First five-star hotel in Tibet

The foundation ceremony of the first five stars hotel in Tibet, St. Regis Hotel was held on the morning of April 26.

This announces the end of the history without internationl standard five stars hotels in Tibet. It also will improve the basic condition of tourism services facilities in Tibet, boosting Tibet tourism and inviting business work. It's expected to open in Oct 2008.

The St Regis Hotel in Lhasa will be invested and operated solely by Hong Kong Yun Gao Century Co.Ltd. It's located at the southeast of the crossroad of Lhasa Jiangsu road and Lin Guo Dong Lu. An overall 430 million yuan (55.68 million USD) investment for the first phase with 31,920 square meters. There will be 175 rooms in the hotel after the completion and it will be operated by Star Wood International Hotel Management (Group) Co.

St Regis is a sub premium brand of Star Wood Hotel and Holiday Inn International (Group) Co. The brand aims on advanced tour clients and is famous for providing housekeeper style services within the industry.

Tibetan style private hotels turn up at Barkor street

by:Zheng Peng (China Tibet Information Center)

Several inland tourists are chatting in a private hotel
Tourists are eating in the dining hall of a private hotel
Inland tourists are viewing the interior decoration of a Tibetan style private hotel

A new living style, private hotel is turning up in Lhasa quietly. Those at Bakor Street in old urban area are the most featured ones. Statistics show that till the end of April, 2007, there have been over 34 private hotels within the area with over 1,000 beds available.

Tibetan Prayers

prayers in front Jokhang Temple
prayer on road from Naqu to Lhasa
prayer in her home
prayers on road from sichuan to tibet

Tibetan are very loyal to their own belief.They will kneel down all their way from start to destination .

travel in Tibet by train

If you want to travel in Tibet from Beijing,you can follows this steps:

1:Beijing West, train starts at 21:30;

2:on the train, enjoy the scenery.

3:Arriving at Lhasa Station at 19:48, and you will be received and transferred to hotel.

4:Getting up at about 8:00 am, after using breakfast, drive to visit the wonder of the world-Potala Palace. Finish sightseeing at about 12:30, after having lunch outside drive back to the hotel to take a rest. About 15:00, drive to visit Jokhang Monastery-the most famous and oldest building in Lhasa, then visit Barkhor Street, the business center of Lhasa. The whole day visiting will finish at about 18:00, taking dinner and having rest afterwhile.

5:Getting up at about 8:00am, drive to Trupeng Hill to visit Drepung Monastery which is one of four great Gelugpa monasteries in Tibet. After sightseeing about 12:30, drive back to Lhasa and take rest after while. Drive to visit Norbu Lingka - the Summer Palace for Dailai Lama.

6:Transferred to the airport and fly out. End of the trip.Note: This itinerary uses short time to enjoy the essense of Tibet.

Diagnosis In Tibetan Medicine-Like A Rich Man With One Child

By Eliot Tokar

In describing how he worked as a physician, my teacher, Dr. Trogawa Rinpoche,2 remarked: "my external activity is the practice of medicine, and in my inner thoughts I meditate on the Medicine Buddha". This comment does not simply tell us that Dr. Trogawa is a religious or pious man. Properly understood, this remark displays the first step in the process and practice of Tibetan medical diagnosis. It is an ongoing practice toward spiritual development and its resultant awareness and intention, toward which the physician continually strives. Given the differing levels of practice and development that exist among Tibetan doctors, there is no quantitatively prescribed standard for this aspect of medical practice. Still, the primary classic principle of Tibetan medical practice is that the bedrock of one's approach to diagnosis lies within the doctor's spiritual practice.

In describing the Tibetan approach to diagnosis it is vital to understand how the properly trained Tibetan doctor sees the world. After all, it is always within a doctor's subjective understanding of the nature of the phenomenal world that the relatively objective work of obtaining a diagnosis occurs. How, then, do Buddhist teachings determine the basis for making a clear diagnosis of illness?

Because the historical Buddha described his role and teaching in a fundamentally medical fashion, this connection is very direct. In fact, because the Buddha's teachings were meant to cure suffering, he was known as "The Supreme Physician".3 The Buddha is therefore a direct inspiration for Tibetan doctors, who attempt to emulate this model of a spiritually realized being who makes a conscious choice to cure others.

To appreciate how a particular medical system approaches diagnosis, one must discover how a doctor trained in that system perceives the patient. It is important to comprehend that doctor's conscious intention.

Buddhist teachings delineate Tibetan doctors' image of themselves and their patients as well as the doctor-patient relationship. Buddhism's central teachings and practices place great emphasis on (1) understanding and discovering the nature of one's mind, and thereby transcending ego; (2) developing a practice of compassion toward all other conscious beings; and (3) developing a sense of equanimity. Therefore, for the doctor of Tibetan medicine there is no psychological or professional dilemma in directly identifying with his or her patient -- as there can be, for instance, in Western medicine. In a sense, the Tibetan physician intentionally seeks to identify with the patient. It is important for us as physicians to intimately understand the basic nature of suffering -- both the patient's and the doctor's -- as well as to understand that our relationship to the patient has both a professional and spiritual significance.

Through spiritual practice the Tibetan doctor is trained to emulate a highly spiritually evolved person. A direct connection develops between the doctor's perception of the patient and a Bodhisattva's perception of all beings. The term "Bodhisattva" literally means "hero of enlightenment". Bodhisattvas are spiritual trainees who strive to generate an altruistic mind of love and compassion.4 They are basically Buddhas in the making who have dedicated their pursuit of spiritual awareness to the single goal of bringing about the welfare of all.

We can get a glimpse of the professional ethic Dr. Trogawa endeavors to practice in an instruction from the Buddhist sage Vimalakirti:

...I am ill because all sentient beings are ill. If the illness of all sentient beings were to come to an end, then my illness would be ended. Why is this so? Because when the Bodhisattva enters into the realm of birth and death for the sake of beings, he becomes subject to the laws of this realm and thereupon becomes ill. If all sentient beings were to be cured of their diseases, then the Bodhisattva would never be ill again.

It is like the rich man who only has one child. When his child becomes ill, his parents become ill. If the son is cured of disease, so also are the parents. It is the same for the Bodhisattva: he loves all beings as if each of them were his child. When all beings are cured, then the Bodhisattva will be cured.... 3

Before seeing their first patient, Tibetan doctors practice an archetypal diagnosis that becomes a basis for all the diagnoses they will perform throughout life. This diagnosis is visualized in a meditation practice used by traditionally trained Tibetan doctors.

In this meditation physicians visualize the Buddha Of Medicine, seeing all beings before him, with their particular suffering and all of the innumerable diseases they may have. The Medicine Buddha feels anguish for them and wishes them freedom from suffering. Through the power of his realized mind, this Medicine Buddha diagnoses the illnesses as symptomatic of fundamental spiritual disharmony caused by ignorance. This ignorance is a lack of understanding of the basic nature of reality, as understood from the Buddhist perspective.

The resultant confusion leads to activities of our body and mind which directly or indirectly lead to suffering and illness. Given this diagnosis, the Medicine Buddha understands the temporary, illusory nature of illness. Pushing through his sense of anguish, he delves deeper into this and sees that within every atom of every being who appears as suffering, there exists a Medicine Buddha. He experiences inner joy in the knowledge that despite suffering, there is the potential for boundless happiness. Having completed his diagnosis, the Medicine Buddha projects a purifying energy from himself to those before him that reveals their inherently healthy state.5

At this point in the meditation, practitioners merge their own selves with the being of the Medicine Buddha and become indistinguishable from him. They then proceed to a state of meditative emptiness derived from the understanding of the Buddhist teachings. In relation to this emptiness, all the forms and concepts we occupy in life -- including illness -- are understood as illusory, dream-like and therefore highly changeable. Thus, it follows that illness is made worse or better by changes in the mental perception we give it.

