The Land of Snows

Tibetan Grandma with Grandson

This was one of my favorite pictures I took in 2007. This was taken in late October in northern Kham near the Bayan Kala Mountain Pass which divides Kham province from Amdo province. Like most nomads in this area, they live in their yak hair tent (seen in the back) year round. Though it was only early winter, the temperature was -7C/20F during the day. This Tibetan woman was in her late 50's and her grandson was 6. It is difficult to get an exact age for older Tibetans since most of them do not know their birthdays. This family was poor. They had only around 10 head of yak, which is quite small in Tibet. They had no electricity, no running water and lived several hours from any town.

Dzado County

Dzado (Zaduo in Chinese) is one of the most isolated counties in Tibet. It lies 240kms southwest from Jyekundo , 1050kms south of Xining and 950kms northeast of Lhasa . Dzado, like Nangchen county, has a very high percentage of Tibetans. Tibetans make up over 98% of the population of the county. The headwaters of the Mekong River (Dza Chu in Tibetan) are found near the township of Moyun in western Dzado. The county is named after the Mekong River.

Most of the Tibetans in Dzado are herders. They either are nomads living in yak hair tents, or they live in small mudbrick homes. Yaks can be found everywhere. Dzado has an average elevation of 4200m / 13,800 feet. There are many mountains in the county that are over 5000m / 16,400 feet. Winters are cold and summers are mild. During certain times of the year, the Mekong River is a bright turquoise color. There are very few trees in this area, but the river and high mountains make it a very beautiful place to visit.                     

Very few people make it to this remote corner of Tibet. There are no good hotels in the area and no one speaks English, but the journey to Dzado promises to be amazing and adventurous.

For more information about Dzado county, please send an email to [email protected]

Manigango

Manigango, 3960m / 12,990 feet, is a small one street town found in far northwestern Sichuan in the Kham region of Tibet . The town itself isn't too bad, but the areas just outside of town are what make Manigango a must see. The holy lake of Yilhun Lha Tso is 13kms west of town. This stunning alpine lake is an excellent place to do some hiking and camping. There are many hand carved prayer stones in the area with the classic Tibetan mantra "Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum". Glaciers from Mt. Chola, 6168m / 20,231 feet, are found on the back side of the lake.

Manigango is located at the junction of two major highways. Eighty-five kilometers east of Manigagno is Ganzi, 110kms west is Dege , Sershul (Shiqu) is 225kms north and Jyekundo is 440kms to the northwest. About half way from Manigango to Dege you cross over the Chola mountain pass. This 5050m / 16,564 foot pass is the highest in the area and is often snow covered in summer.The Manigango-Dege area is perhaps the most scenic area in all of Kham. With lots of Tibetan culture, this area promises to be worth the long trip in getting here.

For more information about Manigango and Yilhun Lha Tso please email [email protected]

 

 

Highway 214 Through East Tibet

Highway 214 is one of the most scenic highways in Tibet. It cuts across the eastern regions of the Tibetan Plateau going through many great Tibetan areas in Amdo and Kham. The highway begins in Xining in northeast Amdo and goes south though the eastern parts of the Tibet Autonomous Region and western Yunnan before ending near the border of China and Myanmar. All together it travels well over 2500kms / 1563 miles. It is one of my favorite highways on the planet. I have been fortunate enough to travel many tens of thousands of kilometers along this route.

Highway 214 begins in northeast Amdo in the city of Xining (known as Silang in Tibetan). Not far outside of Xining is Kumbum Monastery (pictured above), which is one of the 6 great Gelukpa monasteries of Tibet. This monastery is a major tourist destination in the summer months, but during Tibetan New Year many Tibetan pilgrims from across Amdo come here to worship. The area around Xining is around 2400m / 7875 feet above sea level. The population here is an interesting mix of Han Chinese, Tibetans, Hui Muslims, Mongolians, Tu and Salar (a Turkic speaking Muslim people group).

About 90kms south of Xining you cross over the Sun Moon Mountain pass which is the historical and cultural boundary between Chinese and Tibetan people. Once you cross this pass, the landscape changes to wide open grasslands full of yaks and sheep. Nomads living in white canvas tents are often seen. Nomads are very friendly people and almost always invite foreigners in for some tea. Though this is China, it is traditionally referred to as the Amdo province of Tibet.

Two hundred and fifty kilometers south of Xining or 160kms south of the Sun Moon Mountain Pass you come to Xinghai county (known as Tsigorthang in Tibetan). This county sits at 3500m / 11,480 feet and has a high percentage of Tibetan nomads. There are no trees in this area, but grasslands are far as the eye can see. In the early fall through late spring, most of the mountains here are snow capped. There are many places to stop and camp with nomads in Xinghai. This area sees very few tourist, but is a great place to go.

Mado County (Maduo in Chinese) is one of the highest and coldest counties in all of Tibet. It sits at 4300m / 14,105 feet and is cold all year long. I have seen snow here every month of the year. Mado, 480kms south of Xining, is situated on the upper reaches of the Yellow River. The actual source of the river is found about 300kms west of Mado. Mado, like Xinghai county, is populated heavily with Tibetan nomads. In the winter, the highway through here can often be closed due to heavy snow.

 The holy mountain of Amnye Machen (elevation 6282m / 20,605 feet) is located not too far off of Highway 214. You can't actually see it from the highway, but there is a pass about 60kms off of the highway (southeast from Huashixia heading towards Darlag) which provides an excellent view of the mountain. One of 4 main holy mountains in Tibetan buddhism, Amnye Machen attracts many Tibetan pilgrims during the summer months. It is the best place in the Amdo region for high altitude trekking.

One hundred twenty kilometers south of Mado and 600 kms south of Xining, you pass the Bayan Ka La Mountain Pass which is the border between the Amdo and Kham provinces of Tibet. This county is known as Trindo (Chengduo in Chinese) and also is very high. The northern regions of the county have an average elevation of over 4400m / 14,432 feet. The population here is nearly 100% nomadic with many of the nomads living in black yak hair tents. The only two towns along this stretch of highway are Domda (Qingshui He in Chinese) and Shewu (Xiewu in Chinese).

 The large Kham Tibetan town of Jyekundo is 825kms south of Xining and 375 kms north of Riwoche on Highway 214. This growing town has a large monk population due to several large monasteries in the area. It is a major trading center being situated roughly halfway between Xining and Lhasa. Each year on July 25th, Jyekundo is home to one of the largest horse festivals in Tibet. During the festival, thousands of Tibetan families live in tents at the horse festival grasslands (pictured above).There are many interesting sights to see around Jyekundo (elevation 3700m / 12,136 feet) such as the Princess Wencheng Temple, The Gyanak Mani Temple and the Lheba gorge.

Nangchen (elevation 3550m / 11,644 feet) is located 985kms south of Xining and 215kms north of Riwoche. It is an amazingly beautiful county that very few people outside the area get to see. Nangchen has one of the highest percentages of monks and nuns anywhere on the Plateau. There are around 80 monasteries in this county, many of which are in remote locations far off the main highway. The Mekong River flows through Nangchen county. The river is a turquoise color in the late summer and early fall. The south part of the county has evergreen forests and incredible rocky mountains. Tibetans make up over 98% of the population of Nangchen county which is one of the highest percentages of Tibetans anywhere.

Located 230kms south of Jyekundo and 30kms north of the border between Qinghai and the Tibet Autonomous Region, is the former residence of the Nangchen king. A monastery as well as a large collection of mani stones (hand carved prayer stones) are found near the kings former home. The home sits about 5kms off of highway 214. This little known place is very important in the history of Tibet. There are around 250 monks who live here.

About 115kms north of Riwoche town and 1085 kms south of Xining is the border between Qinghai and the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). There are a couple of checkpoints in this area. The first one is a quarantine checkpoint. A man will come out and spray all the tires of your vehicle with some kind of disinfectant. The next checkpoint is where they will inspect the inside of vehicles, though this is mainly done to large trucks. Once you enter into the TAR, there is another quarantine checkpoint where they will spray your tires again. To legally be in this region of the TAR you need to have 4 seperate permits, a 4WD, driver and a guide. Getting caught in this region without these could land you in a lot of trouble. The road leading south into Riwoche county is a nice, new 2 lane highway in excellent condition. Not too long ago, this road used to be a muddy path.

Eighty-five kilometers south of the Qinghai-TAR border is the large Riwoche Tsuklakhang monastery (pictured above). This massive building is lined with prayer wheels all along the outisde walls. On the south side of the building are the massive doors which lead inside. There are many monasteries in Riwoche county, but this monastery is the largest and most famous. Pilgrims can been seen walking the kora around the monastery every day.

Chamdo, 3350m / 10,990 feet, is 105kms east of Riwoche and 480kms south of Jyekundo. Chamdo is the unofficial capital of Kham province, Tibet. The large modern town is spread out along the Mekong River. Because this area is so remote and inaccessible using public transportation (foreigners must arrange all travel through a travel agency in order to go to Chamdo legally), Chamdo doesn't see many foreign tourists. Chamdo is full of history and culture and is worth going to if you have the time and money.

From Chamdo, Highway 214 runs south 420kms to Markham. From Markham it is another 225kms before reaching Dechen (Diqing) in far northwest Yunnan province. From Dechen it is 185kms to Shangri-La (Zhongdian) which  marks the end of the Tibetan world along highway 214. From Xining to Shangri-La, the highway covers 2135kms / 1335 miles. All of this route is excelent to take. For an authentic Tibetan experience with few other tourists around, this route is one of the best to take through Tibet. Conditions along the way are often poor. Many places have only basic guesthouses with no running water or attached bathrooms. Food options are limited in many of the small towns and villages. Weather can be very cold in the high elevation regions. English speakers can be difficult or impossible to find. But, for those wanting to get off the beaten path, this is the route for you. It promises to be an adventure. I just returned from doing the route from Xining to Chamdo prefecture and it was great. I would have loved to continue all the way down to Shangri-La, but I ran out of time.

For more information about this area, please send an email to [email protected]

Princess Wencheng Temple

 One of the most famous temples in Kham is the Princess Wencheng Temple found 20km south of Jyekundo . Princess Wencheng, from mainland China, married the famous Tibetan king Songsten Gampo over 1350 years ago. According to history, the princess left modern day Xi'an in the year 640 for Tibet. The next year she married the Tibetan king. The marriage was probably part of a peace treaty between China and Tibet.

