Tibet Hiking Tour

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Foreign Tibetan living in India or Nepal

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Difference between Genuine and Foreign Tibetans

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Destiny of Dalai Lama

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Audience: This tour is a perfect compromise between back packing and being bussed around with a new hotel every night. Although the hiking is not difficult, daily hikes of 10 to 15 km (1 km = 0.621 mile) require good endurance. You should be an enthusiastic, experienced day hiker to enjoy this trip. For detail itinerary please click on the menu-bar at the top of this page.

If you want to avoid Hiking, please consider

Tibet + Three Gorges Cruise

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Tibet in eyes of foreign journalists

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"Nonviolence" in the mouth of "Dalai Lama"

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2006 Tibet Hiking Group

What an Experience !

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To Learn Nowadays China

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Potala Palace is the symbol of Tibet, China

On July 1, 2006 Qinghai-Tibet Railway put into operation

which changed the History of Tibet forever !!

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Sketch map of the route of Qinghai-Tibet railway.

Map of Tibet Autonomous Region.

View Introduction Video of QingHai-Tibet Railway.

 (video records "http://zt.tibet.cn/news/audio002.asp?id=6993" are from en.tibet.cn)

A Video of QingHai-Tibet Railway I

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A Video of QingHai-Tibet Railway II

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Qinghai-Tibet railway marks anniversary

www.chinaview.cn 2007-07-01 21:01:06

LHASA, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Tibetan people have celebrated the first year of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, recalling the changes brought by the rail link that connects the landlocked region to the rest of the country.

"When the rails rattle, the money comes in" was how Losang Cering, 40, of Liuwu Village, near the Lhasa railway terminal, described the railway's benefits.

"Before, we depended on the land for a living, but my people are working in construction, running home-style hotels, and some are driving cabs. They can earn about 2,000 yuan a month now, an unimaginable sum before," he said.

A year after its inauguration, the railway has transported 1.5 million people into Tibet, nearly half of the total tourist arrivals. The regional tourism administration says Tibet will receive more than three million tourists this year.

"The railway is like a colorful hada (ceremonial silk scarf regarded as a token of respect) that brings us good fortune," Losang said.

"The railway has facilitated access for pilgrims and believers in and outside Tibet, and we are seeing a major increase rather than decline in the number of pilgrims," said Chilai Qoisang, deputy director of the regional Buddhism association.

Statistics from the regional government show 328,000 pilgrims visited the Potala Palace, Norbuglinkha and Johkang Monastery, the top three religious sites in Lhasa, last year up by 62,000 from the previous year.

The 1,956-km railway, runs from Xining, capital of the northwestern Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-07/01/content_6317397.htm

Information About Your Train Soft-Sleeper Compartment
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A train is seen on the bridge over Lhasa River near Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region July 1, 2007. Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which began operation a year ago on July 1, is witnessing its first anniversary of its openning. The railway had transported 1.3 million passengers and 650,000 tons of goods in or out of Tibet by May 31 this year, according to Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company.

The first of the 4 trains starting from Lhasa railway station departs in the morning in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region July 1, 2007.

The first container freight train starts off from the Lhasa west station in Lhasa, capital of the southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on July 1, 2007. Container freight transportation was added to Qinghai-Tibet Railway Sunday, the one year inauguration anniversary of the world's highest railway.

The first container freight train starts off from the Lhasa west station in Lhasa, capital of the southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on July 1, 2007.

Visually impaired passengers wait in line to get aboard the train from Lhasa railway station in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region July 1, 2007.

A train is seen on the bridge over Lhasa River near Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region July 1, 2007.

Freedon of Religion in Tibet

From Words of Past Tibet-Tour Hikers

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United States has to respect that today

Local Tibetan born and raised in Tibet

DO NOT WANT click here Dalai Lama to return Tibet

For more info of Tibetan Living Standard

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Reform and opening-up improve Tibetans' life

2008-12-19 15:58:00

Introduction: Journalists from China Tibet Information Center have recently visited many places of the Tibet Autonomous Region, and they have published a series of first-hand materials. The reports show that in the past 30 years since china's reform and opening up, great changes have taken place in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

In 2007, the per capita disposable income of urban residents in Tibet was 11,131 yuan, an increase of almost 20 times compared to 1978 which was only 565 yuan, according to the relevant departments of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Having saying farewell to miserable life in the old Tibet, nowadays people living there enjoy their peaceful life happily.

I Food: Former luxury, now common food

In TAR, former luxury goods have become common people's daily food.

"lala", a kind of special product made of yak milk, was a kind of luxury food before because 10 kilogramme of yak milk can only make one kilogramme "lala". In Nyainrong county, Nagqu Prefecture, there is a tradition of making "lala". Dekyi, a Tibetan woman of the county, told the reporter about the story between "lala" and her.

According to Dekyi, when she was a little girl, she was always eager to have "lala" when seeing other children from wealthy families eating in holidays. On her wedding day, her husband said to her: "I will work hard to make you have 'lala' every day!"

Now all her dreams have come true. She makes this kind of food for sale and her children can enjoy "lala" whenever they want.

Fruits and vegetable are another example. When TAR was established in 1965, few kinds of fruits were planted in the region. It was difficult for common people even pregnant women to have fresh fruits at that time. However, with the help of advanced technology, nowadays TAR can plant various fruits such as watermelons and peaches. And having fruits has become Tibetan people's daily habit. In addition, the Tibet Autonomous Region has invested on vegetable planting in recent years and nowadays local people can enjoy fresh vegetables in cold winter. Statistics show that in 1981, each person could only have 0.04 kg vegetable every day. However, in 2007, each person can have 0.4 kg vegetable per day.

Besides having better food, Tibetan people enjoy drinking tea as well.

In Lhasa, capital of TAR, you will never miss sweet tea caffs, which embody Tibetan folk-custom mostly. Scattered around Lhasa, sweet tea caffs provide their customers with not only the sweet tea but also the Tibetan culture. The process of making sweet tea is not complicated at all: adding milk powder and white sugar into boiling Tibetan tea. However, you will get "drunk" after having the sweet tea as you will be indulged in the sweet tea caffs, which are dubbed as "business cards" of Lhasa.

II Housing: Windows' change reflects life's change

Journalists from China Tibet Information Center have visited Lhasa and Xigaze Prefecture to know about people's living conditions.

Xigaze:

Dawa, a Tibetan villager of De'gyiling Village, Rinbung County, Xigaze Prefecture, lives in a spacious two-storey house covering 400 square meters. Built in 2005, the house has big and clean windows, which make Dawa's family enjoy the sunshine in winter.

Before, Dawa's old house, which is still kept, has small windows. "Because of lack of materials such as glass and wood, the windows were built small," said Dawa, "In addition, at that time it was cold in winter. If the windows were too large the house wasn't warm enough. Nowadays, the environment has become better and we make use of solar energy to keep warm. Besides, we needn't make small windows to guard against thieves now. So the windows are much larger than before."

Dingba Jigme, vice chairman of Xigaze People's Political Consultative Conference, is a local Tibetan in the Xigaze Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region, who has lived in Xigaze city since his childhood. When mentioning Xigaze's changes since China's reform and opening up, Dingba Jigme said: "Great changes have taken place in last 30 years since China's reform and opening up."

According to Dingba Jigme, before 1978 there were no high buildings or asphalt roads in Xigaze city, saying nothing of high buildings and wide roads can be seen everywhere in the city.

"Not only the urban areas have changed, rural areas have been improved as well," said Dingba Jigme, "The rural people live in clean houses with two or three storeys."

Tashi, head of Dina Village of the Xigaze Prefecture, told the reporter: "This year we have built a 95-square-meter house with 950,000 yuan."

Lhasa:

Tobgye, a 63-year-old Tibetan man from Gaba Village, Ngaqen Town, Chengguan District of Lhasa, where the housing project for rural people has just been completed in 2007.

According to Tobgye, the housing project for Gaba Village has benefited 23 households with 640,000 yuan from the government, 970,000 yuan from the local people and 560,000 for the loan.

As for the house of Tobgye's 6-member family, they spent 250,000 yuan on it and received the government's subsidy of 25,000 yuan while enjoying a loan from the bank without interest. Since his son is in architecture business, their house was designed by Tobgye's son.

Tobgye showed the journalists around. Covering more than 40 square meters, the living room is equipped with comfortable sofas, pretty Tibetan cabinets, on which there is a color TV and video equipment. The Tobgye couple's bedroom, beside which is their hall for worshipping Buddha, is in complete Tibetan style while their grandsons' bedroom on the second floor is very modern.

"Our house is not the best one," said Tobgye, "there are some that are better than ours."

The following is from Wang Yiming, a common retired Tibetan man in Lhasa.