The Medicine Buddha's profound diagnostic skills are derived from wisdom based on deep awareness and perception. These qualities, along with his resultant capacity to heal, makes him the role model for the physician of Tibetan medicine By visualizing themselves as Medicine Buddha, doctors of Tibetan medicine pursue an aspiration to develop the same capacity for compassion, awareness and skillfulness. This process is the root from which diagnostic skill develops. It is established even before the first patient walks in the door.

Diagnosis In Tibetan Medicine -Learning To See

By Eliot Tokar

In the teachings of Tibetan medicine there is a metaphor that refers to the stages of development of the diagnostician. At the first level a student of medicine is likened to a person standing on a mountain top who is unable to perceive what is on the top of the opposite peak. At the next level the student can see that something is there. At a higher level the student can perceive that someone is standing on the opposite peak but he or she still lacks the ability to perceive anything about that person. At many succeeding levels, more and more can be perceived about this person until, ultimately, at the most advanced degree of ability, the student recognizes precisely who is there.

This metaphor describes the evolution of perceptive abilities in learning Tibetan medical diagnosis. Its meaning can also apply to the gradual process that practitioners of different medical systems must be undergo to truly perceive what a doctor from another scientific world view sees. Performing a medical diagnosis requires an understanding of the technique and language of the system within which one is operating. The foundation of diagnostic skill, however, is the development of a capacity of awareness that leads to clear and precise perception.

The following article will explain the basic tools and language of Tibetan diagnosis and begin to clear the mist that stands between the peak of Tibetan medicine and that of other medical traditions. To begin establishing a truly complementary approach to medicine, there must be a common language created through which traditional and allopathic doctors can effectively communicate about their disciplines. Medical traditions are not the sum total of their diagnostic or treatment techniques; instead, they are the result of the scientific, cultural, and spiritual knowledge that gave rise to those therapeutic applications. To establish a common language of communication, we must begin by seeing clearly.

This point is demonstrated in the book Mortal Lessons by the surgeon and Yale professor, Richard Selzer, MD.1 In this book Dr. Selzer recounts a diagnostic session performed by my first teacher, Dr. Yeshi Donden. The session was part of a demonstration conducted at an American hospital. Dr. Donden was shown a patient about whom he was told nothing. Before an audience of skeptical Western physicians, Dr. Donden performed the Tibetan pulse diagnosis and urinalysis. To the amazement of his audience he was able to accurately diagnose that the patient had a chronic heart problem. He diagnosed an imbalance in the basic circulatory principle of the body as it relates to blood and heart function. This disorder had progressed to a stage in which it affected the patients pre-existing heart irregularity, which had developed during a specific stage of embryological development. Dr. Selzer1 recounted the diagnosis in this manner: "

[Dr. Donden] speaks of winds coursing through the body of the woman, currents that break against barriers, eddying. These vortices are in her blood, he says. The last spendings of an imperfect heart. Between the chambers of her heart, long, long before she was born, a wind had come and blown open a deep gate that must never be opened. Through it charge the full waters of her river, as the mountain stream cascades in the springtime, battering, knocking loose the land and flooding her breath."

The allopathic diagnosis had been "congenital heart disease", an "interventricular septal defect, with resultant heart failure". To Dr. Selzer, who was used to the worldview, technique, and jargon of his profession, the Tibetan diagnosis seemed remarkably poetic. Dr. Selzer described this diagnosis as a largely divine mystical experience accessible to priests but not to mere doctors.1 Interest, fascination, and perhaps even respect were engendered, but little understanding between the doctors seems to develop. In fact, what Dr. Donden was doing was not magic. He was doing what is expected of a properly trained Tibetan physician, albeit at its highest level.

Diagnosis In Tibetan Medicine- Introduction

By Eliot Tokar
When most patients seek a doctor for a medical diagnosis, they generally assume that the process will clearly and directly reveal the truth about their condition. Their assumption is that the diagnostic procedure will reveal their illness in much the same way that cutting open an apple bears its core. In most cases, however, nothing could be further from the truth.

In examining the nature of diagnostic procedures, it is worthwhile to recall the Indian tale of the blind men who encountered an elephant. In this story each man, feeling only one part of the elephant, draws a completely different and erroneous conclusion about what he holds in his hands. None of them perceives that he is touching an elephant. Instead, judging from limited experience, each decides that the part he is experiencing must equal the whole: the leg is thought to be a tree trunk, the tail a rope, the trunk a snake, and so on.

In medical diagnosis we healthcare practitioners begin with our biases, based on our personal, cultural, and professional world view, thus forming the basis either for our blindness or our insight. We obtain a limited set of information that is derived from tests and/or other techniques defined by our tradition's medical science. Through this analysis, which is based on our understanding, experience, and awareness, we then attempt to comprehend the truth of the condition.

If we are to succeed we must do better than the blind men of the tale. By experiencing the trunk, leg, or tusk, we must be able finally to perceive the whole. We must ultimately have the insight and skill to see the entire elephant. However, and because of the blindness inherent in the prejudices and limitations of any world view, we inevitably see a slightly or even radically different elephant.

New appearance of Bayi Town

by:Zheng Peng China Tibet Information Center

A corner of Bayi Town in Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet, photo from Xinhua, April 14

A corner of Bayi Town in Nyingchi Prefecture, Tibet, photo from Xinhua, April 14.

Cars are running on clean and tidy road, photo from Xinhua, April 14.

After over 10 years' construction, the Bayi Town in Nyingchi Prefecture has become a morden town with better infrastructure.

today's snow

Share my feelings with you.

Which Time Is Best To Travel In Tibet

Athough the Tibetan climate is not as harsh as many people imagine, be prepared for sudden drops of temperature at night, particularly in western Tibet.

The most pleasant time of year to be in Tibet is between May and early November, after which temperatures start to plummet. However, in May and June there is a wind factor to consider, and dust storms are not unusual. During July and August you may find roads temporarily washed out along the Friendship Highway to Nepal. These two months usually see around half of Tibet's annual rainfall.

October is the best time to make a trip out to the east. Lhasa and its environs don't get really cold until the end of November. Although winter is very cold, many restaurants are shut and snowfalls can sometimes make travel difficult, some travellers swear by these months. There are few travellers about and Lhasa, for example, is crowded with nomads and at its most colourful.

March is a politically sensitive month (the anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising and flight of the Dalai Lama) and there is occasional tightening of restrictions on travellers heading into Tibet at this time.

It's worth trying to make your trip coincide with one of Tibet's main festivals. Losar (New Year) is an excellent (although cold) time to be in Lhasa. Saga Dawa (April or May) is also a good time to be in Lhasa or Mt Kailash.

History status of Tibet

By China Tibet Informaiton Center

China is a unified multinational country. Tibet has since the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) been an inseparable part of China. Prior to the common era, the ancestors of the Tibetan people had contacts with the Han people living in the Central Plains of China. During the long years leading up to the seventh century the many tribes scattered on the Tibet Plateau gradually came together to form the Tibetan ethnic group.