Songsten Gampo met princess Wencheng near Ngoring and Kyaring Lakes in Mado (Maduo) county in western Amdo (Qinghai province). From there they continued together to Lhasa. Along the way to Lhasa they stopped for around a month in the Lheba Ravine located about 25kms from the current Wencheng Temple. The princess was well liked by the local Tibetan people. She, along with the entourage of servants who accompanied her from Xi'an, taught the local people how to grow several types of crops. When the king and princess left to continue on their journey to Lhasa, the local people were very sad. The princesses footprints were left on a rock where she often stood. The site quickly became an object of worship. Seventy years later, another princess from China named Jincheng also passed through the same area. She had a temple built in honor of princess Wencheng.

 During Losar (Tibetan New Year), many thousands of Tibetan pilgrims walk the kora around the temple. The temple is built along along a mountain side. The mountains surrounding the temple are excellent for hiking. Tens of thousands of Tibetan prayer flags are in the area. It is a must see place if you are in the area.

The easiest way to get to the Princess Wencheng Temple is to hire a van taxi from Jyekundo. It is only 20kms and the road is quite good. You should be able to get a ride out there for between Y50 and Y100 depending on your bargaining skills. If you decide to do some hiking there, it is best to hire a taxi to take you one way and then hitch a ride to go back into town. From the temple, it is less than 2kms to the interesection of the highway leading back to Jyekundo. There are a few monks who live in the area including some hermits who live in caves above the temple.There is a small store in the area selling small snacks and assorted beverages. If you do any hiking here, it is a good idea to stock up on water. The temple sits at 3850m (12,628 feet) and the mountains around it are much higher.

Grazing Yaks

All through the Kham and Amdo regions of Tibet you find yaks grazing on the vast grasslands. These grasslands are sparsely populated. About the only people you will find are nomads living in tents. The elevation of a large percentage of these grasslands is well over 4000m. Little vegatation grows. Trees are nowhere to be found. In these remote areas of greater Tibet yaks are the only thing in abundance. Three of Asia's longest rivers flow through these remote grassland areas. The Mekong River, Yellow River and Yangtze River flow down from their high elevation sources in the Kham region of Tibet down to the grassland areas before flowing out across China and southeast Asia.

Tibetan Children

Tibetan children are a lot of fun to be around. No matter if they are from a farming or nomadic family, they are always entertaining to be with. A lot of nomad children, like the girl pictured above, are often shy when you first meet them, but it doesn't take long for them to warm up around you. Young Tibetan children who live in small towns often will use the few words of English that they know when they see you. It is not uncommon to hear children scream "Hal-low!" to you from 300m away. Children who live in remote areas are very curious about the foreigners they see. When walking around temples or small towns, children will often walk behind you studying every action you do.

 Nomad families usually have between 3 and 6 children. The children live in very poor conditions and often aren't able to go to school. Children begin doing chores around the house (many nomads are becoming semi-nomadic living in a mud-brick houses in the winter) or tent when they are 5 or 6 years old. Some of the daily chores include milking the yaks (dri), collecting dung to dry to use as fuel, herding the yaks up the mountain to graze and getting water. Nomad children are often dirty and have dreadlocked hair. During the winter months, the rivers are all frozen solid so it is impossible for them to bathe. Many of my favorite pictures of Tibet are of the nomad children who live there.

 Children in any country are great to take pictures of, but the children of Tibet seem to make the best pictures. I have taken many pictures of Tibetan children over the years that I have lived here, but I have posted just some of my favorites. I hope you enjoy them.

All of these pictures of children were taken in Amdo or Kham. For more information about these regions of Tibet, send an email to [email protected].

                           

            

Nangchen

 Nangchen county is located in southwest Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai province. Nangchen ནང་ཆེན་, located in Kham, was once one of 5 independent kingdoms in the eastern Tibet region. Nangchen is very remote being over 1000km from Xining and Lhasa and over 1200 kilometers from Chengdu. It borders Jyekundo (Yushu) county to the northeast, Dzado county to the northwest, Riwoche county to the southwest and Chamdo county to the southeast. Around 60,000 people live in the county with Tibetans making up over 98% of the total population. There are some nomads who live in Nangchen, but a larger percentage of people here are farmers. The Mekong River, known as the Dza Chu in Tibetan, flows throughout the county.

Nangchen is rich in Tibetan history and has a large number of monasteries with around 90 in the county. It has one of the highest percentages of monks in all of Tibet. A large percentage of the monasteries in Nangchen are of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan buddhism. Many well known lama's come from this region.

Nangchen is one of the most beautiful counties in Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture and in all of Kham. The county sits at a lower elevation than the other counties of Yushu  (3650m) so the climate in the winter is less harsh. Thick forests are found in some parts of the county and the Mekong river runs from the northwest part of the county down to the southeast. The capital of the county is Sharnda (known as Xiangda in Chinese). Sharda is a small, quiet town that has one main street with a few decent guesthouses and hotels. Nangchen is often overlooked by tourists due to its remote location. Though it is a long trip to get there, Nangchen is well worth the effort.

The county capital town of Sharnda is NOT the main draw in going to Nangchen. It is just a dusty, small Tibetan trading town. However, the areas outside of the county town are what brings people to this remote region. The hilltop monastery of Dzamo  (pictured 3rd from top) overlooks the town and has around 200 monks abiding there. Ten kilometers south of town is Nabgyama Monastery (pictured below), located along the banks of the Mekong River. This beautiful monastery has a great hiking path around it with great views of the Mekong River. Seventy kilometers south of Sharnda is Gar Monastery (pictured above), one of the most beautiful monasteries in all of Tibet. It sits in a wooded valley above a small village. It is home to around 100 monks. There is great hiking in this area.

There are daily buses from Xining to Nangchen. The bus costs around Y200 for a sleeping berth and takes between 21 and 23 hours. You can also get there by taxi from Jyekundo. A seat in a shared van taxi from Jyekundo costs around Y30 per person and takes between 3 and 4 hours. Van taxis leave everyday from in front of the main bus station in Jyekundo. Though you can get to Nangchen using public transportation, it is best to take a private vehicle so you can see all the amazing sights along the way.

 For more information on Nangchen, please email me at [email protected]

Kham Tibet Trip

I get a lot of emails from people across the globe asking what I think would be a good trip in the Kham regions of Tibet outside of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). Here is my top recommendation:

Day 1: Spend a day in Xining, the capital city of Qinghai province on the northern Tibetan Plateau. Though Xining itself isn't the most exciting place to be, it does have some good places to see in the vicinity. The birthplace of the current Dalai Lama is just east of Xining, while the famous Tibetan monastery of Kumbum is to the south. You can visit both of these places in a single day.

Day 2: Drive from Xining to the small town of Heka. Heka is 230km southwest of Xining along Highway 214. On the way to Heka, there are many photo opportunities to see Amdo Tibetan nomads herding sheep and goats. Heka is a good place to spend the night to acclimatize to the elevation. Heka sits around 3300m. After Heka the elevation goes well over 4000m.

Day 3: Drive from Heka 270km south to Maduo in Golok Tibet Autonomous Prefecture. Maduo sits at 4300m.  Maduo is a cold place to be even in the summer. It is not uncommon to see snow flurries here in July. The area around Maduo is completely nomadic so there will be more opportunities here to see traditional nomadic life (see picture below).

Day 4: Drive from Maduo 110km west near the source of the Yellow River (pictured below). Along the way you will pass the high alpine lake of Ngoring Tso (known as Eling Hu in Chinese). This area is very remote, but very beautiful. The only people around are some nomads herding yak and sheep. It is a great place to camp.

Day 5: Camp another night near the source of the Yellow River (ele. 4400m).

Day 6: Drive 110km from the source of the Yellow River back to Maduo.

Day 7: Drive around 180km south to a Kham Tibetan nomad area near Qingshui He in Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture. Along the way you will cross over the 4900m Ba Yan Ka La mountain pass. This pass is the border between Kham and Amdo provinces. This area has many nomad Tibetans living in black yak hair tents. You can spend a couple of nights camping in this area.

Day 8: Camp in a Kham Tibetan nomad area.

Day 9: Drive around 160km from the nomad area to the large town of Jyekundo (ele. 3700m). There are several large monasteries around Jyekundo as well the Gyana Mani Temple (largest collection of prayer stones in Tibet), the Batang grasslands (pictured at the top of the page) and the Princess Wencheng Temple (great hiking area).

Day 10: Stay in Jyekundo

Day 11: Drive 140km from Jyekundo to Shiqu (ele. 4100m). Shiqu sits just across the Qinghai border in Ganzi Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in northwest Sichuan province. The area around Shiqu is all nomadic with large grasslands covering the region (pictured below).

Day 12: Drive 230km from Shiqu to Manigango (ele. 3800m). Along the way you will stop at Dzogchen monastery. Tibetan pilgrims often come to this monastery on a pilgrimage.

Day 13: Drive 110km from Manigango to Dege (ele. 3200m). Along the way you will pass the sacred lake Yilhun Lhatso with the 6168m Mt. Chola in the background. The lake is a good place to hike around. Dege is home to the Parkhang printing press (pictured below). Tibetan buddhists scriptures from the Parkhang printing press can be found in monasteries all across Tibet. Gonchen monastery is also found in Dege, very near to the printing press.

Day 14: Stay in Dege

Day 15: Drive 328km from Dege to Shiqu.

Day 16: Drive 420km from Shiqu to Maduo stopping to visit (or camp with) some nomads along the way.

Day 17: Drive 500km from Maduo back to Xining.

For more information about this trip through the Kham region of Tibet, please email me at [email protected].

Handwoven Yak Wool Tents

Nomad tents are usually made from yak wool that has been hand spun into yarn. It takes about a year to make a mid-sized tent. When going to a nomad home, it is common to see the women spinning yak wool into yarn. Mongolian gers (nomad tents) are often very thick and well insulated. Tibetan tents are very thin. From inside the tent you can see the blue Tibetan sky through the hand spun yarn. Nomad tents are held up using hand spun yak wool rope and 8 to 12 wooden poles. The top of the tent has a large opening that is used to let smoke out and to let the warm sunshine in. Prayer flags will always be flying outside across the top.