My family lives in the Barkor street of Lhasa, near the Potala Palace, which is listed as a place of the World Cultural Heritage. I am 71 years old this year and have witnessed the differences between the old Tibet and the new one. And China's reform and opening up policy has helped a great deal in the past 30 years.

In the old Tibet, all family members of mine served Xuekang laird and lived miserably. After Tibet's Peaceful Liberation in 1951, we moved into a 10-sq.m Tibetan-style house on the ground floor.

At that time, the conditions were very poor. In the house we were not able to see sunlight all year round and the Barkor street had no drainages or latrines. Sweet tea houses were scattered around rubbish such as dog-ends, wastepaper and leftovers. Rubbish was even thrown from upstairs. There were no trash cans or spittoons around the Lhasa Hotel, which was the most comfortable and beautiful building along Barkor street at that time.

If it rained in the evening, the whole street was so dark that some people were hurt or even died when they rode because there was no electricity at that time. Crime and accidents sometimes happened in places of public entertainment. And my children and their classmates read by the candle light or kerosene lamps.

In the 30 years since China's reform and opening up, the Barkor street has changed so rapidly that it seems like a dream!

Take my four-member family for example. Since the Lhasa People's Government rebuilt Barkor street in 1991, we moved into a new house of more than 50 sq.m on the second floor as many courtyards with traditional Tibetan features have been built. And the house has been equipped with a color TV, new mats, new furniture and an electromotor for making butter tea.

Not only my family but also the whole of Barkor street has changed greatly. Narrow lanes have been replaced by wide streets and low houses have become bright Tibetan buildings with colorful street lamps around. Decorated with white ceramic tiles, latrines in the street are clean with automatic controllers that deal with sewage. The Barkor street has been equipped with so many drainages that the street will keep clean even when it rains heavily.

III Environment: Ancient city, modern looks

"In recent years, Lhasa has changed so greatly that even I often feel surprised. I had been to aother city some days before and after I came back I even can't recognize some places because they had changed so much," said 66-year-old Phuntsok, who lives in Lhasa and has fallen in love with photography after retirement.

Since China's reform and opening up in 1978, great changes have taken place in Lhasa. In the past few years, the economy in Lhasa has developed with great speed and the gross national product (GNP) has reached 3.6 billion yuan.

Architectures such as Lhasa Hotel, Tibet People's Hall, Tibet University, Tibet Museum, Lhasa Cinema, and etc. have combined both ethnic and modern features.

Modern traffic systems havebeen built in Lhasa. 12 trunk roads started operation in 2000, and 3 ones are in construction, the total investment of which exceeds 300 million yuan. Together with 1st Road and 2nd Ring Road, Beijing Road, Jiangsu Road, Lingkor Road, Nyangri Road, Sera Road and Damrad Road have formed the modern traffic truss.

The residents' living conditions in the old district of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, also have been improving around better environment.

Data show that 90% houses of the old district of Lhasa are dangerous, 20% of which are especially dangerous. Many dwellers suffered from arthritis because of bad living conditions. Qunzong, an elder Tibetan mom, is one who has experienced arthritis because of the bad living conditions

When we visited Qunzong family, she had just returned from hospital.

Qunzong said:"Before alteration, we lived in the second floor and at that time, the house was damp in summer and chilly in winter. With dim light, the courtyard was dirty and messy. Streets of the old district were narrow and uneven and rubbish could be seen everywhere. Narrow lanes were filled with a terrible odor, which made the living environment worse."

According to Lhasa Construction Bureau, houses in this city's old district are built with stones, wood, and earth. Granite and earth billets are the main materials for those architectures. Low, obscure and wet, these houses have no municipal appliances or fire protection facilities.

Since China's reform and opening-up, the government has taken measures to reconstruct the old district of Lhasa. From 2001 to 2004, 68 courtyards had been restored. 56 of them were invested by the government and 12 of them (9 courtyards are culture relics and 3 courtyards are ancient architectures.) were invested by Lhasa Construction Bureau. The whole project covers 39,536 square meters.

Nowadays, houses in Tibetan style have risen up in Lhasa with clean and orderly streets extending far and wide. Former dirty courtyards have become clean and civilized ones.

Just as Qunzong said:"The streets now are so plain that even blind people don't need to worry that they will fall into wallows or be stumbled upon rubbish. People live in houses that look as beautiful as gardens. Even though some families still have not acquired their own houses, we believe that the government will help them."

In Murong Neighbourhood which the Qunzong family is under jurisdiction of, Langzong family also enjoy their pretty houses with modern equipments. Drinking butter tea, Luozhu, an elder from Xiasasu Neighbourhood, enjoys the beautiful scenery with his wife in front of his sitting room: water in Lhasa river is flowing while the snow mountain keeps silent.

It is reported that in the past years, departments concerned required that Tibetan culture and Tibetan customs should be kept when rebuilding the architecture. In addition, complimenting with the environment around is demanded as well.

In addition, since 1979, the government invested a large amount of money in reconstructing appliances in the old district of Lhasa without destroying the former style. Up to the end of last year, 430,000 square meters of old architecture have been restored.

IV Articles for use: Hada on the water faucet

In TAR, Hada represents good wishes, and nowadays it can be seen on water faucets of rural families.

On November 28, the journalists from China Tibet Information Center visited Paggarxoi Village of Dagze County, Lhasa to know about the implementation of the "Mother Water Celler" project. When journalists visited Losang Drolkar's house, they saw white hada on a water faucet. The 66-year-old Tibetan woman told the reporter:"It was very convenient for us to take water before the water celler was built. And nowadays we are so happy because we can enjoy clean water without much efforts."

Launched by China Women's Development Foundation (CWDF) of All-China Women's Federation since 2001, the project has benefited more than 50,000 people with over 108 million yuan. Up to the end of 2006, 28 Solar Thermal wells, 14 wide wells and 405 hand pressure wells have been completed.

The project has improved the local people's life a lot. Taking Gaiyi Village of Xigaze Prefecture for example, before villagers had to take water from a hill 3 kilometers away and the per capita income was only about 1,400 yuan with only 60 people working outside. After the water celler of the village has been built, the per capita income has reached more than 2,000 yuan with over 100 villagers working outside.

Besides enjoying cleaner water, people in TAR have made best use of solar energy in people's daily life, which has both saved energy and protected the environment. When journalists visited Bana Village in Sangri Town of Lhoka Prefecture, Kanglang, a villager from the village, was cooking with methane gas. And solar photovoltaic panels can be seen in many places of Payang Town.

Modern articles such as mobiles, cars, tractors can be seen commonly in TAR, not to mention TVs, refrigerators or computers.

V Business: Former serf, now hotel boss

As a serf in old Tibet, Tashi, a 68-year-old Tibetan man in Lhoka Prefecture of TAR, has now become the boss of Tashi Hotel.

Located in the south of Kangdese Mountain and near Yamzhou Yumco Lake, Tashi Hotel in Arza Town always welcomes many tourists who come here for its fame from home and abroad, from April to September every year. Among them some are from America, Japan and etc. Tourists with travel guide in hand and posters from different countries can often be seen in the hotel.

Tashi looked very happy when talking about his hotel. "My hotel has received the support of the local government as many preferential policies have been put forward since China' reform and opening-up. Income of the hotel is pretty good because it has an advantage of a good location." Tashi Hotel has over 20 rooms with the capital of about 80,000 yuan and Tashi can be listed as the richest man in Arza Town.

"I had never expected that in the past because I had lived a dog's life as a serf," said Tashi, "I did everything at that time but still couldn't see hope. I thought maybe I would live like that for my whole life."

"However, after the democratic reform in the Tibet Autonomous Region, I began my new life by opening a clothing store, which ended my miserable life. And later I opened my hotel, which is the 1st hotel in my town," Tashi told the reporter.

Besides enjoying the sunset and stars, tourists can see mountains covered with snow in the clean Tashi Hotel though it is a bit simple because it has no TVs or lavatorys.

Living in a Tibetan-style house, Tashi has a happy family: his son is an official in the local finance bureau and his two grandsons study in Hunan. Tashi wishes that they study hard to work for their hometown in the future.

"My hotel runs well and I feel satisfied with my present life," Tashi said.

When the journalists left Tashi's house, a row of new houses were found to finish construction in front of Tashi Hotel. That was a secret of elder Tashi: He wants to enlarge the hotel.

"30 years ago, we led a miserable life. However, nowadays, we live well with our hard work and the support from the government," said Phur Tshe, a 42-year-old villager from Tongmen Town, Xietongmen County, Xigaze Prefecture.

Phur Tshe's family can earn 40,000 yuan every year by making leather goods in Tibetan style. His products attracted many people on the Xigaze Trade Fair for their practicality and beauty.