Tubo Kingdom. Early in the seventh century China move into a new stage of its history. The Tang Dynasty (618-907) was a powerful and politically united regime that initially established order over the shifting and chaotic situation that had prevailed for more than 300 years in China. At the same time, the great Tibetan leader Songtsan Gambo brought together more than 10 separate tribes, an event commonly seen as marking the establishment of the Tubo Kingdom, making his capital in present-day Lhasa. songtsan Gambo had good relations with the Tang court and benefitted from the importation of Tang technologies (advanced for the day), and was influenced by Tang culture and politics. He twice sent ministers to the Tang Dynasty court requesting a member of the imperial family be given him in marriage and in 641 he married Princess Wencheng, a member of Emperor Taizong's family. Introduced into Tibet during this time were Chinese technologies for wine-making, grinding, and paper and ink making. Sons of the Tibetan aristocracy were and ink making. Sons of the Tibetan aristocracy were sent to the Tang capital Chang'an (present-day Xi'an) to study. Literati from the Tang court went to the Tibetan capital to handle communications with the emperor. During the reign of Songtsan Gambo political, economic and cultural relations between Tang and Tubo were friendly. Laudatory titles given King Songtsan Gambo by Emperor Gaozong include Commandant-escort, Commandery Prince of the Western Sea and Companion Prince.
This pattern of friendly relations established during the reign of Songtsan Gambo was carried on during the next two hundred years. In 710 the Tang Princess Jincheng was sent to Tibet to marry the Tubo King Tride Tsugtsen, accompanied by several tens of thousands of pieces of embroidered satin brocade, a variety of technical writings and various other useful items. Princess Jincheng later gave money to support Buddhist monks from Yutian (now in modern Xinjiang) and elsewhere on their trips to Tibet to build monasteries and translate sutras. She also requested that Chinese classical works such as The Book of Songs With Annotation by Mao Heng, The Book of Rites, Zuo Qiuming's Chronicles, and Xiao 'Tong's Literary Selections be sent to her from the Tang court.

In 821 King Chiri Pachen of Tibet three times sent envoys to Chang'an to discuss forming an alliance with the Tang Empire. Emperor Muzong ordered his prime minister to effect the alliance in a grand ceremony held in the western suburbs of the capital. The following year high-ranking representatives of the Tang court including Liu Yuanding were dispatched to Tibet to participate in a similar ceremony marking the alliance held in the eastern suburbs of Lhasa. representatives of the Tibetan king included his chief ministers.

This all occurred during the first and second years (822 and 823) of the Changqing reign of the Tang Dynasty, and accordingly has been called the "Changqing Alliance" by historians. The two parties agreed to "amity as though they were of one family" and to "treat their sacrificial alters as though they were one." An account of the alliance is recorded on three tablets, and the "Tang-Tubo Alliance Tablet," one of the three, still stands before the Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa.
Division Within Tibet. Beginning around 842 the Tubo Kingdom broke up. Rival groups of misters and members of the royal family engaged in internecine struggle. Power was educed to the local level. This state of affairs continued for more than 400 years.

Tibet Became a Part of China in the Mid-13th Century. Early in the 13th century, the leader of the Mongolian people Genghis Khan established a Mongol Khanate north of China. In 1247 the Mongol Prince Godan invited Pandit Gonggar Gyancain, an eminent monk with the Sagya Sect, to a meeting in Liangzhou (modern Wuwei in Gansu Province). He offered the submission of Tibet to the Mongol Khanate and the acceptance of a defined local administrative system and in return the Sagya were given political power in Tibet. In 1271 the Mongolain conquerors took Yuan as the name of their dynasty. In 1279 following their defeat of the Song they completed their unification of all of China. The newly united Central Government continued control over Tibet, including it as an administrative unit directly governed by the Chinese Yuan Dynasty Central Government.

In 1260, when Kublai Khan (1215-1294) ascended the throne, he conferred the title State Tutor on Gonggar Gyaincain's nephew Pagba, Prince of the Dharma of the Sagya order. In 1264 Kublai Khan established toe Zongzhi (General) Council in charge of Buddhist affairs with Pagba at its head. Dit was renamed Xuanzheng (Political) Council. Under it was the Pacification Commission Chief Military Command responsible for handling military and government affairs over a large part of what is now Tibet. Below this level were Wan Hu Fu (10,000 household office) and Qian Hu Fu (1,000 household office) in charge of civil administration. In 1265 Kublai Khan honored Pagba with the titles of Great Treasure Prince of Dharma and Imperial Tutor. Following Pagba's recommendations he appointed an official for the overall management of Tibetan affairs and heads for d13 Wan Hu Fu. In d1268, 1287 and 1334 the Yuan Central Government sent officials to check on the Tibetan population. Fifteen staging posts were set up linking communications between Tibet and the Yuan capital Dadu (present-day Beijing). in addition, the Ula conscript labor system was established and promoted in Tibet.

Subsequent Central Governments' Jurisdiction over Tibet. Since Tibet formally came under the control of the Yuan court in mid-13th century, China has seen changes of dynasty and many changeovers in the central authority, but Tibet has always remained under the Chinese Central Government's jurisdiction. During the mid-14th century the Sagya government gradually declined. The Pagmo Gagyu Sect headed by Qamqoi Gyaincain came to power, following the system of temporal and religious administration. Yuan rulers accepted the fact and gave Qamqoi Gyaincaion the title Grand Minister of Education. With the overthrow of the Yuan and the founding of the Ming Dynasty in 1368, a policy whereby titles were widely conferred was put into effect. The head of any religious sects who could claim local political power was given an honorary title such as "Prince," "Prince of Dharma" or "Abhisecana State Tutor" ("A bhisecana" being a Buddhist ceremony wherein a student's initiation is acknowledged by his teacher sprinkling water on his head). Succession to the throne was subject to approval by the Chinese emperor who would dispatch officials to deliver certificate acknowledging the title. During this time, the Gelug (Yellow) Sect, which recognized two great Living Buddhas, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, was gaining in prominence. The 3rd Dalai Lama Soinam Gyatso paid tributes to the Ming court and in return was given the title of DorjeChang Vajra Holder. The Ming government followed Yuan Dynasty practices regards Tibet. It esablished the U-Tsang and the Gargain garrison command headquarters and the Olisi Military-Civil Governor's Office respectively to manage the military and political affairs in the Central and Western Tibet, Qamdo and Ngari. During this time, the Tibetan government established the dzongpon system in parts of Tibet. The administrative heads of each dzong (an administrative unit about the size of a county) were recognized by the Ming court as dzongpon (county magistrate).
In 1644, the Qing Dynasty overthrew the Ming. The new central power increased control over, bringing increased systemization and an expanded legal framework. Qing Emperor Shunhi on several occasions invited the 5th Dalai Lama to beijing, and in 1652 he did so. In 1653 the emperor gave the Dalai Lama a gold-leaf certificate of appointment and gold seal of authority formally recognizing his status as the Dalai Lama. In 1713 Emperor Kangxi similarly honored the 5th Panchen lama Lobsang Yeshe formally recognizing him as Panchen Erdeni. Beginning around this time the Dalai Lama based in Lhasa ruled over the greater part of Tibet and the Panchen Lama based in Xigaze ruled over the remainder. In 1727 the Qing court appointed a resident Commissioner (Amban) as a Central Government representative in Tibet to oversee Tibet's administrative affairs. Tibet's borders with Sichuan, Yunnan and Qinghai were formally surveyed and fixed at this time. In 1721 the Qinghai were formally surveyed and fixed at this time. In 1721 the Qing Central Government established the Galoon (Ministers of Council) system in Tibet. In 1750 the Tibetan administrative system was reformulated and the "commandery prince" system was eliminated. The Tibetan local government (Gaxag) was founded with the Amban and the Dalai Lama together handling Tibetan affairs. In 1793 the Qing government issued the famous 29-Article Ordinance for the More Efficient Governing of Tibet, dealing with the authority of the Amban, the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama and other important Living Buddhas, frontier defence, relations with the outside world, finance and tax revenues, minting and administration of currency, and the support and administration of monasteries. The basic principles formulated in the 29Article Ordinance remained the standard for the administrative and legal systems in Tibet for more than the next hundred years.