The inside of nomad tents are very simple. Nomads are very poor and own few belongings. Inside there will be some sleeping mats and blankets, a stove, a table or two, a few extra clothes and a little food. Nearly all tents will have a picture of a local lama and often will have a picture of the 14th Dalai Lama. A thangka (Tibetan buddhist painting) will also be found hanging inside.

Yaks are kept tied up outside of the tent using lines of rope that are made secure by two wooden stakes driven into the ground. Each line of rope will have 8 to 10 small loops which are put around one of the yaks feet at night (or tied through the yak's nose). A few dogs will also be kept tied up outside the tent. Large piles of dried yak dung are stored close to the tent. Since many nomadic areas of Tibet have no trees, yak dung is often the only source of fuel. It is common to see Tibetan buddhist sculptures made in the yak dung.

Hand woven yak wool tents are quickly disappearing. Many nomads now only live in these tents in the summer months. They live in mud-brick homes the rest of the year. Others are moving into towns to live in traditional style Tibetan homes or are being relocated into cities (such as Xining) where the government gives them a modern style apartment. I visited a remote monastery last December and came across several dozen yak wool tents in a storage area. I was told that these tents had be sold to the monastery over the past 6 months by nomads who were moving into mud-brick homes.

Though there are fewer and fewer yak wool tents each year in Tibet, there are still a few areas that have them. The northern regions of Nagchu and Ngari prefectures in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Yushu prefecture in southern Qinghai and northern Ganzi prefecture in Sichuan province all have nomads still living in yak wool tents. For more information about nomads, please email me at [email protected].

Yak Races

 Yak races are one of the most entertaining parts of a Tibetan horse festival. With a crowd of many thousands cheering on, each participant climbs on his yak and waits for the start of the race. As the race begins, 10 or 12 yaks run towards the opposite end of the race course in a sprint. Yaks can run surprisingly fast over short distances. The winner is usually given several khata (traditional Tibetan scarf) as well as a small amount of prize money.

The picture above is from the Jyekundo (Yushu in Chinese) Horse Festival in 2006. It was held 20km south of Jyekundo in the small town of Batang. Last year there was over 20,000 people in attendance. For the 2007 horse festival all 6 counties of Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture will pool their money and resources together to have a huge festival in the prefecture capital of Jyekundo. It wouldn't be surprising to see 40,000 to 50,000 people in attendance.

Getting down to Jyekundo is easy. There are multiple buses everyday departing from Xining. The trip used to take 24 hours or longer, but can now be made in 15 or 16 hours. A sleeper bus ticket costs Y152 / $19 one way. A new bus line from Chengdu to Jyekundo started last year and takes 2+ days. There are also buses from Sershul (Shiqu) and Garze (Ganzi) to Jyekundo. For more information about Jyekundo or other areas of Tibet, please send an email [email protected]

Tibet Highways

This is a shot along the Xining-Jyekundo Highway between Mado (Maduo) and Domda (Qingshui He) just as the sun was about to set. The elevation here is about 4500m.

I came across an article a while back that was about the construction of the railway from Golmud to Lhasa. The article is from December 2003 and it stated that up to that point there had been no deaths during the construction of the railway due to altitude sickness. The article, from a Chinese website, went on to talk about deaths that occured while building highways across the Tibetan Plateau, particularly the highways from Xining to Jyekundo (Yushu), Sichuan to Lhasa and Qinghai to Lhasa. I was amazed by the statistics that I read. During the construction of the Sichuan-Tibet and Qinghai-Tibet highways a total of 3000 people were killed or 1 person for every 2 kilometers. Those are pretty high numbers, but not nearly as high as the number killed building the highway from Xining to Jyekundo. Over 10,000 people died building the highway to Jyekundo (which was finished in 1943)! From Xining to Jyekundo is about 825km / 516 miles. That equals 12 deaths per kilometer or 19 deaths per mile! That is insane! I don't think I can ever travel on these highways again without thinking about how many people died building them. I thought I would include some pictures of these main highways that go through the Tibetan Plateau.

 

The top picture is along the route from Darlag to Machen at an elevation of 3800m. The picture above is along the south side of Amnye Machen near the town of Huashixia at 4100m.

This is near Amnye Machen along the north face at 4100m.

Tibetan Hospitality

For this article I am going to write about Tibetan hospitality. According to Wiktionary hospitality is defined as "the act or service of welcoming, receiving, hosting or entertaining guests". Hospitality is something that Tibetans are very good at. I never cease to be amazed at the courtesies extended to me by nomads, college-aged students or by my Tibetan neighbors living in my complex.

I am from the US (west coast to be precise) where we are not really known for our hospitality. I am familiar with the term "Southern Hospitality" and have experienced it to some degree, but even that is of no comparison to the hospitality found in Tibet (and really in most of Asia). When I was young, I read a few stories about people who would hitchhike across the US in the 1950's and totally rely on the hospitality of strangers to make it from one coast to the other. These people weren't free loaders. They would offer to work for the family in exchange for a ride, a hot meal or a place to stay for a few days. Many young people traveled across the States and Canada in this way. Back then it seemed that taking in people was something normal to do. Offering a ride to a hitchhiker was common. Inviting strangers to dinner wasn't weird. But times change. Most people in the US don't pick up hitchhikers. Most people don't stop to talk to people they don't know. Most people would never think of inviting someone over for tea or dinner that they had just met. Some people may argue that it is too dangerous to do those acts of hospitality and kindness in this day and age. I understand that (but I don't accept that as an excuse). But, in many regions of the world (even in some areas that are thought "dangerous") this type of hospitality is found everyday.

I have been fortunate to travel to most corners of Tibet over the past 5 years. In 2006 alone I traveled nearly 25,000km (15,600 miles) overland through Greater Tibet. The hospitality shown to me was amazing. In December 2006, I did some research for The Discovery Channel among the nomads of northern Kham. For 8 days I spent my time with nomads who lived either in black yak hair tents, or in small mud brick houses. When I entered into their homes, they were always excited to see me. Even if they were busy doing work, they took time to sit down with me to talk. Within a minute or two of me arriving, a cup of milk tea or butter tea was in front of me. Every time I took even the smallest sip of tea, someone (usually the wife or oldest daughter) was there to refill my cup. Bread and candies were placed in front of me as well as some dried yak meat. I came to these nomad tents unannounced. They had no idea I was coming. At one place I visited, one of the older daughters began to cook up some yak meat just for me and my two Tibetan friends who were traveling with me (picture is above). Many of the families I interviewed during this trip offered to let me stay in their tents or houses free of charge.

In 2003 my wife and I visited a good friend of mine who lived in northeast Amdo. We were in the area and decided to take the hour long taxi ride to his village (his village was actually only about 25km / 15 miles away, but it took over an hour due to horrible road conditions). The plan was to visit him and his family for a few hours or so and then head back to the county town. When we arrived, my friends family was so happy to see us. They had no idea we were coming, but were still excited that we came to visit them. We visited them for a few hours and then told them we had to get on our way back into the county town. Our friends had a puzzled look on their faces. They thought we were going to stay with them for 3 or 4 days...not just 3 or 4 hours! Even though we had shown up completely uninvited, they wanted us to stay with them for as long as we could. We kindly explained to them that we only had a short time to be with them and that we had to be on our way. They couldn't understand why we would only come to visit them for a few hours. My wife and I felt bad, but we really had to be on our way.

In the US if people show up at your house uninvited, you will probably be annoyed with them. "Why didn't they give us a call before they showed up??", some may think. Most people in the US definitely wouldn't want people to stay with them 3 or 4 days having arrived uninvited. Tibetan hospitality is so much different than that of Americans. I have read many books about Tibetans who have went on pilgrimage to the capital city of Lhasa. Many of them live in places far from Lhasa and it takes them a year or more to walk there. The pilgrims often rely on other Tibetans for food and shelter while on the long pilgrimage. These pilgrims tell many stories of the Tibetan families that took them in during their journey. These families fed them, gave them a bed to sleep in and often gave them a little money or tsampa (roasted barley flour) to help them with the rest of their trip. This may have existed in America in the 1950's, but it is gone today.

We have many Tibetan friends. Tibetans don't celebrate birthdays. Many Tibetans are not even sure when their birthday is (I once had a friend tell me that he was born either in the spring of 1981 or spring 1982. His father wasn't quite sure.). Since I am an American, birthday parties are a part of my culture. I always have a birthday party and invite between 25 to 35 of my good Tibetan friends to my house for a party. I always tell them NOT to bring me gifts. Since Tibetans don't exchange presents or even celebrate their birthdays, I wouldn't want to ask them to do something that was contrary to their culture. But every year almost all of my Tibetan friends bring me a gift. My office at my home is filled with gifts my Tibetan friends have given me over the years (from yak heads to sheep skins). Their hospitality to me isn't just shown in their homes. They bring it with them to my home as well.

I want to say thank you to the countless Tibetans I have met over the years who have shown me a form of hospitality I have NEVER been shown in my country. Of all the things I have learned from Tibetans, I hope I never forget how to be a hospitable person. Most Americans are too busy to show real hospitality. Maybe it isn't just that they are busy. Perhaps they just don't care. I know I didn't care about it before I came to Tibet. But after living on the Tibetan Plateau for 5 years, I hope I have changed. Thanks for taking a minute to read this.

Nomad from Kham

This older nomad man was in the small town of Serxu in far northwest Garze (Ganzi) Prefecture. Serxu sits at 4100m / 13,450ft above sea level. This picture was taken in the summer, but this man (along with most people in town) was still wearing his heavy sheep-skin chuba. This area had received heavy snow just two days before I arrived. His hat is lined with fox skins and his boots are made from yak hide.

Longsleeved Chuba

This nomad man lives in Yushu prefecture between the Bayan Ka La mountain pass and the small town of Domda in northern Kham province . He is actually a distant relative of a good friend of mine. The elevation of the area is 4400m / 14,432ft above sea level. The region is almost 100% nomadic with many people living in black yak hair tents year round. This man's coat is unique among the nomads of Kham and is very expensive. It is lined with many sheep furs which help keep you warm when the temperatures get down to -25C or colder.