In Phur Tshe's factory, several workers were working on leather boots. "The government invested more than 80,000 yuan to build the factory for us," said Phur Tshe.

Having living well himself, Phur Tshe tries to help his villagers by teaching them his ancestral skills. "I feel happiest when my neighbours get rich by the craftmanship I teach them," said Phur Tshe.

In Dina Village of the Xigaze Prefecture, the Tibet Autonomous Region, the average capita of the village reached 10,160 yuan in 2008 and the gross income of the village in 2007 hit 4,173,862 yuan. The village had become rich by developing transportation industry with the support from the government.

"Take my family for example, the government invested 150,000 yuan for us to buy a truck in 2003 and after that we could earn 150,000 yuan, 200,000 yuan, or even 300,000 yuan every year," said Tashi, head Dina Village.

Duoluo, a knifesmith of Kaga Village, Xietongmen County, Xigaze Prefecture, has become the No. 1 rich man in his village by making Tibetan knives. He earns more than 70,000 yuan every year by this skill and his two sons who make knives with him can get 50,000 yuan and 30,000 annually.

Originated from Bhutan, the technique of making Kaga Tibetan Knife was transferred to Tibet by border trade. As one of the most famous kinds of Tibetan knife, the Kaga Tibetan Knife boasts tenacity with fine imagery. Invested by the government, "Tibetan Knife Processing Cooperation" is going to be set up with Duoluo as the head of the organization. As the knife sells well, Duoluo has not only made himself rich but also helped his villagers live better by teaching them such skill.

Nowadays, in Xietongmen County, 52 people of 28 households make Kaga Tibetan Knife and 10 families have exquisite skills. Each household can earn more than 100,000 annually.

Rural people in Rinbung county of Xigaze Prefecture have also become rich by doing other jobs such as painting, building houses and etc. besides doing traditional rural work.

Dawa, a local villager who works in the Education Bureau of Rinbung County, told the reporter: "My family have earned about 200,000 yuan this year, a bit less than previous years." Dawa's wife weaves pulu in slack time and his 3 brothers sell Tibetan furniture, driving trucks and painting on houses separately. Their family live better now. And their 400-sq.m. house cost them more than 400,000 yuan in 2005.

Phurbu, a neighbour of Dawa, is decorating his new house, which is at the value of 120,000 yuan. Most of the money was earned by working outside.

Trupgyi, a rural man from Tajie Town, Dagze County of Lhasa, had never expected that he could become so rich. This year he had sold more than 40 pigs for more than 16,000 yuan and he will sell 11 more pigs more before the Spring Festival. In addition, the pig introduced from the mainland city just gave birth to 10 baby pigs and another two pigs of his will give birth soon. According to the market price, each baby pig will bring him about 500 yuan.

When talking about this to the Women's Federation of TAR, who helps the Tajie Town, Trupgyi said happily: "Thanks for the support from the government."

According to Trupgyi, his family lived in poverty just a few years ago. Hovever, the TAR Women's Federation invited agriculture experts to teach them techniques and the government lent them more than 10,000 yuan without interest to help them build the green house. Nowadays, his daughter-in-law plants vegetables in greenhouses and vegetables that are left over can be used to feed the pigs while the pigs' dejecta can be used as fertilizer for planting.

Trupgyi is not an exception in Dagze County. Zhasang, president of Women's Federation of Tajie Town, said: "In the town, 292 households raise pigs, and 100 of them have more than 10 pigs. These rural people have improved their life rapidly."

Conclusion: Practice proves that the past 30 years were a period in which China's national strength rose a big margin and the past 30 years have benefited local Tibetans a lot and reform and opening-up are the fundamental causes of all the achievements and progress China has made. As life has changed greatly, Tibetan people do cherish the current situation which was earned by their great efforts and no one or no organizations are allowed to disturb local people's happiness as development is the highlight of the whole Tibet Autonomous Region.

http://eng.tibet.cn/index/news/200812/t20081219_444146.htm

"The day that changed my life" -- Tibet sets "Serfs Emancipation Day"

www.chinaview.cn 2009-01-19 10:09:04

by Xinhua writers Bai Xu, Gama Doje and Laba Cering

LHASA, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Tibetan legislators endorsed a bill Monday to designate March 28 as an annual Serfs Emancipation Day, to mark the date on which about 1 million serfs in the region were freed 50 years ago.

The bill was submitted last week to the second annual session of the ninth regional People's Congress (legislature) for review.

"The 382 legislators attending the session unanimously voted for the proposal," said Legqog, director of the Standing Committee of the Tibetan Autonomous Regional People's Congress, Jan. 19, 2009. Tibetan legislators endorsed a bill Monday to designate March 28 as an annual Serfs Emancipation Day, to mark the date on which about 1 million serfs in the region were freed 50 years ago. (Xinhua Photo)

"The 382 legislators attending the session unanimously voted for the proposal," said Legqog, director of the Standing Committee of the Tibetan Autonomous Regional People's Congress.

"Serfs Emancipation Day" will take place every year on March 28.

On March 28, 1959, the central government announced it would dissolve the aristocratic local government of Tibet and replace it with a preparatory committee for establishing the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The move came after the central government foiled an armed rebellion staged by the Dalai Lama and his supporters, most of whom were slave owners attempting to maintain serfdom.

That meant the end of serfdom and the abolition of the hierarchic social system characterized by theocracy, with the Dalai Lama as the core of the leadership. About 1 million serfs and slaves, accounting for 90 percent of Tibetan population in the1950s, were thus freed.

Among the lawmakers who reviewed the bill was Gaisang, 62, chief executive officer of the Yamei Ethnic Handicraft Ltd. Corp.

"The day should have been established earlier," he said, beaming. "It is necessary to have the day remembered to comfort the old, who were once serfs, and teach the young who have little idea of that part of history."

"My parents, who were both serfs, didn't live to see the day. They died several years ago." he said.

The entrepreneur was born to the family of Tralpa (a kind of Tibetan serf) in Bailang County, Xigaze. His childhood memories were bare feet, patched clothes and a leather whip as thick as a finger.

"If you dared to offend the lord, what was in store for you was at least 50 lashes," he said.

The low point for him came in 1954, when the nearby Nianchu River flooded, inundating crops.

"Thousands of kilograms of grain rotted in the warehouses of the aristocrats, while serfs died from starvation," he recalled.

According to Gaisang, serfs then were bought and sold like animals.

His aunt, Canggyoi, was sold from Xigaze to Lhasa in her teens, and his parents didn't even know.

Gaisang's parents found his aunt, whose name had been changed by her new owner, after a week-long search in Lhasa and they cried for joy.

Now Canggyoi has a daughter and two grandchildren. Like other people above 80, she gets a pension of 300 yuan (about 44 U.S. dollars) a year. Her family's annual net income is about 5,000 yuan.

NPC delegate, former serf Gaisang votes with other delegates to endorse a bill Monday to designate Mar. 28 as an annual Serfs Emancipation Day, to mark the date on which about 1 million serfs in the region were freed 50 years ago.(Xinhua Photo)

DARK ERA

Gaisang's story is hardly exceptional.

According to Gaisang Yeshes, former head of the Tibetan Press of Ancient Books and a sociologist with the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences, serfdom developed before the Yuan Dynasty (AD 1271-1368).

Serfdom was formalized after the hierarchic social system characterized by theocracy was established in the 13th century, when the Yuan Dynasty delegated Tibetan religious leaders to administer the region. The system was further developed after the Dalai Lama became the paramount leader of Tibet.

Serfs, who accounted for more than 90 percent of the population of old Tibet, were treated as private property by their owners, including the family of the Dalai Lama. The latter owned some 80 percent of production materials -- farm land, pastures and livestock.

Serfs were classified into three categories in accordance with their possessions -- Tralpa, Duchung and Nangsan, with the third one being the most miserable who could be sold by his owner as cattle.

Landowners included aristocrats, monasteries and government officials. An exhibition by the Museum of Tibet showed that they owned 24 percent, 36.8 percent and 28.9 percent, respectively, of the arable land in the plateau region before 1959.

Landowners were entitled to legally insult, punish, buy and sell, give away, whip and even kill their serfs.

In 1733, the 7th Dalai Lama controlled 3,150 monasteries and 121,440 households, and serfs had to work for the monasteries despite lack of enough food and proper clothing.

Saixim Village, Doilungdeqen County, 50 km northwest of Lhasa, was a manor of the 14th Dalai Lama's family before 1959. Older villagers can still recall that five people were beaten to death and 11 injured in the service of the Dalai Lama's family during a 10-year period.

In the museum there are about a score of black-and-white photos to show the brutality of landowners: slaves' eyes gouged out, fingers chopped off, noses cut and the tendons of their feet removed.