The Revolution of 1911 which toppled the Qing Dynasty led to the founding of the Republic of China, a multi-ethnic, unified country where peoples of the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan and other ethnic groups lived harmoniously. The Central Government continued jurisdiction over Tibet as it had in the three previous dynasties. In 1912 the Bureau for the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs (in 1914 renamed the Council for the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs)was set up chiefly to manage Tibetan affairs and a resident official dispatched to Tibet. The Nanjing Nationalist Government came to power in 1927 and two years later it set up the Commission for the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs to oversee administration of the areas inhabited by Tibetans, Mongolians and other ethnic minorities. In 1940 the Nationalist government set up the Lhasa Office of the Commission for the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs in Lhasa to function as the Central Government's standing body in Tibet. The Tibetan government frequently sent officials to participate in the Republic's National Congress. The Republic suffered from incessant foreign aggression and frequent internal disturbances. But despite the fragility of the Central Government the Dalai and Panchen lamas continued to accept its official recognition of their positions, receiving legal status in their political and religious roles in Tibet. The 14th Dalai Lama Dainzin Gyamco came to power in Tibet with the approval of the president of the Nationalist Government.

The founding of New Tibet. In 1949 the People's Republic of China was founded. Proceeding in cognizance of Tibet's history and present reality, the Central People's Government determined a policy of peaceful liberation. On May 23, 1951, representatives form the Central People's Government and the local government of Tibet agreed on a series of issues regarding Tibet's peaceful liberation, signing the Agreement of the central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet (known as the 17-Article Agreement). The 17-Article Agreement contains two main points. First, the Central Government demanded that the Tibetan local government actively assist the People's Liberation Army as they entered and garrisoned Tibet to strengthen national defence and resolutely drive imperialist forces out of Tibet. All of Tibet's affairs involving the outside world were to be handled by the Central Government and the Tibetan army would step by step be absorbed into the People's Liberation Army. Second, the Central People's Government would not alter Tibet's current system or the Dalai Lama's inherent status and authority. The Tibetan people's customs would be respected and their religious freedom protected. The reform of Tibetan society would be decided after consultation with Tibetan leaders. Regional autonomy for minority people would be instituted in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The 14th Dalai Lama and the 10th Panchen Erdeni separately telegraphed their acceptance of the 17-Article Agreement to Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central People's Government, resolutely upholding the unity of the motherland's sovereignty. Other Tibetans, monastic and secular, and local Tibetan leaders expressed their firm support as well. This date marks a new page in Tibetan history.
In 1954 the 14th Dalai Lama and the 10th Panchen Erdeni went to Beijing to attend the first session of the First National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China. During this conference, the 14th Dalai Lama was elected as vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and the 10th Panchen Erdeni member of the NPC Standing Committee.

In 1956, the Preparatory Committee for the Founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region was founded with the 14th Dalai Lama as its chairman.

In March 1959, the majority of the Galoon officials in the Tibetan local government joined with the reactionary clique of the upper social strata to launch an armed rebellion with the aim of splitting the country, preserving the feudal serf system and opposing democratic reform. The Central People's Government ordered the PLA in Tibet resolutely to quell the rebellion. On March 28 of the same year, Xhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council of the Central People's Government, released order dissolving the Tibetan local government, and declaring that the functions and authority of the Tibetan local government would be vested in the preparatory Committee for the Founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region. At this same time, the Central People's Government, responding to the will of the Tibetan people, implemented democratic reform and abolished the feudal serf system in Tibet. As a result, the million serfs and slaves in Tibet stood up and came into their own, instead of being treated as the private property of serf-owners that could be traded, transferred or used to pay off a debt in kind or by labor. After a few years of steady development, the Tibet autonomous Region was formally founded in September 1965.

The Tibetans first settled along the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet. Evidence of the new and old stone age culture was found in archaeological excavations at Nyalam, Nagqu, Nyingchi and Qamdo. According to ancient historical documents, members of the earliest clans formed tribes known as Bos in the Shannan area. In the 6th century, the chief of the Yarlung tribe in the area became leader of the local tribal alliance and declared himself the Zambo (king). This marked the beginning of Tibetan slavery society and its direct contacts with the Han people and other ethnic groups and tribes in northwest China.

At the beginning of the 7th century, King Songzan Gambo began to rule the whole of Tibet and made Losha (today's Lhasa) the capital. He designated official posts, defined military and administrative areas, created the Tibetan script, formulated laws and unified weights and measures, thus establishing the slavery kingdom known as Bo, which was called Tubo in Chinese historical documents.

After the Tubo regime was established, the Tibetans increased their political, economic and cultural exchanges with the Han and other ethnic groups in China. The Kingdom of Tibet began to have frequent contacts with the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Tibetan and Han peoples got on well with each other. In 641, King Songzan Gambo married Princess Wen Cheng of the Tang Dynasty. In 710, King Chide Zuzain married another Tang princess, Jin Cheng. The two princesses brought with them the culture and advanced production techniques of Central China to Tibet. From that time on, emissaries traveled frequently between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet. The Tibetans sent students to Changan, capital of the Tang Dynasty, and invited Tang scholars and craftsmen to Tibet. These exchanges helped promote relations between the Tibetans and other ethnic groupss in China and stimulated social development in Tibet.
From the 10th to 12th century, Tibet fell apart into several independent regimes and began to move towards serfdom. It was at this time that Buddhism was adapted to local circumstances by assimilating certain aspects of the indigenous religion, won increasing numbers of followers and gradually turned into Lamaism. Consisting of many different sects and spread across the land, Lamaism penetrated into all spheres of Tibetan life. The upper strata of the clergy often collaborated with the rich and powerful, giving rise to a feudal hierarchy combining religious and political power and controlled by the rising local forces.

The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) founded by the Mongols in the 13th century brought the divided Tibet under the unified rule of the central government. It set up an institution called Xuanzhengyuan (or political council) and put it in charge of the nation's Buddhist affairs and Tibet's military, governmental and religious affairs.

Phagsba, a Tibetan lama, was given the title of imperial tutor and appointed head of the council. The Yuan court also set up three government offices to govern the Tibetan areas in northwest and southwest China and Tibet itself. The central government set up 13 Wanhu offices (each governing 10,000 households) in Inner and Outer Tibet east of Ngari. It also sent officials to administer civil and military affairs, conduct census, set up courier stations and collect taxes and levies. Certificates for the ownership of manors were issued to the serf owners and documents given to local officials to define their authority. This marked the beginning of the central authorities' overall control of Tibet by appointing officials and instituting the administrative system there.

The ensuing Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) carried over the Tusi (headmen) system in the Tibetan areas in northwest and southwest China. In Tibet proper, three sect leaders and five secular princes were named. These measures ensured peace and stability in the Tibetan areas during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, and the feudal economy there developed and culture and art flourished. Tibet's contacts with other parts of the country became more frequent and extensive.