High Mountain Passes

The highest mountain passes in the world are in Tibet. You don't have to drive too far to find a 3000m, 4000m or even 5000m+ pass. Tibet is covered in the highest mountain ranges on the planet with roads going over them. One of the highest passes in Tibet is the Tang Gu La (pictured above). Heading south from Golmud to Lhasa on Highway 109 you cross this monster pass at 5231m / 17,158ft above sea level. The oxygen levels here are less than half of those found at sea level. Most people experience at least some minor symptoms of altitude sickness when going over passes like the Tang Gu La. Minor symptoms include a headache, shortness of breath and nausea. Many Chinese and foreigners, who cross this pass on the bus, take an oxygen can or oxygen pillow with them to help relieve some of the symptoms. The new train now has oxygen available free of charge in all of the sleeping berths and seats making it much more pleasant going to Lhasa.

The Ba Yan Ka La mountain pass, pictured on the left, is one of the borders between Amdo province and Kham province. The Ba Yan Ka La is found on Highway 214 heading south from Xining to Jyekundo. The sign lists it at 4824m, but there are two other small signs off to the left (near the prayer flags) that give two other elevations which are over 5000m. My altimeter always lists this pass at around 4950m / 16,236ft so I am going to say that is the "official" elevation of the pass.

The Kamba La pass has a great view of Yamdrok Lake and sits at an elevation of 4852m /15,915ft. It is located less than 2 hours southwest of Lhasa heading towards Gyantse. This is one of the most beautiful mountain passes in Tibet. The winding road drops 400m / 1312ft down to the lakeside.

This pass is found just before entering Chumarleb, about 5 hours northwest of Jyekundo. At 4690m /15,384ft, the temperatures here in the winter are brutally cold. High winds blow here all year long. The town of Chumarleb sits not too much lower than this pass. The town sits at around 4300m / 14,104ft. It's crazy to think that the mountain passes are this high, but the mountain tops are so much higher!

This pass is found on the road between Drido and Jyekundo way out in the middle of nowhere. At 4797m / 15,735ft it is one of the highest passes in northern Tibet. The pass, like most others across Tibet, is covered in colorful prayer flags.

This is another high pass found in southern Tibet. Being at 4812m / 15,783 feet takes the breathe right out of you.

The Gyatsola pass stands at 5220m / 17,122 feet. You cross this when heading to the north face base camp of Mt. Everest. The wind at this eleavtion is always intense.

Quiet Home in Kham

This was taken in a remote area of Chumarleb (Qumalai) county in far northern Yushu prefecture at an elevation of 4100m / 13,450ft. Winters in this region of Tibet (eastern Changtang) are very cold with night time temperatures between -20C and -30C. The nomad family who lives in this house invited me in for some butter tea and boiled yak meat. Their yak can be seen grazing on the other side of the frozen river. This family lives in a house in the winter and in a black yak hair tent in the summer.

Kham girls from Jyekundo

These three girls were on their way to a dancing festival when they stopped and let me take this picture. The style of hat worn by the girl on the right is only worn in the Yushu area of Tibet. These girls were all 12 years old.

Tibetan Dogs

I recently talked to a group of my Tibetan friends about Tibetan dogs. I told them that I was going to write an article on them and needed some of their expert opinions. What you are about to read is coming from my personal experience with Tibetan dogs and from 20 of my closest Tibetan friends.

Nearly every family in Tibet has a dog. From Lhasa to Amdo, Kham to Ngari most Tibetan families will have at least one Tibetan Mastiff. These are huge dogs. It is not uncommon for them to weigh between 60 and 70 kg (132 to 154 lbs) or more. The dog pictured above weighed about 40 kg (88 lbs) and was only 7 months old! A pure bred Tibetan Mastiff is not cheap. I have seen 1 year old dogs selling for over $50,000! About the cheapest you will see them is for around $1200.

Tibetan Mastiffs are used by nomads to protect their sheep, horses and yaks. Wolves prowl around Tibet trying to steal sheep. Tibetan Mastiffs are fearless and will fight with wolves in order to protect the livestock and family. These dogs also scare away thieves who come trying to steal yaks. Some nomads keep their dogs chained to a pole that is hammered into the ground, but many nomads let their dogs roam free. If you ever come up to a nomad family, you must be careful of the dog. The dog will attack anyone that it is not familair with. The dog will not stop attacking until the owner calls it off.

Tibetans love their dogs. It is basically a member of the family. Tibetan children love playing with their dog like in many other cultures. Tibetan dogs are familiar with everyone in the family. If anyone who the dog doesn't know comes to a nomad tent or to a Tibetan house, the dog will bark loudly and try to attack them. The owner only needs to say one word and the dog will back down. Tibetan dogs are very smart and obedient. If a family member leaves for a long period of time, the dog will never forget them.

Tibetan Mastiffs are usually fed beef and tsamba (roasted barley flour that is made into a dough). They also eat whatever leftovers need to be thrown out. It is not uncommon to see Tibetan dogs eating noodles or butter. Tibetan dogs have thick fur to protect from the extreme cold of Tibet. Most dogs sleep outside. Tibetans who live in houses will build a small dog house for their dog, but dogs belonging to nomads sleep on the open Plateau. Most dogs are given a name, but the names are different than the names given to people. Often the name will be a description of what the dog looks like. Many Tibetan Mastiffs are black with patches of brown around the neck and feet. We don't have a dog now, but we hope to buy one in the future.

Nomad Trip on the Northern Plateau

November 10th I had three friends arrive in Xining who wanted to check out some nomad areas in the northern Kham region of Tibet. I had been planning this short trip with them for over a month and was very excited. Anytime I can get off the beaten paths across Tibet makes me happy. I had arranged to rent a car (a Hong Qi...an Audi rip-off that is made in China) from a company in Xining. Since I have a Chinese driver's license I am able to rent cars without any problems. I took along a good Tibetan friend of mine on the trip named Sonam Gonpo (aka "Bill"). Bill comes from Nangchen on his mother's side and from Trindo on his father's side. Since my Tibetan is far from fluent, Bill would act as our translator among the nomad families we would be visiting. Bill can speak his native language of Kham Tibetan, but also speaks Chinese fluently and his Amdo Tibetan and English aren't too bad either.

On November 11th around 10:30am we began our trip. Since my three friends from back home (Rima, Patrick and Adriel) weren't acclimatized to the altitude, we decided to take two days to drive down to Jyekundo, the capital town of Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture. The drive down would take us to just about 5000m in a couple of different places, so taking time to properly acclimatize was important. The drive south was full of adventures. Only about 30 minutes west of Xining there was a rockslide that came down and buried 3/4 of the 4-lane highway. An army 4WD vehicle was badly damaged in the rockslide. The road was covered in huge boulders. We safely navigated our way through the rocks being thankful that we weren't there when the slide actually happened.

Ninety-five kilometers southwest of Xining we reached the 3400m/11,152ft Sun Moon Mountain Pass (Nyima Dawa La in Tibetan). This mountain pass is considered the cultural border of Tibet and China to many Tibetan people. The Tibetan side of the pass is quite different from the Chinese side. Farmlands turn into grasslands full of yaks. Ni Hao (Hello in Chinese) is replaced with Cho De Mo (a typical gretting in Amdo Tibetan). Milk tea or butter tea is served instead of green tea. To the Chinese this is Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. To the Tibetans this Amdo province, Tibet. We stopped for a few minutes at the top of the pass to gaze on the grasslands of Amdo.

From the pass we continued to head south to the small Tibetan town of Tsigorthang. Tsigorthang (Xinghai in Chinese) sits at 3300m/10825 ft so it would serve as a good place to spend the night before crossing the 5000m passes the next day. We found a decent hotel for Y25/$3 a person. The hotel had heat which was important since night time temperatures here got down to around -13C/8F. We found a decent Chinese restaurant and had an early dinner before exploring the town. Not many foreigners make it to Tsigorthang so we were stared at plenty by the locals. A lot of nomads were in the town buying supplies. We walked through a local market that sells a lot of nomad supplies and literally everyone stopped to look at us. There is a small monastery on the outskirts of town so we made our way over there. I have been to countless monasteries across Tibet so I was fairly unimpressed with it. There were quite a few local Tibetans walking around the large stupa in front of the monastery chanting the classic Tibetan prayer "Om Mani Padme Hum". We went to bed early since we had a long day ahead of us.

We left around 8am the next day. The sunrise was beautiful as it rose above the snow-capped Amnye Machen range. It was cold, but we were happy to be on our way. About an hour after we left we came across a family of Amdo Tibetan nomads. We stopped and they happily greeted us. They allowed us to take a lot of pictures and to freely walk around their camp. They had around 120 sheep and at least 50 yaks. They lived in 4 tents that were set up close to each other. All together there

were around 12 people living in these 4 tents. Since it was still early, they had yet to take their sheep and yak out to graze. We stayed with the family for around a half an hour before getting back on the road.

After we left, the nice paved road turned into a not-so-good dirt road that lasted for about 45km/28 miles. Not far into it we not only blew a tire, but the muffler fell off. We quickly changed the flat tire, but fixing the muffler was a bit more difficult. We had no wire or anything to tie the muffler back on. Someone found a shoe string to use, but it only held the muffler for about 10 minutes before it fell off again. After it fell off the second time, we found some wire and Adriel crawled under the car and tied the muffler up again. When we reached the next town (over 90 minutes away) we found a mechanic who fixed the muffler and patched up our blown tire. He charged us Y50/$6 which I thought wasn't too bad for an hour's work. After eating some disgusting noodles, we were back on our way.

After the 45km stretch of dirt road, the road became paved again so driving went by fast. We quickly cruised through the Amdo region of Tibet to the Bayan Kala mountain pass. There were three signs listing the elevation for the pass and all three were different. My altimeter read 4950m/16,236ft which was in the middle of the three elevations listed. This pass marks the border between Amdo and Kham. North of the pass is Amdo. South is Kham. We stopped there to take some pictures of the pass and the view from the top.

From the pass the road barely drops in elevation. Most of the highway through here sits at around 4500m/14,760ft. We found a nomad family camped alongside the road so we stopped for a visit. The men were actually out working. The mom and daughter were left at the tent to work. I walked in their black yak hair tent. The top flap of the tent was open to allow the warm sunshine in. The outside temperature at 4500m on the northern Tibetan Plateau was cold, but the bright sun made it feel a lot warmer. A couple of us sat down and the women poured some yak milk tea for us and offered us some food. We politely declined the food, but drank the tea. Using Bill as a translator, I asked the family a few questions. They were nomads from the Domda area of Trindo county in northern Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture. They weren't rich, but weren't poor either. They owned around 70 yaks. The young woman was 18 and had never attended school in her life. Her family had never even traveled to the prefecture capital of Jyekundo.  The two women let us take a

lot of great pictures and we thanked them many times for their hospitality and kindness. I told them that I would bring them a copy of the pictures I took next spring.  I look forward to meeting them again at that time.