In the late 1940s, when the Dalai Lama was to celebrate his birthday, the Tibetan local government issued an order that people should prepare human skulls, blood, skin and guts for the religious ceremony.

Celebration for establishment of the Serfs' Emancipation Day was held in Gyangze, Xigaze, where the aristocratic Parlha Manor has been preserved. There, Migmar Dondrup, now 75, served for 11 years as a Nangsan, the lowest of all serfs.

Squeezed into a dark, 7 sq m adobe house with his wife and daughter, Migmar was once so starved that he stole some 10 kg of barley.

"The landlord got angry after hearing that and had two men whip me in turn," recalled the old man. His legs were tied together and he was struck more than 100 times on the hips.

"I couldn't sit. While in bed, I could only lie on my side," he said. It took more than 20 days for the wounds to heal.

He was lucky compared with one of his relatives, a groom, who was beaten to death because the landlord believed he wasted fodder when feeding the horses.

But the 14th Dalai Lama seemed to have been "ignorant" of these kinds of events.

On March 10, 1983, he said in India: "In the past, we Tibetans lived in peace and contentment under the Buddhist light shinning over our snow land." He also said: "Our serf system is different from any other serf system, because Tibet is sparsely populated, and Buddhism, which is for the happiness and benefit of the people, advises people to love each other."

NPC delaget Gesang Zhuoga, offspring of a former serf, attends the meeting to vote for a bill Monday to designate Mar. 28 as an annual Serfs Emancipation Day, to mark the date on which about 1 million serfs in the region were freed 50 years ago. (Xinhua Photo)

THE EMANCIPATION

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the central government originally planned to launch democratic reform and set up a preparatory committee for the establishment of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 1955, acting on the appeal of local residents to abolish the thousand-year-old serf system.

However, on Aug. 18, 1956, Mao Zedong wrote a letter to the 14th Dalai Lama, saying that it was not the right time for Tibet to undertake reform.

Rabgy, an 83-year-old veteran, remembered that time well.

A native Tibetan from the northwestern Gansu Province who joined the army in 1951, he moved to Gangba County, Xigaze, in 1956, when it was named a pioneer site for democratic reform.

In March 1957, he was notified that the trial of democracy had stopped, and he was sent to study in Shaanxi Province.

"I was told that the reform would only be launched when the nobles would really support it in addition to the public appeal," the old man said over a cup of ghee (tea) made by his wife, also a native Tibetan.

He was among the many taken by surprise in March 1959, when the Dalai Lama and some of the serf owners instigated an armed rebellion. Chinese historians believe that the rebellion was intended not just to postpone the reform, but to continue the feudal serf system forever.

Rabgy returned Lhasa the next month, only to see ruins everywhere: craters in the streets, holes left by bullets on the roof of the Ramoche Temple and water in the Jokhang Temple.

The People's Liberation Army soon quelled the rebellion and the Dalai Lama fled to India, where he established a "government in exile". Later, democratic reform was introduced to free the serfs and end their misery.

Possessions of participants in the rebellion were confiscated and given to serfs for free.

Migmar Dondrup, who now lives in a two-story house of about 400sq m, remembers when the landowners' assets were distributed.

He got 1.4 ha of land and quilts the family had never used, having slept under a piece of goat furs before the reform.

Xinza Danzengquzha, 68, a living Buddha in Nagarze, Xigaze, said: "People brought out the contracts and burned them, dancing and singing around the fire."

Also a lawmaker, the former aristocrat said he learned a lot in his work after reform, including carpentry and painting.

He later worked as an editor and translator of Tibetan books and documents. He studied for three years in Beijing and went abroad several times for research. "My horizons were broadened by reform," he said.

Meanwhile, as a living Buddha, he still performs Buddhist rites.

¡¡

DAY TO REMEMBER

The reform didn't mean the abolition of the traditional religion in the Himalayan region. After 50 years have passed, there are 1,700 monasteries open in Tibet, which draw tens of thousands of pilgrims every year. Strolling in the streets of Lhasa, tourists can easily find crowds of lamas and believers chanting Buddhist mantras and praying at monasteries and Buddhist statues.

March 28, 1959 was a big day to Gaisang, when the central government announced that it was dismissing the Gaxag government (the former Tibetan local government).

"Nobody who experienced those dark days would want to go back," he said.

"However, that part of history is largely unknown to young people," he added, noting that among participants in the March 14 riot last year, many were young.

"Had they known the bitterness of the old days, they would cherish their current lives more," he added. "That's why we need to commemorate Serfs' Emancipation Day."

Xinza said: "China's battle against separatists reached its climax in 2008. It is necessary to establish the day so as to have our descendants remember it forever."

FOREIGN VIEWS VARY

This year was the first time that Indian journalist Prerna Suri visited Tibet. The correspondent from New Delhi TV, who traveled to Tibet to cover the legislative session, said her five-day visit was a good opportunity to learn more about Tibet.

"If [establishing Serfs' Emancipation Day] can increase people's belief in the government, it is a good thing," she said.

Naindra P. Upadhaya, Consul-General of Nepal to Lhasa, praised the decision to create the holiday.

He has been in Tibet for 15 months. "Life is getting better here every year," he said, adding that this proved the benefits of democratic reform.

Not everyone sees it the same way.

Thomas Mann, a member of the Brussels-based European Parliament, said having such a day was "unequalled humiliation of Tibetans," according to a report on the Deutsche Welle website. And Dhondup Dorjee, vice president of the Tibetan Youth Congress, called the decision as a "hype". The organization is among the most active advocates of "Tibet independence."

Gaisang Yeshes showed understanding of these criticisms. "The day was a festival to most Tibetan people, but doomsday to a few others," he said.

The professor compared the day to Sept. 22, 1862, when slaves were freed in the United States by the milestone "Emancipation Proclamation" signed by then U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.

"But the difference is, Tibetan people soon gained the right to vote, while black people still struggled for voting rights 100 years later," he said.

Gaisang from Xigaze said he was proud to have become a lawmaker when he started life as the son of a serf. "Now I can vote, with a say in the decision-making of the government," he said. "This was unimaginable half a century ago. People were then praying all day not to be beaten."

"I didn't dare to dream about this when I was young, in patched clothes and shivering at the sight of the leather whip," he said. March 28, 1959 was "the day that changed my life." ¡¡

(Xinhua writers Soinam Norbu, Hu Xing, Yi Ling and Li Huizi contributed to this story.)

Lhakang Losangdoje (L Front), delegate to Tibetan Autonomous Region People's Congress (legislature), raises his hand to vote for the approval of setting the Serfs Emancipation Day during the second session of the Ninth People's Congress of the region, in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Jan. 19, 2009.(Xinhua/Gesang Dawa)

Ninth People's Congress (legislature) of Tibet Autonomous Region holds its annual, second session in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Jan. 19, 2009. (Xinhua/Gesang Dawa)

Delegates to the People's Congress (legislature) of Tibet Autonomous Region applaud after the approval of setting the Serfs Emancipation Day by the second session of the Ninth People's Congress of the region, in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Jan. 19, 2009. (Xinhua/Chogo)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/19/content_10681877.htm

Commentary: A day to remember, for Tibetans and all

by Xinhua writers Zhou Yan and Bai Xu

BEIJING, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Tibet's regional legislature decided on Monday to commemorate the end of feudal serfdom every year on March 28 -- the day the Chinese central government dissolved the aristocratic local government of Tibet and freed more than 1 million serfs.

Herdsman Nuri (R) of the Tibetan ethnic group talks with Briton Fredi at home at Jiaga Village in Damxung County, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Nov. 12, 2008. The People's Congress (legislature) of Tibet Autonomous Region endorsed a bill on Jan. 19, 2009 to designate March 28 as the Serfs Emancipation Day to mark the date on which about 1 million serfs in the region were freed 50 years ago. On March 28, 1959, China's central government announced it would dissolve the aristocratic local government of Tibet and replace it with a preparatory committee for establishing Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Chogo)

Does the "Serfs Emancipation Day" go down in history as a milestone for social progress and human rights improvement in Tibet, or, as some people claimed, a "mockery of history" and "unequalled humiliation of Tibetans"?

These are some of the distinct voices heard since the proposal for the commemorative day was put on the table last week.

Former Tibetan serfs danced traditional dances to heartily applaud the legislature's decision on Monday. They applauded the annual celebration as "a big event" and a move "in line with the common aspiration of the Tibetans". Nearly all of them were starved, tortured, traded and lived in constant fear of death before that landmark day in 1959.

Yet Thomas Mann, of the Brussels-based European Parliament, purportedly said having such a day was an "unequalled humiliation of Tibetans", according to a report on the Deutsche Welle website.