The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the last monarchy in China, set up a government department called Lifanyuan to administer affairs in Tibet and Mongolia. In Tibet, the Qing emperor conferred the titles of the Dalai Lama (1653) and Bainqen Erdini (1713) on two living Buddhas of the Gelugba sect of Lamaism. The Qing court began to appoint a high resident commissioner to help with local administration in 1728, and set up the Kasha as the local government in 1751. In 1793, the Qing army drove the Gurkhas invaders out of Tibet and formulated regulations concerning its administration.

The regulations specified the civil and military official appointment systems and institutions governing justice, border defense, finance, census, corvee service and foreign affairs, establishing the high commissioners' terms of reference in supervising Tibetan affairs.
In other areas inhabited by Tibetans in northwest and southwest China, the Qing court continued the Tusi (headmen) system established by the Yuan and Ming dynasties, and put them under the administration of the Xining Commissioner's office (established in 1725) and the Sichuan governor (later the Sichuan-Yunnan border affairs minister).

After the Republic of China was founded in 1911, the central government set up a special department to administer Mongolian and Tibetan affairs. In 1929, the Kuomintang government set up a commission for Mongolian and Tibetan affairs in Nanjing and established Qinghai Province. In 1939, Xikang Province was set up. The Tibetan areas in northwest and southwest China, except Tibet, were placed under the administration of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Xikang and Yunnan provinces respectively.

After the Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921, its central committee clearly stated in its Agrarian Revolution Program that the feudal privileges of Tibetan princes and Lamas would be abolished. During its Long March northward to fight the Japanese invaders, the Chinese Worker and Peasant Red Army passed through Tibetan areas in Sichuan, Xikang, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai, where they mobilized the poor Tibetans to carry out land reform and establish democratic political power of the laboring people. Areas inhabited by Tibetans were liberated one after another after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Tibet proper was liberated peacefully in 1951.

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism refers to Tibetan-language Buddhism, also known as Lamaism.

In the early 7th century, Songtsan Gambo wed Tang Dynasty (618-907) Princess Wencheng from the Central Plains and Nepalese Princess Bhributi. Each princess brought to Tubo a statue of Buddha, and the Jokhang and Rampoche Monasteries were built to house the two statues. Artisans who accompanied the princesses had monasteries built, while accompanying Buddhist monks set about translating the Buddhist scriptures. As a result, Buddhism made its way into Tubo life, and Buddhist tenets gradually infiltrated its politics, economics, culture, education, customs and habits. Tibetan Buddhism that emerged was widely worshipped by the Tubo residents.

Through a prolonged period of cultural exchanges, Tibetan Buddhism has spread to other ethnic groups in China, such as the Mongolian, Tu, Yugu, Lhoba, Moinba, Naxi and Pumi ethnic groups. It has worshippers not only in China's Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, but also in Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia and Russia.
During the heyday of Tibetan Buddhism, each Tibetan family was required to provide at least one member to become a monk or nun. This is why Tibetan monks and nuns made up 25 percent of the Tibetan population in the 16th century and thereafter. In 1950, there were 100,000 monks and nuns, or over 10 percent of the Tibetan population in Tibet in 1951.

Following the peaceful liberation of Tibet, the Central Government followed a policy of freedom of religious belief in Tibet. After the Democratic Reform in 1960, various monasteries conducted reform according to suggestions by the 10th Panchen Erdeni. Tibetan people have since enjoyed freedom to be lamas or resume secular life. Nowadays, there are 1,787 religious activity centers, and 46,000 monks and nuns or 2 percent of the Tibetan population in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Volunteers to launch environmental protection action on Qomolangma

The 2007 Mt. Qomolangma Clean-up Campaign also known as 2007 Mt. Everest Action At The Third Pole Of The Earth started in Beijing on April 22.

The action will be launched along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and around the Qomolangma. Besides building daks for Qomolangma torch relaying of the 2008 Olympic Games, the volunteers will also donate to purchasing solar energy equipment for the highest sentry of China.

All the focuses of 2007 Mt. Qomolangma Clean-up Campaign will be environmental protection. The "Light Project" is to ensure the coming torch relay for Tibet Mountaineering Expedition by establishing daks and training bases. The "Sunshine Trip" is to light the highest sentry of China by advanced solar energy technology.

Tibetan Calendar

The Tibetan calendar, a kind of almanac created by Tibetans has a history of 1300 years. The Tibetan calendar is mixed with the calendar of Yin and Yang, which is divided one year into four seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn.

The first month of the twelve is Yin (correspondent to March). The big months alternate with the small months. After every two or three years an intercalary month is added to regulate the seasons. It is quite different between the intercalary time and agricultural calendar.

Due to being influenced by the Han calendar, the heavenly stems have always designed the Tibetan calendar and Earthly branches as annuals. Its difference is used the Five Elements to go instead of ten Heavenly stems. Jia yi (the first and the second of the ten heavenly stems) is symbolized of wood. Bing din (the third and the fourth) is symbolized of fire. Mao ji (the fifth and the sixth) is symbolized of earth. Geng xin (the seventh and the eighth) is symbolized of gold. Ren kui (the ninth and the tenth) is symbolized of water. Any of the twelve animals goes instead of the twelve Earthly branches such as Zhi is symbolized of the rat. Chou is symbolized of oxen and so on.

For instance, Jia zhi year in lunar calendar is called the year of fire tiger in Tibetan calendar. A cycle of sixty years is called "Rabchung" in Tibetan calendar, which is similar in content to "the sixty year-old" in the hinterland of China.

Festivals in Tibet

The people in China's Tibet have devoutly worshipped Tibetan Buddhism for more than 1,300 years. Tibetan Buddhism has a profound influence on the many festivals in the region. Many of the festivals have evolved into purely religious events due to the fact that Tibetan people, long faced with extremely harsh natural conditions and heavy labor, have continually yearned for the blessings and protection of Buddha. They indeed believe that Buddha will help them effect a change in their fate.

The Tibetan calendar, which is quite similar to the lunar calendar followed in areas home to members of the Han nationality, lists festivals in almost every month.Tibetans begin preparing for New Year's Day early in the 12th month according to the Tibetan calendar, with initial activites including the use of green shoots of highland barley as offerings to the statues of Buddha. Activities around the middle of the month include preparing fried wheat dough mixed with butter. The end of the month approaches with each household preparing a Five-Cereal Container containing items such as roasted highland barley flour mixed with butter, fried barley and dromar refreshments, adorned with highland barley ears and a butter sculpture in the shape of the head of a sheep. This is done to pray for a bumper harvest and better life in the coming year. The 29th day of the month arrives with Tibetans cleaning their kitchens and using dry wheat flour to paint eight auspicious patterns on the central wall. The whole family then gathers in the evening to first eat dough drops known as Gutu in Tibetan, and then participate in a grand ritual designed to ward-off evil spirits. New Year's Day of the new Tibetan year is actually celebrated on New Year's Eve. Lime is used to paint Swastika symbols on all doors; new woven rugs are places in the newly cleaned rooms; and sacrificial objects such as fried wheat dough, fruit, butter, tea bricks and dried fruit are places in front of niches holding statues of Buddha.　

The first month of the Tibetan calendar features the greatest number of festivals of any month, with activities scheduled on almost a daily basis:The entire family arises early on the first day of the month to worship Buddha. They adorn their holiday best and greet each other holding Five-Cereal Containers and highland bareley wine. This is followed by drinking hot pear wine and consuming Tuba oatmeal and dromar refreshments fried in butter, all of which were prepared the previous day.　