From there we continued our journey south. Just outside the small town of Domda (Qingshui He in Chinese) we came across another nomad family. This family was actually related to our Tibetan companion Bill. We were all getting tired and is was getting dark so we didn't stay too long. We were all looking forward to getting to Jyekundo and eating some decent food.

At around 7:30pm we pulled into Jyekundo. We stopped into a new guesthouse on the edge of town and then went out to eat. Since Jyekundo is a big town, there are lots of good restaurants and we were all very hungry after a long day of traveling.

We spent the next two days hiking around the areas around Jyekundo. We drove out to the Batang sky burial site and then up to the Princess Wencheng Temple. From there we drove about an hour or so out a dirt road leading to the Lheba area. We almost didn't make it since we had to cross a small river. We took it nice and slow and made our way across. I had met a nomad family in this area earlier in the summer and I was hoping that they would still be there. They weren't. There was no trace of them. We parked the car and decided to hike up a small "hill". Our car was parked at an elevation of 4600m/15,088ft. We hiked up the "hill" and were rewarded with an awesome panoramic view of the mountains. The elevation at the top of our "hill" was around 4800m/15,744ft. The wind was blowing hard at the top which caused the air to be freezing cold.

After our time in Jyekundo, we went north to the nomadic county of Trindo. It was only 126km/79 miles so we made it into town around noon. Bill's father's family is from this area so he knew many people. He took us over to his uncle's house were we stayed that night. The county town of Trindo is a small, quiet town. Like most Tibetan towns, there was an outdoor pool hall in the middle of town. We stopped and played some pool for a while before walking around town. There is a small Sakya monastery in town that we walked around. I have two good Tibetan friends who work as elementary teachers in the county town. One of them invited us to the school. All of the students went crazy when they saw us! They were all so excited to have foreigners visiting their school. The four of us split up and each taught a 45 minute English class. It was a great time!

After our class, we went to visit some of Bill's relatives who were nomads. They lived about 20 minutes outside of the county town on a dirt road high up in a valley. Bill's older brother lived there along with Bill's grandma and one of his uncles. Together the family owned 140 yaks. Bill hadn't seen his grandma in over 5 years. When we pulled up his grandma came out of the house. She had no idea who we were. We all walked toward her house including Bill. At first Bill's grandma didn't recognize him. Then she realized who he was. She grabbed him and began to kiss him on his forehead, cheeks and lips. She then began to cry. It had been five long years since she had seen her grandson. Bill was a bit embarrassed, but understood why his grandma was so happy.  We spent the

next several hours hanging out with different members of Bill's family. They gave us fresh yak milk basically straight from the udder (tasted a lot like yak meat). The family changed into their best clothes and let us take pictures of them. The yaks were all high up on the mountain. Later that evening they were brought down and tied up. When the yaks are brought down, everyone in the family helps with tying them up for the night. Bill's uncle brought out a bigger yak for us to take turns riding. It's always a lot of fun riding a yak!!

After spending several hours with Bill's nomad relatives we had to leave. Bill and his grandma said goodbye in a very traditional way...by pressing their foreheads together. Tibetans are very close with their relatives. We were all a bit sad to see Bill say goodbye to some relatives he probably won't see again for quite some time. From there we went back to Bill's uncle's house in the county town.

When we arrived the family was busy cooking dinner for us. Dinner was simple...some noodles with yak meat and vegetables. We were all exhauseted so after dinner we went to bed.

The next morning we started out early for Mado. Mado is 275km/172 miles north of Trindo and is actually in Amdo. We stopped and visited another Kham Tibetan nomad family near the border between Kham and Amdo. This family was very poor. They owned only 7 yaks and no sheep. For nomads this is extreme poverty. Even though the family was so poor, they invited me and Adriel in for some yak milk tea. They pulled out some mats for us to sit on and we spent some time relaxing with them. After we finished our tea, we were on our way.

The part of the northern Plateau we were driving through is all above 4200m / 13,776ft so it is cold even in the summer. As we got close to Mado we came across two young Amdo Tibetan boys herding their sheep. They weren't too far off the road so Bill and I made our way over to them. I had Bill ask them how old they were. Both of them answered that they had no idea how old they were. It is very common for Tibetan nomads to not know their birthday. In Tibetan culture, birthdays are not observed. I have met many Tibetan nomads over the past few years who don't have a clue when their birthday is or even how old they really are. These two boys were herding their sheep with their big dog by their side. The older boy held the dog by the thick chain around it's neck. They let us take a couple of pictures and then we were on our way to Mado.

Mado is one of the highest towns on the far northern Tibetan Plateau. It sits at 4300m / 14,104ft and is more north than any town on the Changtang. It freezes here close to 300 days a year. When we arrived at 2 in the afternoon it was around -9C/16F with winds close to 50kph/32mph. I have no idea what that put the windchill at, but it was cold. Almost unbearable. That night it got down to almost -18C/0F. That evening around 8pm, Patrick and I went for a walk. We didn't walk far because of the cold. We peaked our head into a restaurant and saw a bunch of nomads sitting around a coal stove. We decided to get out of the cold and join them. The waitress quickly brought us a cup of salty tea. We spent the next 45 minutes hanging out with a group of tough Amdo nomads.

The next day we drove the rest of the way back to Xining. About 3 hours before Xining I hit a big pothole and blew a front strut (shock). That made driving the rest of the way very difficult. The car was wanting to go all over the road. Around 3pm we finally pulled into town. All of us were exhausted and were either sick or just getting over being sick (3 of us came down with giardia). Even though we were only gone 7 days, we all had a great time. In total we met with five Tibetan nomad families. Those three people from my hometown who traveled with me may not be back in Tibet ever again, but I am sure they will never forget those 7 days. This was just another of many great trips I have had through Tibet.

Kham Adventure

Since I live in Tibet, I have countless travel adventures. Everytime I go somewhere it is an adventure. I am going to start writing about some of my adventures across Tibet. I get emails from people across the globe about how to travel through Tibet. Hopefully these articles will help answer some of those questions as well as give you a bit more of an insight into living and traveling in Tibet.

This adventure started in late June 2004. Earlier that year my buddy Billy from Seattle asked me if he could come and out and hang out for a couple of months in the summer. I was planning several trips through Kham and Amdo that summer so I told him to come out. I met Billy in Beijing （北京） and we then flew out to Xining （西宁）in Qinghai province (青海省）. From Xining we took the long sleeper bus down to Jyekundo. For most people, taking the sleeper bus from Xining to Jyekundo is an unforgetable, once-in-a-lifetime experience. Sleeper buses are uncomfortable and are usually filled with cigarette smoke. The journey from Xining to Jyekundo is about 825km (515 miles). Once you get about 75km (47 miles) to the west of Xining you leave China behind and enter the Tibetan world. The landscape becomes rolling grasslands filled with yaks and Amdo Tibetan nomads. Snow-capped mountains can be seen in the distance. This area is called Hainan Tibet Autonomous Prefecture and is known to the local Tibetans as Chabcha. The sleeper bus usually stops in Chabcha for 45 minutes or so for dinner. On this particular trip we stopped at a muslim noodle shop and had some of the popular local noodles. After the stop for dinner, everyone rushed back on to the bus. A couple of hours later the we were driving at 4500m (14,760 ft) across the northern Tibetan Plateau. Most people feel sick and I was no different. My stomach was feeling queazy, I had a pounding headache and I was short of breath.The highest mountain pass down to Jyekundo is just under 5000m (16,400 ft) which is definitely high enough to give people severe symptoms of altitude sickness. The landscape in this area is unlike any other place I have been. Nearly the whole trip from Xining to Jyekundo is above the treeline. There are literally no trees for most of the way. Yaks and sheep are seen everywhere often herded by young Tibetan nomad boys. After 19 hours working our way south through no-man's land we finally reached Jyekundo.

Since our trip was in late June I thought there would be no need for a heavy coat or thermal underwear (I had even packed some shorts). Billy and I both brought small backpacks with just the "essentials". When we pulled up to the Yushu Hotel is was snowing! While it was mixed with rain, it was still snowing! This was something we weren't prepared for. We spent a couple of days hanging out in Jyekundo going around to some of the famous sights such as the Gyanak Mani Temple and the Princess Wencheng Temple.Then we took a van taxi and headed south to Nangchen. Van taxis from Jyekundo down to Sharda are located in front of the main bus station for around Y30 ($3.75) per person. From Jyekundo to Sharda (the county capital of Nangchen) is 195km/122 miles and takes 3 hours. Nangchen was an independent kingdom of Tibet basically until the People's Liberation Army came in and established a form of government in the 1950's. Nangchen is rich in Tibetan history and is one of the most beautiful regions of Tibet. Not many foreigners make it down there. The Mekong River flows through much of Nangchen enabling people to grow crops that are impossible to grow in other parts of Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture. It is not uncommon to see Chinese kungfu actor Jet Li walking the streets of Sharda in Nangchen. Jet Li is a Tibetan buddhist who is personal friends with a lama of a local monastery near Sharda. Jet Li recently built a house for monks and is paying for a new monastery to be built in the area. Many local Tibetans report seeing him in Nangchen a couple of times a year.