File photo taken on April 30, 2008 in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region shows Tibetan undergraduates. There are six junior colleges with about 30,000 students in Tibet. (Xinhua/Chogo)

Mary Beth Markey, of the "International Campaign for Tibet", lambasted the proposal as having reflected an approach the Chinese government has taken in Tibet, which "ignores Tibet's history and identity", the News Blaze reported on its website.

Representatives of the Tibetan Youth Congress, one of the most active advocates of "Tibet independence", said the decision was "hype" by the Chinese government.

It is noteworthy that the opposite points of view came, without exception, from outside Tibet, and none of them represented the masses of people who actually sat through those miserable old days and who celebrate the date marking a turning point in their lives.

When Markey claimed the Serfs Emancipation Day "will not be taken seriously by the international community", how does she think the international community has taken her country's emancipation of slaves.

Memories of Abraham Lincoln and the emancipation proclamation he endorsed in 1863 keep coming back as Barack Obama nears inauguration as the first black U.S. president.

Obama himself has followed Lincoln's train route to the U.S. capital ahead of his inauguration scheduled for Tuesday.

Today, the emancipation of black slaves is apparently upheld by the Americans, as well as many others in the world. But the lesson was learned in a very hard way: it took many lives -- including the lives of Lincoln himself and Martin Luther King.

File photo taken on Jan. 4, 2009 shows a lama speaks at a ceremony held in the suburb of Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. There are over 1,700 temples with more than 40,000 lamas in Tibet. (Xinhua/Chogo)

Some people in the world are yet to find out how much the emancipation of Tibetan serfs resembles that of American slaves. Like the two sides of one coin, both events represented human rights improvement and social progress, and both lifted multitudes out of their plight.

But one big difference between the two is that slave owners are extinct in the United States, but advocates of Tibet's serfdom are not. The 14th Dalai Lama and his "government-in-exile" still cling to the medieval social system and advocate its comeback.

In 1983, the Dalai Lama described the Tibetans under serfdom as living in "peace and contentment under the Buddhist light shining over our snow land". "Our serf system is different from any other serf system, because Tibet is sparsely populated, and Buddhism, which is for the happiness and benefit of the people, advises people to love each other," he said in India.

The "peace and contentment" the Dalai Lama described never belonged to Migmar Dondrup, a humble serf at Parlha Manor. At 75, he considered himself "lucky" for being whipped instead of butchered for stealing barley when starving.

"Peace and contentment" are the last words anyone in today's civilized society can think of when they look at those gruesome historical photos showing how Tibetan serfs were tortured and butchered by their owners, and how their remains were made into musical instruments or used as sacrifices on the Dalai Lama's birthdays.

Fifty years after the serfs became free, the Dalai Lama still hasn't wavered in his claim to reverse Tibet's development and separate the plateau region from China.

The Dalai Lama said he accepts Tibet is part of China, but demands "true autonomy" over "Greater Tibet", a region extending to Tibetan-inhabited areas in the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan. This is tantamount to an eradication of Chinese sovereignty over these areas.

His preaching for a return to the "good old Tibet" is similar to calling for a restoration of slavery in the United States and to undo the civil rights development achieved over the years.

File photo taken on Jan. 14, 2009 shows Awang, once a serf, enjoys his life in a welfare institution in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Chogo)

File photo taken on April 26, 2008 shows Tibetan Tourism ambassador talks with her friend through cell phone in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Chogo)

File photo taken on Jan. 4, 2009 shows a couple Zhaxi and Baema Zhoigar get married in a traditional ceremony in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Chogo)

File photo taken on May 30, 2008 shows a student of a primary school perform traditional dance in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. In Tibet, the primary schools and high school enrollment rates reached 98.5 and 92.2 percent separately in 2008.(Xinhua/Chogo)

File photo taken on Jan. 7, 2009 shows seventy-three year old Tibetan man Yixi Lozhoi, once a serf, poses for a picture in front of the Potala Palace Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The average life expectancy of Tibetans has increased from 35.5 to 67 years. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/19/content_10684784.htm

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The changed and unchanged 'Shangri-La'

2008-12-02 10:54:00

Quite a lot of people care about China's "Tibet issues", there is always a "Shangri-La" with oriental mystery, shadowiness and idealism flashing in their minds.

Tibet indeed has such mystery: spectacular scene of snow land plateau, unique language culture, long aged Tibetan Buddhism¡&endash;however, sometimes it's easy to ignore a basic fact if let the imagination spread freely beyond the practice, that is, the story of "Shangri-La" still took place in the earth, and it happens following basic axiom.

A Canadian historian A. Tom Grunfeld wrote in his book "The making of modern Tibet" that Tibet is "a land so wrapped in obscurity that almost any fantastic tales about it, or allegedly from it, are received with awe and believed, unquestioningly, by countless individuals the world over. A land whose society and history have been so romantically homogenized that many call themselves "experts" after reading a mere handful of texts, assuming that the uniformity of these accounts indicates their accuracy".

However, history records the old Tibet with irrefutable facts that it was not the "Shangri-La" as people imagined. There were one million people living in Lhasa in 1950s, 900,000 of whom were homeless. There were only 20,000 people living in urban areas in Lhasa. More than 1,000 needy people and baggers were seen on streets. An elder Tibetan told "At that time, there were many people fighting with dogs for food on streets in Lugu in the southwest of Jokhang Temple". Nowadays, Tibetan people have much longer life expectancy with current 67 years old from 35.5 years old in the old Tibet. The economy keeps fast development for the past 7 years with double digits increase rate above 12%.

Compared the old Tibet with the one after peaceful liberation, which is the truly "Shangri-La", it is not so hard to make the conclusion.

Protecting the unique culture of "Shangri-La" never means to protect wildness and backwardness. The culture protection in Tibet must adapt to the development, progress, union and happiness of the whole Tibetan people. Only the Tibetan culture can be better protected at the same time of economic development and life improvement, not going back to the darkness of caesaropapism and feudal serfdom system.

As a matter of fact, to better protect Tibetan culture, Chinese central government has put significant fund on the maintenance of the Potala Palace, Norbu Lingka and Sagya Monastery. A more than ever maintenance project for 22 monasteries and ancient culture constructions will be implemented from this year. China also sets up department specifically for correction and publication of different versions of Tibetan Tripitaka... For protecting the blue sky and clean water in Tibet, Chinese government will allocate 22 billion yuan from now to build more than 160 ecological environmental protection project.

Today's Tibet takes much care on its invaluable culture features, which is the unchanged "Shangri-La". Today's Tibet also puts great efforts on moving forward and getting rid of backwards and unwisdom, which is the changed "Shangri-La".

"Change" is a well sounded slogan in today's world, no matter in America or in Europe, people often hear the words: We need change. For Tibet, "Shangri-La" is inheriting the traditions in the unchanged, embracing the future in the change.

*Based on article written by Ye Xiaowen, director of State Administration for Religious Affairs of China.

http://eng.tibet.cn/news/today/200812/t20081202_440976.htm

" A Breathe of Fresh Air "

to foster people-to-people relations between China and USA

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  Before 1951 Peaceful Liberation

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  After 1951 Peaceful Liberation

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  To clarify: Dalai Lama and his so called "Tibetan independence"

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  Tibet Fought Against Foreign Invasion"

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The Following History was written by a USA citizen and Professor of Purdue University after in-depth study.

A SHORT HISTORY OF TIBET

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"Tibet, the mysterious land beyond the Himalayas, has for centuries been a seductive destination for travelers. Its rich Buddhist heritage, intrepid people and stunning natural beauty are a source of fascination and intrigue to people the world over. We offer you a way to magically step back in time, to visit an isolated, relatively untouched place in Tibetan Cultural Area, where you can be at one with nature as nowhere else. "

"We will spend three days in Lhasa to show you the monasteries, Potala Palace and the way of life of Tibetans. It will also for Acclimatization. "

"You will hike the ancient pilgrimage footpath from GanDan Monastery to SamYe Monastery (the oldest Buddhism temple in Tibet) like a nomad with yaks (carrying your tents, food supplies and luggage) and with Tibetan herdsmen along your side. By experiencing the wonders and part of the spiritual challenges experienced by Tibet's pilgrims, we may gain an understanding of why Tibetans draw an equal sign between religion and life.".