The second day is dedicated to visits between relatives and friends.　

The Grand Summons Ceremony begins in Lhasa on the fourth day of the month. Zongkapa, the founder of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, introduced the ceremony to Lhasa in 1409 to honor Sakyamuni who subdued evil spirits. Ceremonial activities begin with spirits. Ceremonial activities begin with lamas from Lhasa's three major monasteries reciting Buddhist sutras, lecturing on Buddhism and debating Buddhist doctrines in front of the statue of Sakyamuni in the Jokhang Monastery. Highly successful participants are granted the highest Buddhist academic title known as Lharamba Geshi. The government distributes alms to lamas during ceremonial activities, with devout Buddhists from throughout the region refilling butter lamps and presenting alms. The ceremony lasts until the 25th day of the month when the monastery greets Maitreya.　

The Butter Lamp Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the first month, with people undertaking pilgrimages to monasteries during the day, and in the evening enjoying flower arrangements which are sometimes as much as two to three storeys in height. The structures, which include numerous colored butter sculpture of immortals, animals, birds, flowers and plants, sit along streets lit with hundreds of lamps. The Dalai Lama and major local government officials in old Tibet often attened the festivities.　

The archery contest and Sorcerer's Dance held between the 24th-26th day of the first month attract tens of thousands of spectators.　

Various other major festivals held in the remaining 11 months of the year include:The Lingka Woods Festival, or the World's Incense Burning Day, is held on the 15th day of the 5th month. The festival evolved from the legend that Padmasambhava, an Indian monk who conquered all evil in the 5th month of the Tibetan Year of Monkey. Tibetans wearing their holiday best gather in the shade of lingka trees, where they erect tents and entertain themselves with food, buttered tea and wine. Folk artists exhibit their skills throughout the festival which normally lasts about a month.　

The Shoton (Sour Milk Drinking ) Festival, held on the first day of the seventh month, was strictly a religious festival prior to the 17th century. Local religious tenets required monks to remain sequestered in their monasteries for extended periods, with local people preparing sour milk for them to drink following their period of confinment. Tibetan opera was introduced in the mid-17th century and the Sour Milk Drinking Festival also became known as the Tibetan Opera Festival which was celebrated on a regular basis. Thereafter, all religious and recreational activities were held outside of monasteries. Norbu Lingka was built in the early 18th century as the summer residence of the Dalai Lama. Later, it became the venue for the Shoton Festival. Ordinary people have since been permitted to visit Norbu Lingka festival day and the very same rituals remain in place even today.　

The Ongkor (Bumper Harvest) Festival, which is celebrated in the 8th month, is not restricted to a regularly scheduled date, but is instead held when crops ripen. Celebrations of the festivial, which originated some 1,000 years ago in the middle and lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River Valley, was limited to individual village rituals to pray for a bumper harvest. Sorcerers from the Bon religion were invited to perform rituals as villages walked around their fields. The development of Buddhism led to changes in the festival, with initial changes taking place in the rise of the Nyingma Sect of Tibetan Buddhism in the latter part of the 8th century. Thereafter, there had to be monks from the sect to chant incarnations to ask for a bumper harvest during the festival. The Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism gained prominence in Tibet during the 14th century. The Ongkor Festival soon became tinged with practices of the Gelug (Yellow) Sect, and Buddhist portraits were held high at the front of the processions of devout believers chanting Buddhist sutras. The Ongkor Festival has since been held on an annual basis, with activities including horse racing, archery contests, song and dance, Tibetan opera, stone lifting, wrestling and various other events. Similar activities have long been held in agricultural and some pastoral areas.　

The Auspicious Heavenly Maid Festival held on the 15th day of the 10th month. The festival, known as Belha Rabzhol in the Tibetan language, is a regular event during which lamas from the Moru Monastery offer sacrifices to the Auspicious Heavenly Maid, the protector of Buddhist doctrine for the Jokhang Monastery in Lhasa. The portrait of the Auspicious Heavenlhy Maid is carried to the Sakyamuni Hall on the evening of the 14th day and placed opposite the statue of Sakyamuni. Lamas holding the portrait of the Auspicious Heavenly Maid high in the air parade along Barkor Street at dawn on the 15th day, with onlookers presenting gifts of hada scarves. The procession retuns to the Jokhang Monastery and the portrait is then returned to its normal venue following a series of religious rituals. Tibetan women, who love the festival and affectionately refer to it as the Fairy Festival, adorn their best clothing and attempt to look their very best to worship the portrait of the Auspicious Heavenly Maid.　

The Lamp Festival is held on the 25th day of the 10th month, the legendary day on which Zongkapa, the founder day on which Zongkapa, the founder of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism, met his demise. Lamps on the roofs of monasteries and Local Residences light the evening sky as Buddhists take ritual walks through the streets to monasteries, and places tree branches into incense burners in front of the Jokhang Monastery while praying for good luck.

Lhasa Jokhang Temple

Jokhang Temple is the spiritual center of Tibet. Everyday pilgrims from every corner of Tibet trek a long distance to the temple. Some of them even progress prostrate by body length to the threshold of the temple. Pilgrims fuel myriad of flickering butter lamps with yak butter, or honor their deities with white scarves (Kha-btags or Hada) while murmuring sacred mantras to show their pieties to the Buddha.

It lies at the center of the old Lhasa. Built in 647 by Songtsen Gampo and his two foreign wives, it has a history of more than 1,300. It was said that Nepal Princess Tritsun decided to build a temple to house the Jowo Sakyamuni aged 12 brought by Chinese Princess Wencheng. Princess Wencheng reckoned according to Chinese astrology that the temple should be built on the pool where the Jokhang now locates. She contended that the pool was a witch's heart, so the temple should be built on the pool to get rid of evils. The pool still exists under the temple. Then goats were used as the main pack animals, as is the reason the city is called Lhasa. The construction took 12 months. However it was originally small and had been expanded to today's scale in later dynasties. When the Fifth Dalai Lama took reign, large-scale reconstruction and renovation had been done. The temple is a combination of Han, Tibetan and Nepalese architectural techniques. Visitors will see sphinx and other weird and sacred sculptures. The temple keeps many invaluable cultural relics. The most famous and valuable one is the Jowo Sakyamuni aged 12, which is circumambulated by thousands of pilgrims day and night. On his sides, there are altars of Songtsen Gampo and his two wives who introduced Buddhism into Tibet. The murals in the main hall are also worth seeing, depicting the procession of Princess Wencheng arriving in Tibet and the building of the Jokhang Temple while other murals tell Jataka stories. Two thangkas imaging Yamantaka and Chakrasamvara from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) still remain in perfect condition. The gold bumpa (a vase) upon which the reincarnations of Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama are decided, musical instruments brought into Tibet by Wencheng and other important stuffs are also kept here. Every year, the Great Prayer Festival will be held in the Temple. The rites of Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas' initiation into lamahood are also held in the monastery.

Lhasa Jokhang Temple prepares for Labor Day holiday

Lhasa Jokhang Temple is busy preparing for the upcoming Labor Day holiday. Two routes are made for warship people and tourists respectively as well as more than 40 direction signs to ensure tourists' safe visit.

Ticket price keeps current levels

by:Zheng Peng

The ticket price of Tibetan feature spots will not go up, nor fluctuate during hot season or off season according to the TAR Administration of Commodity Prices.