From Nangchen our plan was to head south into the Tibet Autonomous Region and eventually work our way to Chamdo. Chamdo and the eastern region of the Tibet Autonomous Region is a very restricted area. Foreigners traveling through here are supposed to have at least 3 permits, travel by 4WD, have a driver and a guide. To do the trip legally is very expensive. Billy and I met up with a good Tibetan friend of mine from Nepal named Namgyal in Xining. Though he was born and raised in Nepal, his family has roots in Kham. So we took him along with us. Namgyal can speak all three main dialects of Tibetan fairly well and I can speak Chinese fairly well so we had our bases covered with communication. In Nangchen we took out a map and tried to find out the best way down to Chamdo. There is a road that goes all the way from Xining to the border of the Tibet Autonomous Region, but beyond there we weren't sure if a road existed or not. Some maps had a road listed while others didn't. We met this Tibetan guy driving a Jeep Cherokee. We told us to get in and he drove us around town. His name was Dhondrup. I asked him if he could drive us down to Chamdo. He said he would, but his Jeep was stolen. He stole it from a guy in Chengdu. So he couldn't leave the local area without the police stopping him. I noticed something on the side of Dhondrup's belt. At first I thought it was a "dog knocker" that many Tibetans in rural areas carry to fend off dogs. But, it wasn't a "dog knocker". It was actually a gun. In Tibet and China guns are illegal. Police don't even carry guns. He had a small .25 caliber pistol in a holster on his side. We quickly found out that Dhondrup was a part of the local "organized crime scene" in Nangchen. I was more than a bit nervous when I saw his gun. He then drove us to a big open field and told us to get out. He took the gun out and fired a few shots into the grasslands and then handed it to me. He put up a couple of Coke cans and told me to shoot them. I then passed the gun over to Billy. Billy fired off a few shots before handing the gun back to Dhondrup. Since he let us fire his gun, I was pretty sure Dhondrup wasn't going to kill or rob us. He then wanted to treat us to lunch. Nangchen county is about 98% Tibetan. There are just a handful of Chinese in the county capital of Sharda. Dhondrup took us to a small Chinese restaurant. The four of us walked into the restaurant. When we got inside, Dhondrup took out his gun and held it to the cooks head (This is 100% true.). He told the cook to make us some good food. We sat down at a table and Dhondrup placed his gun on the table. Needless to say, I was looking forward to our time with Dhondrup coming to an end! After lunch we parted ways. (Dhondrup currently is in prison in Nangchen for robbing and beating up some muslims).Later, Namgyal and I talked to a few truck drivers in Nangchen about going down to Chamdo. All of them said that it was possible. In fact there were two roads. One rough "road" went down to Riwoche county while another rougher "road" went directly to Chamdo. There isn't a lot of traffic on the road heading south so we took the first truck we could find going that way. We found a Tibetan truck driver heading down to Riwoche the next day. He charged us Y50 ($6) each for the ride. The truck driver said it would take around 10 hours to make the 244km (153 miles) trip. He told us the road was very bad and slow going. The cab of the truck was small so Namgyal rode in front with the driver and Billy and I rode in the back of the truck. Nangchen has a lot of salt mines so our truck was transporting salt. Our truck

wasn't carrying powdered salt though. It was carrying huge rocks of salt. All of the salt was in bags, but it was hard, sharp and pointy. There was no way to get comfortable among all the rocks of salt. The road was dirt and bumpy so every minute we would get jabbed by a sharp edge of salt. About an hour into our trip the truck broke down. Our driver manged to get it running again, but it broke down another 6 times before we finally reached Riwoche. As I already mentioned, Billy and I didn't plan for cold weather since it was late June when we left. We didn't take any sleeping bags or anything like that. The trip down to Riwoche ending up taking a lot longer than the 10 hours the driver said it would take. It took us nearly 18 hours to go the 244km (153 miles). We averaged only 13.5 km/8 miles an hour! In the late afternoon the temperature began to drop. Being in the back with the rock salt and freezing temperatures along an extremely bumpy road was one of the most miserable experiences of our lives. It was impossible to get comfortable or warm. There was a 3 hour period where Billy and I didn't speak to each other. We honestly didn't know if the other was even alive. We were "laying down" on opposite ends of the truck and we were both too cold to talk or to check and see if the other was okay. Eventually I asked Billy if he was awake and asked him if he was as cold as I was. We were both so cold! We were definitely experiencing some symptoms of hypothermia. Finally at around 2am we pulled into Riwoche. Getting out of the truck was the end of a long and cold nightmare. Billy and I had bruises all over our bodies. We found some trucker guesthouse for Y30 ($3.75) per person and stayed the night there.

The next morning we walked around the small town of Riwoche. It was much warmer there than during the previous day's bus ride. Our main objective was to find transportation to Chamdo which was 105 km/66 miles away. We found a van taxi that was willing to take us that way. There is a checkpoint along the way so the driver was a little nervous taking us through it since we didn't have any of the necessary permits for being in the region. For Y200 ($24) he took the three of us to Chamdo. It was an expensive trip, but he made sure we made it through the checkpoint. The road was pretty bad so it took us 4 hours to cover the 105km/66 miles. Chamdo lies on the Mekong River and is the largest town in the Kham region of Tibet. The first hotel we went to wouldn't accept us because we didn't have the proper permits. We tried a few more and they also wouldn't accept us. Chamdo see's very few foreigners so Billy and I knew that it probably wouldn't take too long for the police to spot us. We finally found a decent hotel that would take us. We found a double room with a shower for around Y100 ($12) which was nice since we hadn't showered in quite a while. We spent the next couple of days hanging out in Chamdo and had no problems with the police. We explored all of the town as well as the hilltop monastery of Jampaling. The next day we went to the bus station to buy tickets to Jomda which was 228km (142 miles) to the east. The bus station wouldn't sell  us tickets. They said we had to have permits to be in this region of Tibet. I tried talking to some bus drivers and they also refused to let us on board. We were stuck in Chamdo! We ended up turning ourselves into the police station in Chamdo. There were 3 people at the police station...two Tibetan men and a Chinese woman who was in charge. The two Tibetan men were pretty nice, but the Chinese woman (probably about 25 years old) was not very nice. She told us several times that we were illegally in a closed region of the People's Republic of China. She gave Billy and I (Namgyal is from Nepal and was also supposed to have the necessary permits, but since he is Tibetan no one would think he was a foreigner) fines for Y300 ($36). I tried to negotiate a lower price, but the Chinese woman in charge screamed "This is the police station!! Not a market! You cannot negotiate with the police!!". We then paid the fine. To do the trip legally costs thousands of dollars so I thought the fine of Y300/$36 wasn't too bad. After lunch, one of the Tibetan police officers escorted us to the bus station so we could buy bus tickets. The Tibetan police officer then gave me his card and said that if I was ever in Chamdo legally, to give him a call so we could have dinner together. The next day the three of us headed to Jomda.

Jomda is 228km/143 miles to the east of Chamdo. The bus ticket cost Y70/$8.75. A couple of hours into our trip, I noticed a line of trucks and buses in front of us. The roads through this part of Tibet are poor. A rockslide occured and covered the road with 8 feet of bolders and gravel. I though for sure we would be stuck there overnight, but after waiting a couple of hours, a front end loader came in and cleared the road. The picture at the top of this page was taken during our delay. After nearly 9 hours, we finally arrived in the small, one-road town of Jomda. About an hour after we arrived the police noticed us and told us to walk over to the police station. Jomda is still a restricted area of Tibet. The police station in Chamdo had given us a fine so I showed the police in Jomda and they let us go. They just told us not to take many pictures. We stayed at the Jomda guesthouse which was clean, comfortable and only cost Y25/$3 a person. The next morning we set out for Derge.

From Jomda to Derge is 65km/41 miles. We took a bus for around Y25/$3 and it took 4 hours. Derge lies in Ganzi Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in western Sichuan province (四川省) and is open to foreigners. It lies just across the Yangtze River. Derge is famous through out Tibet for the Parkhang Printing Press which prints most of the Tibetan scriptures used across Tibet. It was nice to be in a place where we didn't have to lay low from the police. We stayed at the Derge Hotel which is one of the worst hotels I have ever stayed in. The hotel has two wings...one with overpriced double rooms with a bathroom and one with dorm rooms. The dorm rooms were probably pretty nice back in the 1950's, but are in very bad shape now. The first step I took in the room, my foot went through the floor boards. I guess you get what you pay for. The room was only Y10/$1.25 per person. We spent a couple of days roaming the streets of Derge. Derge is considered the cultural heartland of Kham. It is one of my favorite places in all of Tibet.

After a couple of days in Derge we headed east to the small town of Manigango. Manigango is 106km/66 miles from Derge. We found a big Kham Tibetan man with a jeep who was going that way. He gave us a ride for Y35/$4.38 a person. Between Derge and Manigango is the high mountain pass of Cho La. Cho La is 4916m/16,125 feet above sea level. When we started making the ascent up Cho La the weather quickly changed. In Derge it was cloudy and mild. As we were heading up this pass, it became much colder. Then it began to snow. It was snowing so hard that we couldn't see out the window. The driver had the windshield wipers on high and we still couldn't see. The driver drove the whole way with his window rolled down. Poor Billy was sitting behind the driver freezing to death. The road up Cho La is narrow and winding. The drop off on the right side is quite far. We were driving through at least 4 inches of snow. I was pretty nervous looking over the edge and seeing the valley far, far below. I was more than a bit concerned. We finally reached the top of the pass. The date was July 6. There was around 6 inches of snow at the top. Snow was falling the hardest I have ever seen in my life. It wasn't just a snow storm. It was a full on blizzard. We had no visibility. Our driver wasn't too concerned. He just kept driving. Eventually we made it down the pass and into Manigango. The trip took a little over 3 hours. Manigango is a very small town in the middle of nowhere. It sits on the intersection of the road from Ganzi town to Serxu. We checked into the Manigango guesthouse which was actually quite nice. A bed in a 4 person dorm was Y15/$1.88. We went across the street to eat some lunch. Billy and I both weren't eating very well and were losing a lot of weight. After lunch, Billy and I set off to find the bathroom. Our guesthouse didn't have one. We asked several people in town where the bathroom was, but no one knew where it was. We ended up having to climb up a mountain to find a private spot. There was no bathroom in all of Manigango! Later that afternoon it began to snow a little in Manigango. Billy and I both wished we had brought coats!

The next morning we hiked to the road intersection between Ganzi town and Serxu. There isn't a bus from Manigango to Serxu, so we had to wait for the bus from Ganzi to come and flag it down. We were with about 10 other people. After waiting a couple of hours in the cold, the bus came. The bus was already full when it stopped in Manigango. So they rearranged a few things and somehow got us all on the bus. About a half an hour after we left Manigango our bus broke down. Something was broke on the bus, but it was still driveable. The driver (who was Chinese) told half of us to get off the bus. He then drove back to Manigango to have the bus fixed. So Billy, Namgyal and I along with about 15 others were stranded alongside the road in the middle of nowhere. We had no idea how long the bus would take to come back and get us. We were in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do. Billy and I threw some rocks for a few minutes until a nomad family came our way.