"China opens the world's most elevated railroad, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, on July 1, 2006. We will take the train to gradually climb up to Tibet Plateau so that your body will get use to the 4000 meters above sea level. "

 
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China Hiking Adventures Inc., hereafter referred to as the company, acts as agents for transport companies, hotels and other contractors and shall not be held liable for any injury, damage, loss, delay or irregularity that may be occasioned for any reason, including, but not limited to, any defect in a vehicle, the acts or default of any company or person engaged in conveying a passenger, acts of God, detention; delays or expenses arising from quarantine, strikes, thefts, pilferage, force majeure, civil disturbances, government restrictions or regulations; accidents by aircraft, boat, bicycle or motor vehicle, or in any hotel, inn, restaurant or accommodation; failure of any means of transportation to arrive or depart as scheduled or changes in transit, hotel, inn, guest house or camping services. The passenger understands that during the course of the trip certain risks and dangers may occur, including but not limited to the hazards of travelling in mountainous terrain, accident or illness in remote places without medical facilities, and the forces of nature. The passenger agrees to assume all risks associated with the journey and agrees that no liability will attach to the company or its outfitters, employees or agents, or to any member of the tour group in respect of death, personal injury, illness or delay of the passenger, or for any loss of or damage to the property of the passenger during the course of the trip, howsoever caused. The company reserves the right to cancel any tour prior to departure. In such a case, full refund of all payments will constitute full settlement with the passenger. The company reserves the right to decline, to accept, or to retain any person as a member of any party at any time.

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Paper from German scholars

source: en.tibet.cn

Tibet article makes key point

An article that stated "it is wrong to consider Lamaism a pacifying religion" has drawn a lot of attention since it appeared on the website of the China Tibet Information Center.

The article, quoting an item published in the German newspaper Die Welt on July 30, said the history of Tibet was not filled with peace.

It quoted the authors of the article, Victor Trimondi and Victoria Trimondi, as saying that Lamaism follows a strict hierarchical system that requires students to obey their master, contending that this system prevents people from developing their own personalities.

It highlighted the authors' point of view that international society has not been made aware of the violent and dark side of Lamaism because the 14th Dalai Lama and his followers have been hiding and whitewashing the facts.

Moreover, so-called "humanistic values" did not exist in the history of Old Tibet under the rule of the Dalai Lama.

Before the middle of the 20th century, Lamaist rule had integrated the church and state and enforced penalties and slavery not very different from the inquisition conducted by the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages, the article quoted the two German scholars as saying.

Pour encourager le d¨|veloppement des relations entre le Qu¨|bec et la Chine

About Tour Operator Tony
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Year 2009 Tour schedule

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China Hiking Adventure Inc. licensed under the Ontario Government Travel Agency Act TICO for your financial protection. Our TICO registration number is 50015540. To check us out you can phone TICO (Travel Industry Council of Ontario) at 905-624-6241. This is the travel industry regulating body which maintains a bonding insurance to protect consumers' funds.

Modern Tibetan Woman Artists Work on display
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Tibet Hiking is ECO Friendly Tour

yaks carrying Natural Gas Tank for our fuel

We go to Tibet to achieve the following :

1. Learn Tibetan culture and Buddhism  

Worship at home.

Worship in Monastery.

2. Hiking in stunning beauty of Tibetan landscape, with the nomads  

Camping with nomads.

Yaks carry our luggage during hiking.

3. Study the "way of life" of the Tibetan

About Tibetan culture
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About Tibetan Buddhism
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If someone tells you never go to visit Tibet,
it is because they never want you to know the truth :
The Real Tibet of Today !
They are afraid that you find out the Truth. 

How Difficult is the Hiking part ?
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You hike at your own pace,

at a distance of 10 to 15 Km each day,

depending on terrain and/or weather.

Most of us with good condition can complete the journey.

This is a Level 3 Hiking Tour.

Level 3 due to high Altitude, not difficulty in hiking.

There is no steep climbing but general ascend.

For sure, we will provide you in this Hiking Tour :

• 'Safety and Comfort' as long as you are not against the LAW
• No worry from in-take of food or drinks we will provide
• Learn Tibetan culture and religion
• Study the way of life of Tibetan nomads
• Hiking experience on "Roof of the World"
• Stunning beauty of this unique landscape
• "A fantastic experience and memory to treasure forever "

This website is divided into five sections. 

Overview gives a general description of the aims and scope of this tour. 

Itinerary provides a detailed look at the daily activities. 

References allows others who have taken this tour to talk about their experiences.

Details talks about what's included in the tour, as well as the costs. 

Registration will bring you to the China Hiking Adventures Inc. Online Registration System Page for secure registration.

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Tibetan King Songtsan Gambo and Princess WenCheng
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For you to have a second opinion Link to: Travel With A Challenge click here

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Flora and Fauna

In The Name of Progress

Old and New traditions in this photo

Old : plough powered by two yaks

New : plough powered by machine

On March 15 to 25, 2002 Tony hiked

the trail from GanDan to SamYe

to prepare for June Hiking Tour

Photos from Tony's March 2002 Pre-Hike tour
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Tibet is changing rapidly everyday

" In the Name of Progress "

Come to see old Tibet before it is gone !

Tibet Economy  

 

In June 2002 our Group hiked

from GanDan to SamYe Monastery

Photos from hikers in the past
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Better Your Health, join QiGong Study Tour
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Temperature in Lhasa
Month	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
The Highest [oC]	6.8	9.2	12	13.7	19.7	22.5	21.7	20.7	19.6	16.4	11.6	7.7
The Lowest [oC]	-10.2	-6.9	-3.2	0.9	5.1	9.2	9.9	9.4	7.6	1.4	-5	-9.1

Come ! Join us to meet Modern Tibetan Women
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NPC delegates: Tibet sees fast development in past 5 years

2008-03-07 15:21:00

Qiangba Puncog, a delegate from Tibet Autonomous Region, photo from Xinhua on March 6.

In the past 5 years, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) has developed rapidly, according to Qiangba Puncog and Xiao Hong, delegates for the National People's Congress(NPC).

The average annual economy growth rate in the region reached 12.7 percent and the rural people's per capita net income has steadily risen, said Qiangba Puncog.

"In the Lhoba Nationality Town of TAR's Mainling County, the local people's per capita net income has doubled that of the previous 5 years and 90 percent of them have enjoyed beautiful new homes and the enrollment rate of school age children is at 100 percent," said Xiao Hong, a delegate from TAR's Lhoba nationality with the smallest population among China's 56 nationalities.

http://eng.tibet.cn/index/news/200803/t20080307_369636.htm

600,000 rural people move in new houses

2008-07-21 11:09:00

Hada scarf for the new house, photo by Phurbu Tashi from Xinhua, July 18.

A Tibetan woman in her new house, photo by Phurbu Tashi from Xinhua, July 18.

Walking around the new yard, photo by Phurbu Tashi from Xinhua, July 18.

The scenery in sight, photo by Phurbu Tashi from Xinhua, July 18.

Spending 7.022 billion yuan on the housing projects in the past two years, the Tibet Autonomous Region has benefited 114,000 families including 594,000 rural people who have moved into their new houses.

http://eng.tibet.cn/news/today/200807/t20080721_413637.htm

Golden era for Tibet's leapfrog development

2008-02-14 16:39:00

Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) has stepped into a golden era for its leapfrog development, according to Qiangba Puncog, Chairman of TAR, on February 13.

"In 2007, the gross domestic product in TAR has hit 34.2 billion yuan and the gross domestic product per capita exceeded 12,000 yuan, doubling that of 2002," said Qiangba Puncog, "Consumption being an important force in promoting economic growth, coordination between investment and consumption has boosted TAR's economy and the average annual growth rate has reached 12.7 percent in the past 5 years."

(1 USD equals about 7.19 yuan.)

http://eng.tibet.cn/news/today/200802/t20080214_368113.htm

Official: Tibet an inseparable part of China since ancient times

2008-03-07 09:14:00

Tibet is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory since ancient times, said Qiangba Puncog, chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region, on March 6 in Beijing.

"The overseas sayings of 'Tibet independence' are groundless nonsense and secessionist activities are doomed to fail," said Qiangba Puncog, a deputy to the 11th National People's Congress, the top legislature.

In regard to western criticism on human rights in Tibet, he expressed his invitation to the critics. "Seeing is believing. They should go to Tibet themselves to feel the improvements."

"They will reach a right conclusion then if they respect facts," said the chairman.

Accounting for one eighth of China's territory, the southwestern autonomous region saw its gross domestic product (GDP) topping 34 billion yuan (about 4.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2007.

The per capita GDP, more than 12,000 yuan (1,690 U.S. dollars),almost doubled the figure in 2002.

http://eng.tibet.cn/index/news/200803/t20080307_369531.htm

Tibet moves to avoid growth mistakes

To clarify: Dalai Lama and his so called "Tibetan independence"

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Tibet sees record high per capita GDP in 2005

Relief goods from China arrives in US

    The relief materials provided by China include tents, light power generators, bed sheets and clothes.

    The US side extended warm welcome to the arrival of the aid. "Welcome our People's Republic of China friends" and "Thanks for your support" were written in electric bulletins around the air base.