There's concern on whether the ticket price of feature spots in Tibet will go up as Tibet is a hot travel destination for the coming "Labor Day gold week". The TAR Administration of Commodity Prices confirms that the ticket price will remain the current level. Famous spots such as Potala Palace will cost RMB 100 per ticket and 1,600 tickets will be assigned for group tourists and 700 for individual everyday.

Some reports stated the ticket price would rise sharply since May, 3 times at most and it's proved to be lack of truth by principals of Administration of Commodity Prices.

Elders enjoy health allowance

by:Qu Xiaoli

The average life-span of people in the Tibet Autonomous Region has risen to 67, from 35.5 half a century ago due to greatly improved nutrition, and health care.

According to the recent statistics, there are 79 elders over one hundred years old,1,298 elders between 90 to 99 and 18,813 elders between 80 to 89 in Tibet. Amai Tsering, a 116-year-old elder in Lhunzhub County of Lhasa is the eldest one.

From the beginning of this year, local government has issued the Longevity Card to elders over eighty years old and awarded health allowance which is not less than 300 RMB (equal to 37.5 USD) to each one. The total amount of the health allowance reached to 6,000,000 RMB (equal to 750,000 USD) by now.

Etiquettes and taboos while travelling in tibet

Submitted by: Mark Lee, China

With unique culture and religion, Tibetans have different ways of behavior in many aspects. There is an old Chinese saying: "Sing the local songs when you get to a local place." So please keep in mind the following tips:

1. Remember not to step on threshold when entering the tent or house.

2. Calling somebody in name please add "la" behind the name to express respects.

3. If you are asked to sit down, please cross your legs, do not stretch your legs forward and face your sole to others.

4. You should accept the gift with both hands. While presenting the gift you should bend your body forward and hold the gift higher than your head with both hands. While offering tea, wine or cigarette, you should offer them by both hands and any fingers do not tough inside of the bowl.

5. Do not touch, walk over or sit on any religious texts, objects or prayer flags in monasteries.

6. When the host presents you a cup of wine, you should dip your ring finger in the wine and flick the wine into the sky, in the air and to the ground respectively to express your respects to the heaven, the earth and the ancestors before sipping the wine. The host will fill the cup, and you take a sip of the wine again. After the host fills your cup again, you have to bottom it up.

7. Tibetan people do not eat horse, dog and donkey meat and also do not eat fish in some areas, so please respect their diet habits.

8. It is not polite to clap your palms and spit behind the Tibetan people.

9. Tibetan people stretch out their tongue to say hello to you. Also it is a courtesy to put their hands palm in front of breast.

10. Do not smoke in monasteries. Also it is banned to touch the statue of Buddha and religious articles and take pictures of them. In addition, all should walk clockwise (not in the Bon temples).

11. Seeing any dagobas, monasteries or Mani piles, please go around them clockwise (not of the Bon), do not cross them.

12. Eagles are the sacred birds in the eyes of the Tibetan people. You should not drive them away or injure them. On the outskirts, you could not drive or disturb the sheep or cows with red, green or yellow cloth strips on. Since more and more tourists are going to Tibet, more and more Tibetan people get used of seeing the "Big Noses" (western people) with jeans, sun glasses and some of them with shorts (It is prohibited to wear shorts among the Tibetans.), the above rules are not obeyed so strictly as before. But we still suggest you take the above advices and travel to behave well.

Yak Culture

Moving from Ongen to Shiquanhe through vast expanse of deserts and grasslands, we found oursevelves in Northern Tibet. It joins northwestern Qamdo, Yushu and Golog of Qinghai, and Shiqu, Serda and Hongyuan in Aba of Garze Prefecture of Sichuan to form the largest nomadic herding culture on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
People living in this part of the world lived and multiplied here some 1,000 years ago. Throughout the ages, they have developed ways and means to cope with fierce weather here and learned to make butter, sour milk and wild bull horn milk kettle as well as yak hair cusions and tents. They were also good at making sheep wool or yak hair ribbons.
The Tibetans eat yak meat, drink yak milk, make yak hair tents, use yak hair ropes and yak hide bags, and even burn yak dungs. Yaks are so indispensable for them they call these animals Norbu or treasures in meaning.
Yaks also find their way into artworks, such as monastery murals and rock carvings. According to classics of the Bon religion, yaks came from the Heaven to the top of Gangdese Mountain. Of the Buddhist warriors, one has a yak head.
Once I traveled to/from Coqen to Gaize, covering a total distance of 650 km. It was a scarcely populated area. All along the way that stretches 650 km we met only two households. We paid them a visit in their tent houses and found the hosts sitting on yak hide cushions.
There were five major tribes in Gegyi, including Changdui, Lhoma and Baco. Each tribe had 70-100 households. In addition, there were some small tribes such as Sadegu. As their ancestors came from the Kham and Amdo areas, they were called Khamgegyi. After 1959, this area was renamed Chaka meaning an area by the Salt Lake while Lhoma was divided into two parts administratively, with one part falling under the jurisdiction of Yarang. Three other tribes met to become one district and three townships.
The Qoiling Monastery is the largest of its kind in the area. The abbot of the Garyu sect monastery was so famous that the locals gathered more than 120,000 Yuan for his soul boy and even one car when he passed away at the age of 80.
Some households in Sergo township of Gegyi allowed their sons to marry their daughters in the past. However, most do not do so. Marriage is at the will of the old and married couples do not live independent from their parents until one or two years later when they have one or two children. The youngest son of a family never leaves their parents.
During New Year Day, people in Chaka of Gegyi perform a recreational kind of dance called Chaka Zhogoshie: Zhogo means pastoral area or herders and Shie singing and dancing.
On the 15th day of the 8th Tibetan month each year, the locals gather for sacrifice-paying ritual called Desang in Tibetan.
In the morning, they, dressed in the holiday best, worship Buddha on the top of local mountains or in monasteries. Their sacrifices include aromatic grass, roasted highland barley called zanba and qingke barley wine. They pray for good harvest.
In the afternoon, they perform Zhogoshie dancing until it dawns the next morning. The dancers often number dozens to up to 100. Men lead the singing while others dance. This is followed by women signing and dancing. While doing so, they move in a crock-wise way. As they move at the fastest speed, the singing and dancing party reach its peak.
The herders love to raise sheep. Some love to raise horses also. There are families each raising more than 80 head of domestic animals including a dozen horses.
The herders raise horses not for economic purpose. In theirs eyes, horses are symbol of riches. Men would be deemed lowly without riding horses. During horse race, all the horses would be elegantly adorned.
The herders raise sheep for meat and wool. Before the peaceful liberation of Tibet in 1951, wool was brought to India and Nepal in return for cloth, rice, sugar, fruit and other daily necessities. After 1951, wool was purchased by the government departments concerned.
Gegyi herders hate to slaughter any sheep aged one to four years and they hate to slaughter sheep they raise themselves. When there is no one who could help with slaughtering, they would manage to kill it without using knife or club. Before using knife, they will chant the Six Syllable Prayer and use prayer tube to touch their foreheads. And they would try not to let their chests stained with the blood of the sheep they slaughter. Women will stay away while men do these generally on the 15th and 30th days of each month, except for October and November when they slaughter sheep one per week apiece so as to store enough meat for winter.
To store meat for winter consumption, they eat animal intestines first and freeze meat outside in open air before bringing them back home. Generally, they wrap frozen meat with animal hide. Animal chests are considered to be of the best quality and used to entertain guests or to be consumed mainly by the old and men in the family. Lungs are used to feed dogs only....