The family was moving their whole herd of yak right down the road where we were. It was cool to be able to see nomads in transit right in front of us. After an hour and a half the bus returned and took us the rest of the way to Serxu. Three hours after the bus picked us up, the driver stopped to pick up two monks who were walking alongside the road. The bus driver, who was Chinese, told them he wanted Y60/$7.50 per person to take them to Serxu. Everyone on our bus was Tibetan except for the driver and his assistant. Some Tibetans in the back of the bus told the monks to pay no more than Y30 for the trip, but the driver insisted on Y60. Some of the Tibetans on board then threatened to beat the Chinese driver if he charged them that much, so the driver let them on for Y30. I am sure the last thing that Chinese bus driver wanted to do was upset a bus full of Kham Tibetans who were all carrying knives! From Manigango to Serxu is 222km/139 miles. The bus ticket cost Y70/$8.75 and it took us 7 hours.

Serxu is a high nomad town that sits at 4100m/13,448 ft. It is a very poor and remote area in northwest Ganzi Tibet Autonomous Prefecture. There are only a couple of guesthouses in Serxu. We stayed at the "one star" Serxu Hotel. A double room cost Y25/$3 per person. As soon as I got off the bus I found some Tibetan kids who wanted to play basketball with me. Playing basketball at 4100m was not easy. I was fully exhausted after about 20 minutes. I went back to the hotel and rested a while. Later in the afternoon, Billy and I hiked up a high hill that overlooks the town. We met an Amdo Tibetan from Golok in town who showed us the way up. If we were at sea level it would only have taken us about 3 minutes to go up this hill, but at 4100m it took us well over half an hour. The top gave us a great view of the town and the grasslands outside of town. Nomad tents could be seen everywhere.

The next day Billy and I left for Jyekundo. Namgyal met up with some friends in Serxu so we left him there. From Serxu to Jyekundo is 125km/77 miles. The bus ticket cost Y30/$3.75 and took 6 hours. In Jyekundo we stayed at the Yushu Hotel where a double room with a shower cost Y140/$17.50. It was the first time we were able to take a shower in quite a while. We spent the next couple of days just relaxing in Jyekundo talking about our wild trip through Kham. Billy had to take a flight back to Seattle out of Beijing, so after being in Jyekundo for a couple of days we took the long sleeper bus back to Xining. A sleeper bus from Jyekundo to Xining costs Y152/$19 and usually takes 17 to 20 hours.

That Kham trip of summer 2004 was a memorable one! We saw a Tibetan guy hold a gun to a Chinese guy's head, we nearly froze to death in the back of a rock salt truck,  we were detained by the police...twice, we were caught in a blizzard on high mountain roads, we were in a town without a toilet, we were stranded alongside a remote road with nomads, we were caught in a rockslide and we nearly saw a bus full of Tibetans beat up a Chinese bus driver. I have had many adventures through Tibet, but none compares to this one.

I want to say Tashi Delek to my buddies Billy (right) from Seattle and Namgyal (above) from Kathmandu for spending those 17 or 18 days with me in Kham. Let's do it again soon!

Kham Province, Tibet

Kham is one of the 5 historical provinces of Tibet along with Amdo, Ngari, U and Tsang. It borders Amdo to the north, U to the west, China to the east and India and Myanmar to the south. Kham is broken up into 54 counties spread across 6 prefectures of China. Ganzi (16 counties), Chamdo (11 counties) Nagchu (11 counties), Nyingtri (7 counties) Yushu (6 counties) and Diqing (3 counties) Prefectures make up the Kham region of Tibet. It covers an area of around 900,000 sq km (348,000 sq mi) with a population of around 2 million.

From the 10th century on, Kham was never under the authority of Lhasa for an extended period of time or under China until the communist takeover in the 1950's. Kham was never ruled by a single leader, but was split up into over 2 dozen seperate kingdoms each with its own king. In recent centuries the most powerful kingdoms in Kham were those of Chakla, Dege, Lhato, Lingtsang and Nangchen. Part of the reason that Kham never was under the authority of Lhasa was because of the sect of Buddhism followed in Kham. The Dalai Lama, the government and the most powerful monasteries in Lhasa follow the Gelukpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism while older schools of Buddhism such as the Kagyu, Nyingma and Sakya (around Jyekundo) are followed in Kham. The ancient Bon religion is still practiced in Nyingtri Prefecture, also known as the Kongpo region. In 1939 the government of the Republic of China created Xikang province with Kangding as the capital. Xikang covered the far eastern region of Kham. This province lasted until 1954 when Xikang was merged into Sichuan province.

Kham has a wide range of geography. Most of Yushu and Nagchu prefectures sit above 4200m (13,780ft) with many mountain peaks over 5500m (18,044ft). One of the highest and most famous mountains in this area is Gela Dandong which rises to 6621m (21,723ft). Many of the Tibetans found in Yushu and Nagchu are nomads, but large areas are unihabited. Nyingtri prefecture is home to Mt. Namcha Barwa (7782m) and Mt. Gyala Pelri (7294m). The river valleys around these two mountains drop as much as 5000m in places, making the towns of Nyingtri prefecture some of the lowest in Tibet. Nyingtri has thick forests, lots of rain and a mild climate. Chamdo and Ganzi prefectures sit mostly between 3200m and 3600m (10,500ft to 11,810ft). The Yangtze and Mekong Rivers flow through these prefectures making the region known as "the bread basket of Tibet". The highest mountain in Kham, Minya Konka (7556m/24,790ft), is found in Ganzi prefecture.

Most people think of Tibetans as kind and peaceful. While that is true for many regions of Tibet, it isn't necessarily true of the Tibetans from Kham. Kham Tibetans have long been known as a violent group of bandits terrorizing the Tibetan Plateau on horseback. In his book "Seven Years in Tibet" Heinrich Harrer described Kham Tibetans as forcing their way into nomad tents stealing anything of value. He also reported that they would sometimes kill pilgrims, monks and nuns. Even today, it is rare to find a Kham man without a large knife (more like a sword) on his side. It was these same people that gave the communist government of China the most resistance. Long after the Tibetans of Lhasa gave up, the Tibetans of Kham continued to fight. The Chinese who live in the Kham region are often fearful of Kham Tibetans.

There are no large cities in Kham, but there are several important towns. Chamdo (3300m) is the unofficial capital of Kham. Located in the eastern region of the TAR, it sits on the banks of the Mekong River with a population of over 50,000. The Gelukpa monastery of Jampaling rises above the town and has around 850 monks. Dege (3200m), located near the Yangtze River, is considered the cultural heart of Kham. The Parkhang Printing Press in Dege is used to print Buddhist scriptures for monasteries all across Tibet. Jyekundo (3700m) in northern Kham is famous for its annual horse festival beginning on July 25th and for the largest pile of mani (prayer) stones in the world. The hilltop monastery of Jyeku Dondrubling is well known throughout Kham as the place where the 9th Panchen Lama died. Nagchu (4500m) is one of the highest and coldest towns in all of Tibet. The first week of August, Nagchu hosts one of the largest horse festivals in Tibet. Other important towns in Kham are Kangding, Ganzi, Litang, Nangchen and Riwoche.

Relatively few travelers to Tibet go to Kham. Part of the reason is the number of travel restrictions on foreigners in the eastern region of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). In the eastern TAR foreigners are required to travel by 4WD and have a minimum of 3 permits. The regions of Kham in Sichuan, Qinghai and Yunnan though are all open. Foreigners are free to travel by public transportation. Most of Kham is very poor. Roads are bad and hotels often have no running water or indoor toilets. Kham is also hard to reach. Towns such as Chamdo, Jyekundo and Dege are far from the cities of Lhasa, Chengdu and Xining. Despite the difficulties of traveling through Kham, it is one of the best regions of Tibet and I highly recommend it.            

Go here for more Kham pictures.

Yaks...The official animal of Tibet

Yaks. When people think of the animals of Tibet, a yak has to be among the first they think of. Eighty-five percent (or about 10 million) of the world's yaks live on the Tibetan Plateau. A yak is built to survive tough environments. Yaks have three times more red blood cells than normal cows so they are able to live without any problems on the high elevation grasslands of Tibet. Their long, thick hair insulates their bodies from winter temperatures that can get to -30C (-22F) or colder. Most yaks are black, but it is not uncommon to see white or gray ones especially on the grasslands of northern Amdo (modern day Qinghai province).

Tibetans have a long history of using yaks. Experts believe that yaks were first domesticated in Tibet at least 3000 years ago. They are sturdy, sure-footed and perfect for using as pack animals to cross high mountain passes. They can easily carry loads of 70kg (154lb) along rough and steep mountain trails. For centuries yaks have been used to carry salt from the Changtang (northern Plateau) to towns across Tibet and even across the Himalaya into the Dolpo region of Nepal. Yaks can begin being used as pack animals at age 2 and can often live to be over 20 years old.

Yaks are the most important animals to the Tibetan people. Nomads keep yaks in herds between 20 and 100. Most of Tibet is treeless, so dried yak dung is used as fuel for fires. Yak hair is woven into yarn and used to make tents and rope. Yak hide is used to make boots and boats. Yak meat is eaten by nearly every Tibetan family. It is high in protein with only one-sixth the fat of regular beef. In the summer months it is dried, but in winter it is often eaten raw. Yak milk is high in fat and is usually made into butter, yogurt and cheese. Yaks are always given names, but their names are different from the names given to people.

Wild yaks, called "drong" in Tibetan, once roamed all across Tibet. They were hunted to near extinction and now number less than 1000. Males can measure up to 2m (6ft 6in) at the shoulder and weigh up to 1000kg (2200lb). Most of the wild yaks of Tibet now live in the Kekexili Nature Preserve located in southwest Qinghai and northeast Tibet Autonomous Region. Inside Kekexili they are protected from hunters. China government officials are spending a lot of money in hopes of multiplying the number of wild yak in Tibet.

 In nomadic areas, yaks are still used as a mode of transportation. Yaks are either fitted with a saddle or are ridden bareback. It is not uncommon to see children riding a yak while out grazing the yaks. Many towns across Tibet hold annual summer horse festivals. Nearly every horse festival will hold a yak race which adds to the fun of the festival.

Nomads

Even though it is now the 21st century, there are still well over 1 million nomads on the Tibetan Plateau. Nomads, known as "drokpa" in Tibetan, live a difficult life. Most Tibetan nomads live in Amdo, northwest Kham and Changtang. Nomads are easily identifiable by their wind-burned cheeks and thick fur coats. Winters in these areas are brutal with temperatures often getting below -30C (-22F). Most areas where nomads live are above 4000m (13,120ft) so winters are long and summers are short.