    Commander for Little Rock Air Force Base, General Joseph Reheiser, greeted at a civil airport in Little Rock China's Consul General at Houston Hu Yeshun, who arrived here to receive the cargo plane.

    Reheiser told Xinhua, "It (the airlift)'s quite unusual. I'm not a historian, but I can't think of a time when China has airlifted relief supply to the United States. I think it's a historic event and we're very appreciative that China has done it."

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency would arrange cargo trucks and see to it that the relief materials be sent to the stricken areas, he added.

    Hu said the airlift showed deep sympathy and condolences of the Chinese Government and people to the American people who have suffered a severe natural disaster.

    General Reheiser had expressed the hope for increased exchanges between the armed forces of China and the United States, apart from the efforts to boost the governmental and non-governmental exchanges between the two countries, said Hu.

    According to General Reheiser, Little Rock Air Force Base has been the sole distributing center for international relief materials for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, which ripped through the southeastern part of the United States on Aug. 29 and inflicted heavy casualties and damages.

    So far,the base has received 14 air cargos loaded with relief materials from Russia, Spain, France, Italy, Britain and other countries, said General Reheiser, adding that another 13 dispatches of relief aid are expected to pour in in the next two days. Enditem
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-09/08/content_3460897.htm

 
Chinese minister calls for enhanced Sino-US cultural exchanges
UPDATED: 10:43, October 04, 2005

China and the United States should enhance cultural exchanges to promote the heart-to-heart communication between the peoples of both countries, Chinese Culture Minister Sun Jiazheng said on Monday in Washington.

In a keynote speech at the National Press Club in downtown Washington, Sun said there are many differences between China and the Untied States which will undoubtedly bring about some confrontations and friction, but it is these differences that have produced great curiosity and mutual appeal between the two countries.

"Without such differences, the world might become more tranquil, but at the same time, to a large extent, it would lose its glories and fall into monotony," he said.

Sun was in Washington to inaugurate the month-long Festival of China at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, which opened on Saturday.

He said China and the United Sates share common interests in many areas, such as economy, trade, anti-terrorism, international and regional security, and culture. "The two countries can learn from each other in many areas," he noted.

The development of Sino-US cultural relations, he said, is still not in perfect balance, and the American public's understanding of China and Chinese culture still has room for improvement.

China imported a large quantity of TV plays and movies in 2004, with 40-50 percent of them from the United States, whereas China's export of cultural products to the United States was insignificant, the minister said.

Sun cautioned that there are some people who tend to exaggerate the differences and friction between the two countries and the two cultures, while overlooking their common interests and compatibility.

"It is natural and not surprising for any two nations to have differences or conflicts, but what matters most is that we should solve these conflicts and problems on the principle of candidness, sincerity, reciprocity, mutual respect and equal consultations," he said.

At home, the Chinese government pledges to build a harmonious society, securing peace, tranquility and the well-being and happiness for all the Chinese people, while in the world, China sticks to the peaceful foreign policy of independence and self-reliance, seeking friendly relations with all other countries in their common pursuit for peace, cooperation and common development, he said.

Sun noted that China stands for the independence of all nations' cultures and also the diversity of world cultures, advocates the concepts of "cherishing peace and harmony, preserving solidarity in diversity and pursuing common development."

China will integrate itself into the world with more open gestures and further expand international culture exchanges, he pledged.

Cultural exchanges will not only bring enormous economic benefits, but also immense social benefits. Cultural exchanges can reach deep into people's minds with a lasting and profound effect, he said.

China and the Untied States should enhance communication and find the differences and similarities between the two cultures, and embrace the connections and concord of the two cultures in all their diversity, he said.

Sun called for open minds and open hearts in the exchanges between China and the United States.

Citing Martin Luther King's famous speech "I Have a Dream," Sun said people today share King's dream "that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight."

"We firmly believe that art and culture, as the greatest vehicle for human emotions, can best express our dreams," he said.

Source: Xinhua
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200510/04/eng20051004_212426.html

Commentary: Dalai Lama's "autonomy" claim hypocritical

Perhaps no one could have a better understanding of this Buddhism teaching than the Dalai Lama:"The sea of bitterness has no bounds; repent, and the shore is at hand."

The monk, who preaches around the world his "art of happiness," however, has shown little living wisdom when he strains all his nerves peddling his idea of the "autonomy" of Tibet in spite of the fact that an autonomous mechanism has existed on the snowy land for 40 years.

On Sept. 1, 1965, the People's Congress of Tibet Autonomous Region, the local legislature and watchdog of the government, opened its first session, marking a new page in Tibetan history: serfs and slaves once oppressed by the hierachical regime became free, with their representatives sitting on the local legislature.

Ridiculously, however, decades after the autonomous region was established, the Dalai Lama, who started a riot with his followers in 1959 in fear of losing his supreme power and then fled, was one day struck by an idea of "autonomy."

But the monk is only playing with words by labeling his version of "autonomy" with a modifier "greater," said Basang Wangdui, a researcher with the regional academy of social sciences.

The Dalai Lama's profession of giving up the "Tibet independence" claim is regarded by his western patrons as an olive branch presented to the Chinese government, but this seeming abandonment is so far only a verbal service.

The monk takes every chance to defame the governance in Tibet whenever he is offered a platform of speech by his backers, alleging that he seeks "greater autonomy" in Tibet to save the traditional culture and promote democracy and freedom there.

A person who is pure-hearted in seeking compromise certainly will not sling mud on the other part, while an attempt to win international interference on an internal affair is an obvious denial of the framework that Tibet is part of China.

So, if the Dalai Lama had an olive branch in hand, he must be delivering it to the wrong place.

The Dalai Lama's idea of "Greater Tibet," as part of his "greater autonomy" line, is historically groundless, said Basang Wangdui.

Tibetan habitats in Sichuan, Gansu, Yunnan and Qinghai provinces had never been under a same local regime since the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), when Tibet was included into the Chinese territory, the researcher said.

A former ruler of a heriarchial regime, the Dalai Lama is not at all qualified to make any remarks on a democratic structure. He must face the fact that Tibet, under the current autonomous mechanism, has witnessed changes which would be impossible under his rule.

Behind all of the Dalai Lama's greater claims lies insatiable greed. By asking for a sky-high price, the Dalai Lama has put his sincerity under doubt.

It might not be respectful to doubt the wisdom of "His Holiness" for not waking up to reality, but we have to wonder what on earth the Dalai Lama wants for the claim of "greater autonomy."

If what he wants is to separate Tibet from the Chinese territory, he will never feel, or be, satisfied.

Source: Xinhua
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200509/02/eng20050902_205934.html

Central govt invests to fight poverty in Tibet

www.chinaview.cn 2005-02-27 19:27:28

LHASA, Feb. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- China's central government invested 204 million yuan (24.58 million US dollars) in Tibet to fight poverty last year, according to the Aid-the-Poor and Development Office in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

The investment was up six percent from 2003 and has been spent on about 200 projects, including infrastructure construction, agricultural irrigation and vocational training, according to the office.

The number of Tibetans earning less than 1,300 yuan (157 US dollars) of net income each year has been reduced to 860,000 in 2004 from 1.07 million in 2003, according to the regional statistics bureau. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-02/27/content_2625650.htm

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Tibetan farmers and herders will have their hospital expenses partly covered by the government this year, even if they do not join a medical cooperative.

This is a new policy adopted in the Tibet Autonomous Region, said Wang Jianpeng, an official with the regional health department.

Over 80 percent of Tibetan farmers and herders have joined the medical service cooperation, a system which partly pays medical expenses. In the autonomous region, a farmer can join for 10 yuan (1.2 USdollars) each year.

The central and local governments will share another 30 yuan for his yearly membership.

Medical service expenses of a cooperative member will be reimbursed by the cooperation pro rata and a member can get a maximum of 3,000 yuan (360 US dollars) every year. But those who do not join in the system have to shoulder the burden themselves when they are hospitalized.

The new policy, however, provides non-members a chance to have their expenses shared by government, Wang said.

"But cooperation members can have larger part of their expensescovered by the system," Wang said. "They can enjoy a 20 percent higher reimbursement proportion and for those who suffer serious diseases and are unable to afford a large sum of hospital expenses,the cooperation will give them further reimbursement." Source: Xinhua

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200401/27/eng20040127_133328.shtml

China Improves Tibetan Life & Livelihood

In recent years, the central government--together with the local governments of various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities--has invested huge sums of money in improving the quality of life and work for residents of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

A power grid project that started in 2002 with an estimated investment of nearly 600 million yuan (US$72.3 million) has brought electricity to 400,000 people in 25 counties and four prefectures around Lhasa City.

