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Tibet: Life on a Higher Plane

One of the most disputed lands on earth, the 'Roof of the World' is gradually melting into the realm of modern society. Despite the changes, the fundamental nature of Tibet that has captivated the imagination of the world for centuries still remains.

The Jokhang

East of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the most venerated structure in Tibet, The Jokhang, lies at the heart of the city's most famous pilgrimage circuit, The Barkhor. An intense mix of dim shadows, flickering butter lamps, drifting incense, golden prayer wheels, and devoted pilgrims, it is an otherworldly place, a symbol of the extraordinary faith of the Tibetan people.

The forecourt of The Jokhang is often filled with prostrating pilgrims that have, over generations, polished the ground stones to a smooth finish.

Rainbow over the Jokhang

It is cloudy and overcast on my first day in Lhasa, and a storm is approaching. Everyone is ducking into the restaurants and shops for cover, but I have other things in mind. I extricate myself from the throng, escape into the courtyard of The Jokhang, and clamber up the ladders to the roof. Whenever there is extraordinary weather, there is also a chance for extraordinary things to happen, you just need to be out there to experience it. My persistence is rewarded when just enough of the sun emerges through the storm clouds and creates a perfect rainbow overhead.
Mani wheels are found everywhere. These metal cylinders are filled with rolls of thin paper that have been imprinted many times with the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum. Spinning these prayer wheels in a clockwise direction invokes the benevolence of Chenrezig, the bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas.

Yamdrok Lake

Fabulous early morning light highlights the lake and the surrounding lands. It is one of four sacred lakes in Tibet.

The Great Monastery

One of the great monasteries of Tibet, Ganden clings to a hillside high up in the Kyi-chu Valley. Targeted heavily by the PLA guards during the 'liberation' period, it is now being extensively rebuilt.

Every mountain pass is colourfully adorned with prayer flags.

The Crossing

Fording a creek. This is actually the G318, the Sichuan-Tibet Highway east of Lhasa. Summer rains have swollen creeks and washed out sections of the pavement. With the exhaust being just inches off the ground we need to be careful that the water doesn't flood the engine.

In Deeper Water

Sometimes, however, the conditions require us to cut the engine and be pushed or towed through by the local Tibetans...

...or obtain help from the friendly military to clear a path.

Global Warming

Laigu Glacier, or what is still remaining, is close to the border with the northern tip of Burma. The height of the lateral moraine at the back, probably 100 metres or more above the glacier surface, indicates just how much volume of ice has been lost.

A Snowstorm?

Certainly not. Large trucks on unpaved sections of highway send a fine powder airborne that seems to permeate everything, seriously impairing both our vision and ability to breathe. The strategy is to follow in the distance, attempt to determine if the road ahead is open, and then hit the throttle on full.

Khampa nomads on horseback in the high grasslands of eastern Tibet. This area, known as Kham, is unique from the rest of Tibet being more forested and mountainous compared with the barren, open landscapes of the Tibetan plateau. Much less visited by foreign tourists, Kham is a place to step off the map, and traditional life here is affected less by the rest of the world.

Young Tibetan girls playing within the walls of the hilltop Galden Jampaling Monastery situated above the town of Chamdo. Pilgrims constantly circumambulate the monastery's outer wall.

Portrait of a Tibetan girl in the Galden Jampaling Monastery.

A herd of yaks conveniently blocking the road.

Yushu: The Wild West

The Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture occupies the south central corner of Qinghai Province. Part of the cultural kingdom of Kham, its capital, the township of Jyekundo, was formerly an important trade centre during the days of the Silk Road. Trade still pervades in the town today with dealers clustered together at street corners clasping their treasures of fine jewelry, gemstones, and caterpillar fungus.

Stepping into the town, I feel as if I have been transported into another world in another time, as I am overwhelmed by the fascinating, colourful mix of Khampas, monks, nuns, traders, and certain characters resembling voodoo masters.

Hats are virtually a mandatory part of the dress in this corner of the world.

The Khampa Festival

Our stopover in Jyekundo coincides with an annual horse and cultural festival held on the nearby grasslands. We are fortunate as this year the celebrations are particularly dazzling. The Khampas, traditionally religious and resilient warriors, arrive from all over Qinghai, Yunnan, Sichuan, and the rest of Tibet to participate in horse riding competitions, yak racing, and dance performances. Sandwiched between a brilliant blue sky and the lush green grasslands, even the spectators get into the action and turn up in their finest attire.

Shooting an exploding target while riding by at breakneck speed.
Thundering yaks churning up the dust in a competitive race.

The School and the River

A friend speaks to us of a tiny, isolated school near the source of the Yellow River deep in the Qinghai Plateau in the Bayankala Mountains. He had, earlier in the year, visited the classrooms and brought supplies to the students of this poor area of the world and encourage us to follow his example.

This was terrain even beyond the capabilities of a Caterham and its determined driver, so we leave the trusty vehicle behind and hire a couple of four-wheel drives and a guide. We depart Jyekundo in the middle of the night and as the darkness gives way to the shadows of the pre-dawn twilight, then glorious morning sunshine, the searing sun of midday, and finally the golden glow of the late afternoon, we drive hundred upon hundreds of kilometers of twisting dirt road and faint tracks through the verdant green of the high plateau as mice scatter from beneath the wheels of the trucks and wild donkeys bound along the horizon.
Following an isolated track on the expansive Qinghai Plateau.
Some of the students and teachers with gifts we have brought. Amazing people in an amazing place.
The source of the Yellow River, the second longest river in China behind the Yangtze, is marked by a skull and is nothing more than a trickle of water burbling out of the side of a hill.

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