I'm going after a find of incredible historical significance, you're talking about the boogeyman! Besides, you know what a cautious fellow I am!
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General descriptions:
Tibet is often called the `sea of song and dance'. Tibetans are rich in culture heritages. Tibet is situated on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. It has the world's highest mountains, several large, rushing rivers and many beautiful lakes. The northern part is a high plateau and a wild life reserve ( Changtang reserve, 115,500 square mile (300,000 square kilometer) , as large as Texas), the southern, eastern, western parts are valleys. Its unique culture, celebrated monasteries and its magnificent scenery make it charming and mysterious. The mountains, including Mount Qomolangma (i.e., Mount Everest), are imposing with their snow covered heights. There are 2.1 million Tibetans living in Tibet (1.15 million square km) with 0.07 million non-Tibetans (including soldiers). The total population of Tibetans in China is 4.6 million with 0.9 million lived in Qinghai (i.e., Amdo in classical Tibetan, which has a total population 5 million) and the rest in Sichuan, Yunnan, and Gansu. There is an unknown number of Tibetans living in Sikkim, Bhutan, Northern Nepal, and Northern India. Some western writters use a figure of 6 million total Tibetans.
Tibetans are nomads or farmers raising barley, yaks , and sheep. Only recently have Tibetans started raising chicken, eating fish and vegetables. In the old days, Tibetans dressed in wool and sheepskins. Now they use cotton and various modern fibers. Highways opened up the transportation picture. Some parts of Tibet are electrified. Different tribes wear dresses with distinctive style.
In the seventh century, the king of Tibet (Tubo), Songsten Gampo, married Wen Cheng, a Tang princess. The princess brought Han culture into Tibet. There is an interesting and long history of Tibet. It is culturely rich. Before 1949, Tibet resembles medieval Europe and Tibetans were divided into many classes: some are serfs and some are nobilities. In 1964, Tibet became an Autonomous Region of China.
Religion:
Religion is the most important element in the life of Tibetans. The dominant religion here is Tibetan Buddhism or Vajrayana Buddhism, a branch of Buddhism that empahsizes Tantric practices. Tibetan Buddhism is divided into 5 sects: the Yellow Hats, the Red Hats, the White Hats, the Flower Hats and the Black branch. Leader of the Yellow Hats order, the Dalai Lama, is believed to be an emanation of the Great Buddhisattva known variously as Chen-re-zig or Avalokitesvara or Guan-Yin (depending on your language). When each incarnation dies, his spirit takes on the body of another child at birth. Today, Tibet has 1,400 monasteries open with 34,000 monks and nuns (according to Senchen Losangtsengzang, former abbot of Tashilhunpo Monastery) .
Customs:
Another traditional Tibetan custom is giving Hada, a long silk scarf as token of esteem and good luck. Most deceased remains are disposed of via the 'sky burial.' The bodies are cut up by funeral priests at dawn to feed vultures. This is probably due to the scarcity of wood for burning the body and the hardness of the frozen high plateau which makes it difficult to bury a body. The story of the Buddha in a previous life feeding himself to a hungry eagle to save a dove possibly encouraged this custom. Qing Governors (Tsu Zang Da Chen or Amban) tried to prohibit this custom by law without much success. Many people believe that these irds carry the spirits to heaven.
Cities:
Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, is called the City of Sun, because of its excellent sunshine at an altitude of 3607 meters. The meaning of `Lhasa' is `goat-dirt' which means that the original city was built on the dirt carried by goats. The Potala Palace perches on a lofty cliff. It is 13-story-high, with 1000 rooms (which traditionally means the space between any two columns), 10,000 chapels and tombs of eight Dalai Lamas. It was built by King Songsten Gampo and Princess Wen Cheng, and was the official residence of the Dalai Lama. After the 17th century, the palace was used only in the winter. The Jokhang (i.e., Buddhist Temple), the most important Buddhist temple in Tibet, is the heart of Lhasa. It used to be the site of the Tibetan government. There are many stores around it. Princess Wen Cheng brought with her the seated statue of the child Sakyamuni. The Tibetans believe that the statue was made by the Buddha himself. The Great Prayer Festival (smom-lam) is held annually here. The temples are full of worshipers. The Sera (i.e., wild roses) Monastery was built in 1419. It is one of the four major monasteries in Tibet. The 18 sandalwood arhats and four Heavenly Kings here were gifts from Ming Emperors. By a decree of Qing Emperor Qian-Long, it traditionally had 5,500 monks. The Drepung (Zhaibung, i.e., a pile of rice) Monastery, another one of the major four monasteries, was built in 1416. By the same royal decree, traditionally it had 7,700 monks, now it has 600 monks. It has a white conch and a gilded Buddha. Sera, Drepung and Gandan (Buddha blessed, or virtue. By the same royal decree, it had 3,300 monks) are the three great temples of Lhasa. Norbulingka Park, built by a Governor (Tsu Zang Da Chen or Amban) under a decree of a Qing Emperor, was once the summer residence of Dalai Lama. It is set in a 100 acres garden and has 370 rooms.
Located 225 km west of Lhasa, Xigatze (Shigatse) , is a very important religious city which has the Tashilhunpo (i.e., lucky mountain) Monastery. It was founded in 1447 and was the home of the Panchen Lamas, the emanations of Buddha O-pa-me or the Buddha of Eternal Light. When the sixth Panchen Lama went to Beijing to see the Qing Emperor Qian-Long, a replica was built in Chende near Beijing in his honor. The tenth Panchen Lama died here in 1989.
Gyantse, the `City of Heroes', is famous for the resistance it put up against the British invaders of 1903, The monks and soldiers of Gyantse stood the ground until June, 1904. The city is 700 hundred years old and known for its carpet production.
Transportations:
There are air connections between Lhasa and Chendu, Chungking of Sichuan, and Hongkong, Kathmandu of Nepal on scheduled flights. There are highways connecting Tibet with the provinces Xinjiang, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan of China and Nepal and Sikkim. There are scheduled busses from Golmud, Qinghai to Lhasa. People may consider hitchhiking or hiking for adventures.
Visa:
The following is the response from a Chinese Consulate General about the `Instruction About Visa Application' to our inquiry,
(1)-(5) omitted.
(6) For travel to Tibet, please contact your local travel agency to obtain approval from the Tourist Bureau of Tibet before applying for a visa. (Fax: 011-86-891-34632 or 011-86-891-33588, Lhasa, Tibet, China or Tel. 415-362-7477 China Internationl Travel Service, G.D. Inc in San Francisco for reference).
(7)-(17) omitted.
Accommodations:
There are many modern hotels, some four-stars, in Lhasa, Xigatse, Tsetang and elsewhere. One could also enjoy living in a Tibetan tent in Dram (Zhangmu). A variety of dishs are avialable. The pressure cooker is not common in Tibet. So sometimes the foods are not well-done due to the low air-pressure. The tour is not recommended for people with digestive problems, or heart conditions or past internal injures.