Last year Tibet earmarked more than 900 million yuan (US$108.4 million) for rural road construction. It also had 2,998 kilometers of rural highways built or upgraded and 101 large and medium-sized bridges constructed. Now highways extend to 92 percent of the towns and townships and to 70 percent of the villages in the region.

A five-year pasture conservation and herder settlement program has led to the construction of more than 110,400 square meters of permanent housing for 8,000 herders from 19 frigid zones in the region. Another 820,080 square meters of livestock sheds and 11,000 square meters of grass storage area have been erected.

Phase One of a 560-million-yuan (US$67.5 million) drinking water project has brought clean water to 330,000 people and 3.9 million head of livestock in 1,870 Tibetan villages. The ongoing second phase will provide reliable drinking water supplies to 270,000 people and 3.1 million head of livestock in another 1,336 villages.

At the end of 2003, the upgrading of downtown Lhasa's road and drainage network was completed at a cost of 169 million yuan (US$20.4 million). The project involved working around a square kilometer of ancient structures in the Tibetan capital, with Jokhan Temple at the center.

The upgrade included paving the roads with granite blocks, putting up parking lots and constructing public toilets. Sewage and rubbish treatment stations have been built and attractive streetlights installed around the temple and nearby scenic spots.

The regional radio and television bureau reports that radio broadcasts reach 82.7 percent of the total population in Tibet, while TV coverage has reached 81.3 percent.

In 2003, the region invested 47.0 million yuan (US$5.7 million) in creating jobs for urban residents. With this support, 8,829 Tibetan people, including more than 5,000 who had been laid off, have found jobs.

Local telecom officials said that on the 1.2 million square kilometer Tibetan Plateau there are now 61 optical fiber cables for county-level use and more than 400 satellite phone stations. Telecommunication service coverage has risen above 90 percent and about 85 percent of all the villages in Tibet enjoy phone services.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2004)

http://www.china.com.cn/english/2004/May/94788.htm

An Impression

From Pat Camenzend

In October 2000 I joined a tour group to hike China's Great Wall from Beijing to the China Sea. The tour was an absolutely fantastic two weeks spent with five other single women, the tour coordinator, and a local Chinese guide.

Before I describe the highlights of the trip, I need to explain my background. I am not a hiker by profession or hobby. I walk! And I do not walk in the mountains or any major hills, if they can be avoided. I am in my mid-fifties and not as slim as I was in my twenties. Now, with that said, I decided to join this hiking tour because it sounded exciting and adventurous with an opportunity to see more of the 'real' China outside the normal major tourist stops generally found in tours.

I did my homework before leaving for the trip and studied travel books, visited internet sites on China, and talked to others who had been to the country. Even with this preparation, I was not ready for the truly awesome sight of the Great Wall when I saw it for the first time in person. With photographs showing only two dimensions, it is hard to appreciate the immense size of the wall as it snakes over and around the mountain peaks. Although the steps are steep (and there are many), the hiking is done at your own pace. There are no marathons to win and the time allocated to the actual hiking is sufficient to enjoy the sights and to stop and take pictures...

The tour is well coordinated and offers the chance to see ten different aspects of the wall. The first stop is a day's trip outside of Beijing. Because of the wall's proximity to the city, it is the section most visited by tourists and, therefore, the most crowded. Since it has been restored by China to accommodate the millions of visitors every year, it gives a perspective of the wall as it originally looked. As we traveled East following the wall as it winds its way toward the China Sea, we saw a mixture of restored sections as well as portions still in ruins. And the crowds thinned so, at times, we were the only ones walking. It was great hiking the wall without the jostling of a crowd.

One great opportunity on this trip was to walk on a section generally submerged under water. A lack of rain in the area lowered the reservoir 20 meters exposing the wall. While this provided us a once in a lifetime chance to see this section, the country is desperate for rain.

The food was another pleasant surprise. Course, I am not sure what I expected, but I certainly was not prepared for three banquets a day. The food was excellent. The menus were varied, artfully served, and simply delicious. The group chose to continue to Chinese experience by having Chinese breakfast rather than a Western menu. And I even learned to use chopsticks proficiently.

Accommodations were agreeable as many of the hotels were rated three star. One fun place was a restored military garrison that was located at one of the entrances to the wall. This gave us the opportunity to see how the army guarding the wall actually lived.

In between our hiking jaunts on the wall, we visited some Imperial tombs, toured a Summer palace, walked through villages, viewed some Buddha temples, saw the Forbidden City, and shopped at local markets. I especially enjoyed the experience of watching two Chinese artists demonstrate their skills with watercolors and a pair of scissors. They each produced beautiful images.

The tour was very well planned and diverse in its offerings. The local guide was excellent. From him we learned much about the Chinese culture. He was patient, considerate, and knowledgeable. The country is very clean and the people gracious.

I would not hesitate to recommend this tour. The hiking can be exhausting, but well worth the effort. I did learn a lot about the Chinese culture and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the countryside. I am ready to return to China to learn and see more of this vast country.

The above was written by a participant in the Great Wall Hiking Tour. For more information about our tours, please browse our website or e-mail us at e-mail info@china-hiking.com.

About Tour Operator Tony
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My Inspirational 'High'? Hiking The Great Wall

By C. Brown

On Wednesday, October 29, 1999 our hiking began in the morning at a section of the Great Wall in Jiumenkou near the city of Qin Huang Dao and in Shuizhong County. It was a bright sunny morning and after an hour or so of hiking the Great Wall I wandered off with our guide Li to investigate a small and what appeared to be interesting Buddhist temple.

After walking through the main entrance we realized we had come during their prayer hour. It was a special holiday, which is celebrated to mark the time when their Buddha, the Goddess of Great Mercy, became a follower of Buddhism. I became very taken with their repetitive chanting that sounded something like: "O Mi Tuo Fo."

We attempted to fade into the background of this impressive temple while totally taken by a tremendous Buddhist figure in the center of the room. However within minutes of our arrival, we were approached by one of the Nuns, the Mistress of the Temple. Shi Rong Ci spoke in Chinese to Li asking us to partake in their special ceremony. She felt it was a very lucky occasion for me to appear that day and that the Goddess would bless me.

I lit some incense, representing fortune and happiness. Shi Rong Ci suggested I bow down to pray to the Buddha while she stroked a large gong placed in her lap. Taking heed to her rhythm, I soon found myself rising and falling to her 'up' and 'down' commands. At the worship close I was asked if I would sign their signature book and in return felt it appropriate to offer them a small donation. They all thanked me profusely and it was not until we were leaving that I realized my 10 yuan donation amounted to a little more than $1.00.

I suggested through Li's good guidance and interpreting that we ask to take a group picture! Shi Rong Ci was most receptive and excited at our suggestion and excused herself to change into her special Buddhist robe. As you can see we not only took group pictures but at Shi Rong Ci's suggestion Li took separate poses of Shi Rong Ci and me together!

We all hugged and kissed and with mixed smiles and tears bid each other goodbye.

As we were walking out of the gate the nuns asked me for my business card. In return, they handed me praying beads telling me they would bring me on-going good luck!

Hospital-on-wheels enters 72 counties of Tibet

UPDATED: 15:20, August 04, 2004

Hospital-on-wheels enters 72 counties of Tibet

At a handover ceremony held in the Potala Palace on August 2, health workers from 72 counties of Tibet received 72 mobile clinics given by the central government. These vehicles, with a total value of 1,656 million yuan (about 200.24 million US dollars) will soon be put into use.

These vehicles are of good performance and suitable for plateau. They are equipped with respirator, ECG, portable type-B ultrasonic machine and hospital bed, within which doctors could diagnose common diseases and conduct minor operations.

Tibet is the area to receive the biggest number of mobile clinics from the central government compared with other areas of relatively backward economy, a local health official said. These mobile clinics are expected to help improve the overall health level of Tibetan farmers and herdsmen, especially those in remote and poverty regions through regular health-care trips, and help to prevent local and infectious diseases as well as spread hygiene knowledge among local people.

The local health department will set up standards and strengthen supervision to ensure that these vehicles are used properly and continuously.

The state has in recent years put in huge fund to improve hygiene facilities in Tibet, said Cui Yuying, vice-chairman of the autonomous region. Currently Tibet possesses 1,305 medicinal institutions of various kinds, 6,216 hospital beds and 8,287 health workers, which can basically meet the medicinal needs of the local public. Compared with half a century ago, Tibet has seen sharp decline of its maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate, as well as occurrence of all kinds of infectious diseases. The average life expectancy of Tibetans has been raised from 35.5 to 67.

By People's Daily Online

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200408/04/eng20040804_151836.html

Tibetan King Songtsan Gambo and Princess WenCheng
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