Travel Stories - China

Yesterday we departed from Kathmandu towards the border of Tibet; unfortunatley it’s not allowed to travel by ourselves to this part of China so I booked a 5 day tour to Lhasa and got myself a two-weeks visa.  

At 09:00 we have breakfast together in the dining room at the hotel in Shigatse. We pack our things together and an hour later we are all back in our separate minibuses. On the way we pass many farms/settlements with large yards surrounded by a mud wall. Goats, yaks and dogs stay together in this space where old rubbish, such as parts of tractors and children play. In the middle is the farm in its typical Tibetan architecture of brigth colours and mudbrick. About two hours further bussing we stop in the third city of the country / province "Gyantse" where we will stay tonight. It lies exactly on the "friendship road" between Shigatse and Lhasa.

"Pelkhor Chode" monastery

After we have checked in at our hotel we have lunch. Then it's time to go to the city's biggest attraction - the monastery "Pelkhor Chode". In the center of Gyantse was originally a mountain fortress, whose construction dates back to the 9th century. In the 14th century this fortress was converted into the monastery which we are now about to enter. It is the largest stupa in Tibet and divided over four different floors. You can find 108 Buddhist chapels, the Tibetan tradition as well as 10,000 murals. After we have fled the group, I walk with four Dutch people coming from the other minibus to a self-chosen route and meet a number of young monks. To them we show a "forbidden" picture (by the Chinese government) of the Dalai Lama which they really appreciate.  

The monastery has a turbulent history; it was attacked in 1904 by the British during the British campaign in Tibet. Although the damage has largely been repaired, there are still bullet holes in the walls of the monastery. In 1959 a part of the monastery was destroyed during the uprising in Tibet. And during the Cultural Revolution in the ‘60s and ‘70s, the monastery was plundered by the Chinese government. It is impressive to see the - for us - Chinese gate flanked by two stone statues of lions and behind them the impressive white monument. On the high rock behind it lies, as can be seen, impregnable fort. It is a complex of different buildings with white walls with a coloured strip on top. Also many stupas with golden decorations. We see many Divine images, white scarves and cheerful monks in red robes. When we have seen enough we look from the courtyard to the fort "Dzong" which is located on top of the hill behind the monastery. The city is already at an altitude of almost 4000 meters and halfway through the fortress mountain a platform was built to build guns to keep the approaching British at bay in the early 20th century.

After visiting the monastery we, as Dutch tourists, make plans to make another walk through the town. It is striking that this is not so badly "affected" or "influenced" by the Chinese (government), which gives some hope for the future. Suddenly we hear somebody banging against a window and we look up. There is a Tibetan man who opens the window and gestures to come upstairs. A minute later we are in a local livingroom that looks more like a museum. The modern but very dusty video recorder stands out next to the antique wooden furniture and the carpet on the floor. We sit down while we look around and meet the whole family. Shy, slightly nervous but also excited, the lady of the house pours a cup of tea while I look at the many photo frames that stand on the brightly colored cupboard. After getting a biscuit and many handshakes, we say goodbye to these lovely people. After a refreshing shower at the hotel, we go back to the town with its five and back to have a bite to eat in a very local restaurant. We – the four of us - make plans for our stay together in Lhasa and since there is no menu, we go to the kitchen one by one to tell the cook how to prepare a meal. After we have played a game "pool" outside the hotel on a rancid table without a sheet we go back to our rooms in the hotel.

We have to get up early today; after a quick breakfast we leave the hotel around half past eight. After hours of driving on dusty roads we approach the beautiful "Yamdrok tso" lake. The azure lake is even more beautiful because of the surrounding snowy mountain peaks. According to a Tibetan legend, the lake was made by a goddess. It is one of the three largest sacred lakes in Tibet. A number of tough guys from the other bus strip off and jump into the ice-cold water. After lunch in the nearby town "Nangartse" which turns out to be a very popular place for lunch for tour groups, we continue our drive towards capital Lhasa. It seems like the Chinese are busy with (road)construction everywhere in Tibet and we understand that we are on the old road towards Lhasa but that it will take a bit longer. We stop at the top of the "Kamba-La" pass which is located at almost 4800 meters. The wind is blowing and we are happy when after some pictures of the view we can go back into the van. We stop one more time before arriving late in the capital of Tibet to possibly take a ride on a yak.