Tibetan nomads live in black yak wool tents  called "ba" in Tibetan. These tents will house an entire family and their belongings. The tent is heated with a yak dung stove. Since many regions of Tibet are above the tree line, dried yak dung is used as fuel. Women and children go out every morning and collect yak dung to be dried. Nomad tents are easy to put up and take down. When a family is ready to move to a new pasture, the tents are rolled up and packed onto yaks. Prayer flags can usually be found strung up outside of nomad tents. It is also common for nomad tents to have idols and images of Buddha inside. In the summer months it is common for Tibetans to live in white, canvas tents. These tents often have one or more of the eight auspicious symbols on it. These canvas tents are also used during horse festivals. Nomads will often live with members of their extended family. Usually nomad tents are in groups of two or three, though sometimes they are alone. Nomads live far from towns and villages and have little in modern technology. In some areas, nomad life has changed little over the past 500 years.

Nomads herd yaks and sheep. A small herd of yaks will be 20 while a large herd could have over 100. Nomads keep their yak in line using a sling shot made of woven yak hair. Boys as young as 7 can be seen herding yaks on their own. Older men will bring a thermos of milk tea or butter tea with them when they head out to graze their yaks. Watching the yaks graze can be quite boring so often nomad men can be seen laying in the bright sun taking short naps. While the men are out grazing the yaks, the women stay at the tent and take care of the chores there. Gathering water is important as is cooking food and watching the children.

Nomads don't sleep on beds, but on sleeping mats. The sleeping mats are more like rugs. They keep warm using blankets and sheep furs. Nomads wear big sheep fur lined coats with extra long sleeves called "chuba". These coats are very warm and help to keep them warm on cold winter days. Hats made from fox fur are worn by most nomads along with boots made from yak hide and lined with fur. These boots come up high on the leg to just below the knee. A long, sharp knife can be found on the side of every nomad. Tibetans cut towards themselves, not away from themselves as most people in the West are taught. Amulets or pictures of the Dalai Lama are worn around their necks along with many strings of prayer beads.

Tibetan nomads are some of the most interesting people on earth. They life in some of the most remote areas and endure many hardships. Nomads are happy to have you come and look around their tent and share a cup of butter tea with them. Most travelers to Tibet don't see nomads. They live far from the bright lights of Lhasa. If you have the chance, I would highly recommend spending a few days with this unique group of people. A lot of my free time is spent hanging out with them.

Go here for more nomad pictures.

Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture

Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture is located in southern Qinghai province on the northern Tibetan Plateau. Yushu covers an area of 73,814 sq mi (191,178 sq km) and is a little larger than Washington State. Yushu has a population of 280,000 people and is over 95% Tibetan. Yushu is one of the most remote areas in Tibet being over 500 miles (800km) from Xining and over 750 miles (1200km) from both Lhasa and Chengdu. Yushu is not connected by air or by train. The only way to get there is by sleeper bus from Xining or by local buses from Ganzi Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in far northwest Sichuan province.

Yushu is broken up into 6 counties: Jyekundo (Yushu in Chinese), Nangchen (Nangqian), Chende (Chengduo), Dzado (Zaduo), Drido (Zhiduo) and Chumarleb (Qumalai). The northern counties of Chende, Chumarleb and Drido are inhabited mostly by nomads herding yaks and sheep. These three counties all sit above 4200m (13,780ft) with many mountains higher than 5000m (16,400ft). Living conditions are harsh as winters are long and cold. Snow can fall in these counties well into summer. These areas average over 270 freezing days per year. Due to the high altitude and freezing temperatures little can grow in this area. Many of the nomads living here have never seen a tree in their life. Jyekundo and Nangchen counties are in the south of Yushu and sit at an average elevation of 3700m (12,140ft). Farmers, with the aid of insulated greenhouses, are able to grow a few crops such as barley and potatoes.The winters are a little less harsh in Jyekundo and Nangchen than in the north, but are still long and cold. Dzado county in southwest Yushu is one of the most remote counties in Tibet being over 650 miles (1050km) from Xining. Dzado county is famous for caterpillar fungus, which is a popular Tibetan medicine.

Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture is famous across Tibet for containing the headwaters of three of Asia's greatest rivers. The Mekong (Lancang Jiang in Chinese and Dza Chu in Tibetan), Yellow (Huang He in Ch. and Ma Chu in Tib.) and Yangtze (Chang Jiang in Ch. and Dri Chu in Tib.) all start in Yushu. The Tibetans of Yushu are also famous for their dancing and for their annual horse festivals held each summer. The Jyekundo Horse Festival is held each year on July 25th and is one of the largest in Tibet. Yushu is also famous for being a stopover for King Songtsen Gampo and his wife Princess Wencheng during the 7th century. The king and his wife stayed in Yushu while on their way to Lhasa from modern day Xi'an. There is a stupa in Lheba that was built by the attendants of Princess Wencheng. The stupa is over 1300 years old and is one of the oldest in Tibet.

Yushu is one of the best regions of Tibet to see real authentic Tibetan culture. Because Yushu is so remote, the percentage of Chinese people is very low. Yushu is poor and has little tourist infra-structure. The long bus ride and poor conditions keep most travelers away. Yushu is a part of Kham province. Kham covers the eastern region of Tibet. Other regions of Kham include Chamdo, Nyingtri and Ganzi. Kham as a whole is about 20% nomadic, but Yushu prefecture is about 70% nomadic. The nomads of Yushu live in harsh conditions in some of the most remote areas of the world. Many nomads live several days away by car from the nearest county town. Many nomad areas see snow and freezing temperatures year round (I have seen snow fall in Yushu prefecture in July).

All six counties of Yushu can be reached by bus (sleeper and seat) from Xining. There are 4 to 6 buses per day to Jyekundo (Yushu county), while the other counties have buses every other day from Xining. You can also reach the other 5 counties of Yushu Prefecture from Jyekundo by van taxi. At the Yushu Guangchang (Yushu Square) you can get a shared van taxi to Chende, Qumarleb and Drido counties for around Y35 per person. From in front of the main bus staion in Jyekundo you can take shared van taxis to the counties of Nangchen and Dzado for around Y30 per person.

If you have any questions concerning travel to Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, please send an email to [email protected].

Sleeper Buses

Sleeper buses are one of the main modes of transportation across the Tibetan Plateau. Inside, the bus is divided into 3 rows of bunk beds. The beds are narrow, short and very uncomfortable. Blankets are provided in the bus, but they are very dirty and are never washed. I have had to use blankets that have dried vomit and motor oil on them! In the winter months (October-May) the beds next to the window are very cold. Thick ice forms on the inside of the window. Since the beds are so narrow, one side of your body ends up next to the icy window. Most of the sleeper buses have heat, but there are still a few older ones that have no heat. Winter temperatures can easily drop to -25F (-32C) on the high plateau so getting a bus without heat is a nightmare. I once took a sleeper bus in the winter from Lhasa to Golmud that didn't have heat. Inside the bus it was easily 0F (-18C). I didn't sleep one minute on that bus ride. It was the worst experience of my life. Many men chain smoke in the buses adding to the misery.

Sleeper buses are only available on long distance routes across the Plateau such as Golmud to Lhasa, Xining to Lhasa, Lhasa to Chamdo, Chamdo to Chengdu, Xining to Jyekundo and Lhasa to Ngari. The buses have no bathrooms and only stop for bathroom breaks every 4 hours or so. You have to be careful on how much water you drink since the next stop could be several hours away. Most of the Tibetan Plateau is barren and uninhabited so the bathroom breaks are just out on the open plateau. Men will go to one side of the bus while women go to the other. The bus will also make a stop for lunch or dinner. The bus usualy stops in the middle of nowhere at some small Muslim noodle shop. Most people will bring small snacks along for the long ride.

Delays on sleeper buses are common. Flat tires, engine problems and heavy snow can all contribute to delays. Some breakdowns are short while others are for many hours. Most of the route is through some of the most remote areas on earth, so there are few mechanics along the way. The buses are usually manned by a driver and one or two assistants. These guys know how the buses work inside and out so they usually can get the bus running again. Occasionally heavy snow will shut the roads down for a period of time. This is not very common in southern Tibet, but it can happen on the northern Plateau. In February 2006 the buses between Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture and Xining stopped running for over a week due to heavy snow.

Altitude sickness is a reality in Tibet. Most of the Plateau sits above 4500m (14,763ft) with passes over 5200m (17,060ft).  Most Tibetans don't suffer from altitude sickness, but they do suffer from motion sickness. Many foreigners and Chinese who take sleeper buses in Tibet suffer from altitude sickness. It is not uncommon for people to throw up inside the bus or for the sides on the bus to be covered with throw up by the time it reaches its final destination.

I thought I would write a little about sleeper buses since a lot of my life seems to be on them. I frequently take the Lhasa-Golmud (18-22 hours) and Xining-Jyekundo (17-21 hours) buses. I never look forward to the long rides and am always glad when they are over.

Kekexili

What is Kekexili? Kekexili (ཨ་ཆེན་གངས་རྒྱལ།།), is a nature preserve on the northern Tibetan Plateau that is home to most of the Tibetan antelope, wild donkeys and wild yaks of Tibet. It is a high grassland area that sits at 4700m (15,416ft) above sea level covering 45,000 square kilometers. Kekexili is found in Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture in southwest Qinghai province. This region of Tibet is in the traditional Tibetan province of Kham. If you take the train or bus from Xining or Golmud to Lhasa, you will pass through some of Kekexili. It is a place a stunning beauty and is the theme of many Tibetan songs. It is surrounded by high, snow-capped mountain peaks and is home to few people. Most of the people who do live there are nomads who live in black yak-hair tents. Winters are long and extremly cold in Kekexili. Hunting is strictly forbidden in the nature preserve. The Tibetan antelope was hunted to the point of near extinction in the 1990's. A film, also called Kekexili, was made in 2004 about a group of Kham Tibetans from Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture who came together to form a patrol to protect the Tibetan antelope. The film is based on a true story.

Kekexili is a special and unique place unlike any other on earth. It is remote and barren, yet has a certain draw to it. It is one of my favorite places in all of Tibet. I chose to name this site after this great place.