau and into Lhasa in two hours. The cost of a plane ticket is 1650CNY or roughly $250.

The other option is aboard the recently completed "skytrain", a 45 hour train ride looping northward through Qinghai before traversing west toward Lhasa.


For comparison's sake, long distance trains in China offer three classes of tickets:

The bottom rung is the "hard seat" which consists only of a seat. As you can imagine, this could grow quite tiresome over the course of a 45 hour train ride. Furthermore, as this is typically the most cost effective means of travel in China, you will most likely be traveling among working class Chinese and whatever cultural mannerisms and personal hygiene standards that entails. The price of a hard seat to Lhasa goes for about 330CNY or $50.

The next class up is the "hard sleeper" which consists of a bunk bed in a 6 person cabin. The price of a hard sleeper to Lhasa is about 700CNY or $110.

And one step up from that is the "soft sleeper" which consists of a bunk bed in a 4 person cabin. These go for about 1100CNY or $170

Looking at it in these terms, most well-adjusted financially stable human beings would choose to fly.

But backpackers hate doing things the rational way. So naturally we chose the train, booking four soft sleeper seats.


The train ride was pleasant enough as far as train rides go. The beds were comfortable and the scenery was nice to look every now and then.

The problem is that you are stuck in a cramped room with three other people for 45 hours.

Back in LA, I have heard it said that after a four hour road trip to Vegas together, you either become the best of friends or you never want to speak to each other again. The same could be said of the 45 hour train ride to Lhasa, minus the becoming best of friends part.


For the most part, I spent the entire trip sleeping or standing out in the hallway reading books. I did manage to finish three books on Tibet, so for once I would not be completely clueless while touring a new destination. 7 Years in Tibet is an amazing book, by the way.

Arriving in Lhasa, I could not wait to get off that stupid skytrain.

Itinerary

I've been bouncing around Tibet and Xinjiang for the past few weeks, staying at a random assortment guesthouses, tents, trucker dorms, and creepy old Chinese hotels. Internet access has been sparse, as has hot water and indoor plumbing. I'm currently stationed in the relatively modern city of Kashgar (as modern as a city with donkeys pulling carts down the street can be, I guess) in Southwestern Xinjiang. The past few weeks have been kind of a blur, but I'm going to try to detail some of the high points while I have some free time...

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At this time last month, I knew next to nothing about Tibet.

That being said, it was a part of China I had not yet seen and it seemed interesting enough, so I set off to meet an old friend to organize an impromptu trip there. And knowing my friend, it would not likely be an ordinary trip down the well beaten tourist path, but an epic adventure to the very outskirts of civilization. We met up in the city of Chengdu, which is a launching port or sorts, as there are both regular flights and trains to and from Tibet as well as a number of travel agencies that specialize in all things Tibetan.

As it turns out, traveling to Tibet is a bit more complicated than traveling to other parts of China. Because of the political unrest in Tibet, the Chinese government likes to keep a close eye on everything there, including foreign tourists.

As a foreigner traveling to Tibet, you are first required to apply for a heap of government permits. Furthermore, throughout your stay in Tibet, you must be accompanied by a government approved tour guide (lest you wander off the tour bus and incite your own Tibetan uprising). Thus most trips to Tibet are arranged through a "tour" which includes all permits, a guide, a driver, and vehicle rental.

While most tours center around the city of Lhasa and the surrounding sites, we would be taking a more circuitous path. After arriving in Lhasa in central Tibet, we would head all the way west toward Mount Kailash near the border of India. From there we would head northward along the rather charitably entitled Xinjiang-Tibet "Highway", finally exiting into the Chinese province of Xinjiang. In total, we would be racking up over 3000 km and countless hours of driving over 15 days, stuffed in the back of a Toyota Land Cruiser.


The total cost for the permits, guide, driver, and car rental would come to 36,000 CNY or roughly $5500 USD - not including transportation to Lhasa, entrance fees, food, or lodging. To help defray the costs and to keep us company, we recruited another two travelers in Chengdu to come with us. The more the merrier and all.

Now if spending two weeks stuffed in the back of a Land Cruiser with three broke backpackers, driving great distances across poorly kept roads, at high altitude and in inclement weather DOES NOT sound like an ideal vacation to you... well then you are thinking a lot more clearly than I was at the time.

This was the original itinerary given to us by the travel agency (which as it turned out, may or may not have bore close relation to our actual itinerary):


To be continued...

Greetings from Tibet!

Just when you thought my travel blog had come to a grinding, ignominious halt, I am happy to announce that my latest blog is coming to you live from Tibet!

I arrived in Lhasa two days ago, having taken the 45 hour train ride from Chengdu. The train line to Lhasa, which finished construction 5 years ago, is the highest in the world and is considered quite a technical achievement. It runs along a number of notable sites, such as the Tibetan plains, the old Silk Road, and Lake Qinghai, and the scenery from the train was at times quite nice. Our 4 person sleeper cabin felt luxurious by Chinese standards, and I was able to complete a few books on Tibet during the downtime. That being said, the next time I will be taking the two hour plane ride.

I am stationed at a hostel in Lhasa with three travel companions that I met in Chengdu. Although I had been reading quite a few negative things about Lhasa from die-hard Tibet activists regarding over-development and the influx of Han Chinese immigrants, it is still a fascinating city. For the first time in a while, walking down the street and taking in the sights is a fresh and exciting experience.

Over the next two weeks, we will be taking a circuitous route around Tibet, heading west from Lhasa toward Mount Kailash, then northward toward Ali, then exiting into the Chinese province of Xinjiang.

I will definitely be doing some blogging this trip, but pictures and updates mights be few and far between. One thing modernization has not yet brought to Lhasa is fast internet access. Though I'm not sure if it's because of the lack of infrastructure or because of because of the Chinese secret police combing my emails for any mention of the Dalai Lama.