More climbers flock into Nepal for climb

by:Cathy

Thanks to ending long chaos caused by war and tending towards peace in Nepal, this spring, the number of mountaineering teams who want to challenge to climb Himalayas mountains has increased sharply.

Data from Nepalese culture, tourism and civil aviation departments shown on April 20, until now, 57 mountaineering teams have been permitted to climb some mountains of Himalayas range from slope in Nepal. Among them, 22 teams prepare to scale Mt. Qomolangma (also known as Mt. Everest).

However, only 53 mountaineering teams visited Nepal including 17 Mt. Qomolangma climb teams in 2006.

By the book, the period from March to June is the golden season for mountaineering in Nepal. After that, a few mountaineering teams climb up until it starts to snow in mountainous areas in Autumn.

Nepal is known as "Mountain King". Eight of 14 mountains with altitude over 8000 meters in the world can be won up from Nepal. Mountaineering is a relative "high consumption" activity. Thus, mountaineering becomes the most important source for achieving income.

During this first season, over 82,000 foreign tourists visited Nepal, up with 32 per cent year on year. Nearly 20 per cent of them went there for climbing mountains.

Each climber should deliver 25,000 USD tax for climbing from Nepal while 40,000 USD for two-member team and 70,000 USD for seven-member team.

Expert: 'Step-by-step travel' to Tibet will prevent from plateau illness

by:Sophia Zhang

As the hot season of Tibetan tour is coming, more and more tourists will enter Tibet by train. Wu Tianyi, academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering reminds tourists not to go to Tibet directly but enter Tibet step by step, which will effectively prevent from the plateau illness.
Wu Tianyi has focused on the plateau illness study for a long period. He says the 22-hour train journey from 3,000 to 5,000 meters is a limitation of oxygen-lack for tourists. "Plateau illness responses occur at two places, from Golmud to Kunlun Mountain and after passing the Kunlun Mountain. So tourists may have danger of plateau illness on their journey to Lhasa from Golmud," said Wu.

"Aged tourists can stay in 2,200-meter Xining for one or two days to adapt to the plateau environment and then go to Golmud at 2,800 meters for another one or two days. Tourists then can decide when go to Lhasa. If one feels uncomfortable in Xining and Golmud, we suggest him not to visit Lhasa," said Wu Tianyi.

He also reminds that tourists should have medical checkup before visiting Tibet. Those who suffer from heart and lung diseases, fever, catching a cold or tiredness should delay or cancel their plan to visit Tibet.

From the operation of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway on July 1, 2006 to the end of this February, over 1.66 million tourists had visited Tibet and Qinghai by train.

Tibetan Canvas Paintings

These canvas paintings painted by Geng Wangyi have displayed the spirit and habitude of children, women and men who lived in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the roof of the world.

more infor about tibetan paitings:

Tibetan painting originated from rock painting in ancient times. It consists mainly of the animal images of deer, ox, sheep, horses, and hunting scenes. Painting was quite developed in ancient times, especially after Buddhism arrived, and religious painting was further developed. Buddhist art not only retains the best of traditional Tibetan art, but is also influenced by Indian, Nepali and Chinese art. It's quite unique and extraordinary splendid! Tibet Buddhism is very abstruse; the artists painted distinctive images of Buddha, and many pictures of him. The painting is mainly exhibited in sculpture, wall paintings, thankas, etc. Wall paintings contain rich content, involving religion, politics, history, economy, culture, Tibetan medicine, and social life. Any of the Buddhist scriptures, Buddhist messages, fairy tales, history stories, daily living scenes, mountains and rivers, birds and flowers, patterns and adornment can be adopted into a wall painting, which has a unique style. It uses cold and dark colors, such as black, dark blue, mauve, dark grey, brown and white; drawing with lines, especially plain lines; simple, rough and sparse outlines. It has the same style of art as the atmosphere of the monastery, and contains exaggerated and distorted art images.Brightly colored wall paintings can be found everywhere in Tibetan monasteries. Some of them are more than 1300 years old. As it is recorded in Tibetan history, in the year when Songtsen Gampo, the Tibetan king, inherited the throne, it is said he saw Sakyamuni, Horse-necked Diamond King, Tara, Stationary Vajrapani, and the four Buddhas. He told the Nepali artisan, Ciba, to carve the four Buddhas into a rock wall and paint them. This is the earliest wall painting and sculpture. Tibetan wall painting experienced two periods. The first period starts after Songtsen Gampo became the king. Because he married a Khridzun princess of Nepal, and a Wenchen princess of the Tang Dynasty who brought Buddhist statues and Buddhist scriptures, he built Jokhang Monastery and Romoche Monastery, which affected the development of wall painting. The figures in the wall paintings of that period are chubby, and painted with simple color, which is close to the art works at Dunhuang by Bei Wei and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. The second period started around 10 century A.C. when the initiator of the Yellow sect, Zongkapa, reformed the religion. Yellow sects grew rapidly as the predominant religion. The number of yellow sect monasteries increased to 3000. During that period, the political and religious leaders collected many folk painters to complete wall painting jobs, and let them run in the families. That is the most splendid period of wall painting.The painters gave human life to the statue of Buddha through art, which make the statue look faithful, handsome, merciful, charming, fiery and forthright.Portraits and biographies of DaLai, Bainqen and other famous monks in history Such works exist as picture-story book in all the monasteries. Each of these images has distinct features that can be easily recognized by someone who knows a little bit of Tibetan culture.Custom drawing or record of famous history eventsFor example, some wall paintings at The Potala Palace show the wedding of Songtsen Gambo and the Wenchen Princess, the passionate welcoming ceremony at Lhasa when Wenchen reached there. Wall paintings at the Samye Monastery beside the Yarlung Zanbo River contain many scenes of boxing, horse racing, KongFu, wrestling, and weight lifting. There are even pictures of a Qigong player using two swords to support his abdomen, with his arms and legs in the air that is a depiction of acrobatic skill. Tibetan wall painting is actually pictures of Tibetan history. It describes visually social living, the development of religion, historical tales, local conditions and the customs of Tibet. It is a pearl of Chinese national art!

Checkup of entrance examination for college starts in Tibet

Staffers of the General Hospital of Tibet Military Command are recording serial number for blood samples, photo from Xinhua, April 21.
A staffer of the General Hospital of Tibet Military Command has a checkup for a student, photo from Xinhua, April 21.

A staffer of the General Hospital of Tibet Military Command has a checkup for a student, photo from Xinhua, April 21।
Over 5,600 examinees will attend the entrance examination for college in Lhasa this year. The checkup for all the examinees starts on April 21 and will finish on April 30. More than 60 experienced doctors and nurses of the General Hospital of Tibet Military Command have been transferred to this work.

Fire in Tibetan virgin forest extinguished

Burning fire in a virgin forest in NyingchiPrefecture of Tibet has been extinguished by more than 6,000 fire-fighters after an artificial rainfall operation was performed, said local sources on Saturday.
By Saturday morning, the spread of the fire had been curbed. By 5:50 p.m., burning fire was put out after having been raging for two days.
Thick smoke was spotted at about 5:10 p.m. on Thursday in a forest four kilometers from the Bayi township, in the Nyingchi Prefecture, southeast Tibet. Strong winds had fanned the fire and by 600 a.m. on Friday.
Local meteorological departments successfully staged an artificial rainfall when rain clouds which had been forecasted earlier appeared in the sky on Friday.
Damage caused by the forest fire can not be calculated at the time but no casualties have been reported, said Zhao He, general director of the fire-fighting headquarter.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.