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Background: For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.

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By turkishraf
December 6th 2009

The K 9801 to Lhasa and Beyond Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa

From the window

The Lhasa express is a very special train. Constructed for use at high altitude it has well sealed doors and inter carriage walkways. It has its own oxygen creation system which pumps oxygen into the train and, we are told, effectively maintains the altitude at between 10-12,000 feet. The berths are comfortable, the sheets perfectly starched and most of the train crew speak some English. This is without doubt a prestigious train service for China Railways. We piled into our compartment and stowed our bags. We had booked the fourth berth for Nigella, our rather small cool box. Rather than fi [View Full Entry]

Cisca and Chris stuffing their faces in Chinhai

By shaun dellavedova
September 20th 2009

Buying a rug in Lhasa Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa

Potala Palace

The first big test we faced upon arrival in Lhasa is the three hundred meter walk with your bags from the train to the bus that was taking us to our hotel. Now I know that this doesnt sound that hard, but when you have jsut stepped out of an oxygen enriched environment to the thin air at 3600 meters, it is not as easy as it sounds. I have been lucky enough that the altitude did not affect me much in Lhasa, but some of the others were not so lucky. And even those of us that were OK were [View Full Entry]

By GypsyKing
August 9th 2009

Saying Goodbye to Tibet Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa

Beauty is everywhere in Tibet...

Saying Goodbye to Tibet After a late night filled with fiery political discussions and warm beer, our week of exploring Lhasa and Mt. Everest was technically coming to a close. All but three of us are leaving in the morning so the evening was filled with hearing what others enjoyed or hated about our adventure, swapping emails, passionate ideas on why the European Union will never work, all while enjoying some of the best late-night views of Barkhor Square on the rooftop bar at Mak Ye Ame. Along with Jenny and I, the wildly successful travel writer from India whose name [View Full Entry]

By JAM09
August 8th 2009

And so into Tibet Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa

Camels

We crossed the border into Western China on 22nd July over the Toruquart Pass at 3752m - quite a road. It was a day’s driving over nothing more than a gravel track - this is the main route into China from Kyrgyzstan! The border crossing is quite a palaver and has several phases - it took us from about midday until 8pm to complete all the phases of it and know that we were finally in China. This is an area of China that tourists don’t normally see as most foreigners are familiar with the Eastern side of the country. We [View Full Entry]

By planters club
August 7th 2009

Tibetische Killerschweine Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa

We da roast!

haben es am ende doch nach lhasa geschafft. bonzig in der first class geflogen, da economy ja ausgebucht war, obwohl genau hinter uns 3 plaetze frei waren - scheisse. wirklich first class wars allerdings auch nicht, die lounge bietet gratistee, so wie in jedem noch so billigen restaurant, das essen kann auch nicht unbedingt ueberzeugen. am flughafen, praktischerweise 70km von lhasa entfernt, werden wir von unserem guide und unserem fahrer bereits erwartet, auf dem weg in die stadt, der ueber strassen fuehrt, die 3 chinesischen panzern nebeneinander platz bieten koennten, listet er fakten w [View Full Entry]

By Schlaef
August 6th 2009

Less than a year, and I'm back in Lhasa... Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa

Photo 10

We arrived in Lhasa the afternoon of August 3rd. After much debate and members of the group having to come to terms the fact that the chinese bureaucracy owned us, we decided to stay at the Kirey Hotel off of Beijing Zhonglu near the Barkhor and Jokhang. While in Lhasa, the majority of my time was spent wandering around town and talking with locals. I visited a few temples, bought some cool souvenirs, and took plenty of pictures. Although the development in Lhasa is incredible, the majority of locals (99%) were very happy with it...both tibetans and han chinese immigrants. [View Full Entry]

A sign in the han-chinese dominated west side of lhasa that says "the developing zone is very promising"

By Schlaef
August 5th 2009

Day Trip to Ganden Monastery Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa

giant thangka

We decided to ride our bikes west to Ganden monastery for a day trip today. The total round trip distance i think was around 120 kilometers...with one very difficult climb up to the monastery. Ganden Monastery is the central monastery of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It was built in 1409 under the supervision of Zongkapa. A large number of pilgrims are attracted by many naturally formed manifestations of the buddha, the lush shrubbery and the beautiful sceneries surrounding Ganden Monastery. By law, we were required to have a guide come with us to the monastery. The agency we were [View Full Entry]

There was a special festival the day we went, where a giang thangka was unfurled for a couple of hours

By GypsyKing
August 5th 2009

Potala Palace, Summer Palace, Walking in circles... Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa

Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet

We wake up to our third day in this amazing city, Lhasa. We both got to sleep in from our night of singing and partying at Music Bar, and push ourselves to stumble over for breakfast at 9:30am! The whole group eventually lumbers in, groggy but happy, we laugh about last night’s fun and eat a Chinglish breakfast. There are fruit and snacks stands right outside our hotel so we pick some up, and water, lots of water our guide reminds us. Then all twenty-two of us hop on a bus and drive the fifteen minute drive to the most recognizable [View Full Entry]

By GypsyKing
August 4th 2009

Jokhang Temple, Sera Monastery, and Music... Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa

Praying at Jokhang Temple...

Got up and out at 8:30am to have a light Chinese breakfast with some western flair such as pancakes, pan-grilled spam, and strong, black coffee. For our first day we skip over just a block to one of Tibet’s most memorable experiences, the Jokhang Temple. Founded in 639AD, it was built to protect an image of the Buddha brought as dowry by the Nepali Princess Bhrikuti on her marriage to King Songsten Gampo. Check out all the pics from today's adventure at my new account on Flickr, just click here. [View Full Entry]

By GypsyKing
August 3rd 2009

Sparkling skies, labored breaths... Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa

Flying into Lhasa, Tibet

Hello from the rooftop of the world! We landed here in Lhasa about 4:35pm, taking pictures of the changing landscape the whole way in, flying over brown tundra, snow-capped mountains, green hills with green and yellow-colored waters running through them. The lakes and rivers are lime green and yellow here...beautifully surreal. The weather is warm, low 70's right now, and the first thing you notice is how clean the air is and how crisp are the views. The sky is literally resting on your head we are so close to the heavens. The airport is surrounded by mountains and at first [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Asia » China » Tibet » Lhasa