Lhasa
Lhasa is the capitol of China’s Tibetan Autonomous Region and the epicenter of the Tibetan cultural world. Situated at 3700 meters in a valley surrounded by jagged snow-capped mountains, it is a place that is both beautiful and tragic. Once the home of the Dalai Lamas and the center of Tibetan Buddhism, Lhasa, and Tibet in general, has undergone tremendous hardship since the Chinese “liberated” the country in 1950.*
The Lhasa of today is a divided city. The western half looks much like any other Chinese city. Rows of shops line the wide boulevards and modern glass and concrete buildings are starting to dot the skyline. A mini Tiananmen Square lies opposite the Potala Palace and Chinese flags are strategically places throughout the city.
The Tibetan quarter, on the other hand, retains much of the feel of old Tibet. It is filled with ragged pilgrims who travel from throughout the country to visit the Jokhang, the most holy site in Tibetan Buddhism. From dawn until dusk the area is filled with prostrating believers and permeated by the smell of smoke from giant incense burners.
Despite all that has been lost, Lhasa is still an exciting and evocative place to visit. The Tibetan people are friendly and surprisingly resilient despite all that they have suffered. Like the rest of China, Lhasa is changing rapidly and new train connection will, no doubt, increase the speed of these changes. One can only hope that the Tibetan culture will be able to continue to survive the pressures of Chinese assimilation and modernization.
*In this post, I, like the international community, have referred to Tibet as a province of The People’s Republic of China. The issue of the Chinese occupation of Tibet is complicated and multi-faceted and I will not attempt to delve into it here. To find out more, I recommend these websites:
Wikipedia Article on Tibet
Free Tibet Organization
Official Site of Tibetan Govt in Exile
6 Comments so far
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Stunning photography. Thank you for showing the rest of the world the other faces of China. I hope that others will realize that there is much more to this ancient culture beyond its facade of communism. I look forward to seeing the rest of your work!
Wonderful to see this.
The light up there in the himalayas is bananas. So clean.
My daughter and I are planning an overland trip to Tibet this summer (through the PRC), so it was really inspiring to look at some of your photos. Others shots, as well as your commentary, reminded me of the sad reality facing Tibet today. Thank you for trying to represent things as they are.
Your pictures and trips are inspirational!
I hope i visit Asia one day and those pictures and your comments will guide me. I already have started my preparations in Trivago .
KEEP GOING!
Wow. Thank you for sharing your pictures, stories and adventures of China with us. The pictures are beautiful and really capture WHAT these people are, WHO these people are, and exactly HOW these people are. I’m looking foreward to spending lots of China in the next couple of years and am hoping to do something along the lines of this. Capture the HEART of this nation behind a lens and bring it back home. Capture the PEOPLE and show the rest of the world.
Thanks for sharing.
These are wonderful.