The architecture demonstrated in many of the Tibetan temples is awe inspiring to say the least. One such example is the Drepung Monastery, located in the west of Lhasa, the country’s capital. It is a massive formation which some say resembles a whole city, and has intricate designs which from above could be said to resemble the scales of a fish in uniform rows. It is a grand spectacle for the eye!

At the heart of the temples is Buddhism, and as such they were considered a place of learning with pages of scripture which are there and actively studied even today. A place of reverence and contemplation, many temples still house the monks who live there.

The temples are the center of their world and are normally circular in design and have many three or four storey buildings encompassing the palace at the center, called the ‘Cuoqin’. This means a place of gathering or an assembly hall and is again of grand proportions, allowing for literally thousands of monks to come together and chant scriptures.

Many structures were designed to represent the basic principles of their belief. The square is a popular structural choice. The corners represent the four truths wheel of Dharma, and the use of heavy decoration with curtains and colors provides an air of mystery and intrigue and are used to shroud the palaces, adding a feeling of darkness. This is only lifted by the sight of the shining golden statue of Buddha bringing his metaphysical light to the darkness of the world.

Whatever aspect of these temples appeals to you, it is certain to say that you will find a greater understanding of the Tibetan culture and belief that rules the hearts of the Buddhists.

It should definitely form part of your holiday itinerary if you are going to be in Tibet. You will relish the experience and take away glorious memories.

Shane Marden is an Australian photographer and author of the coffee table book Child of Tibet. He loves telling stories and is passionate about freedom. Shane also runs a website on Tibet.

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Through it all Tibet has maintained its own way of life. It has held onto the traditions that have defined it as one of the most rural and peaceful counties in the world.

Some areas of Tibet are over 3000 metres above sea level. It is very difficult to grow crops at this height. The most important Tibetan crop is barley. Barley flour is used to make a dough called tsampa, which is their staple food. Tsampa can be rolled into noodles or made into dumplings that are steamed and called momos. Tibetan meat dishes consist of yak, goat and mutton and can be dried or cooked as a spicy stew. Mustard seeds feature a lot in Tibetan cuisine because it is one of the few spices to be cultivated there on a large scale. Yak milk is a versatile commodity featuring in yoghurt, butter and cheese. Well prepared yak yoghurt can be considered an item of prestige and luxury in Tibetan society.

Tibetan dress is still very conservative with most of the population choosing to wear traditional styles rather than western clothes. Women wear dark wrap dresses over a blouse. If a woman is married she will also wear a colourfully striped, woven wool apron. Long sleeves are worn throughout the year by both sexes regardless of the blazing summer months.

A khata is a traditional ceremonious scarf that serves as a versatile gift given on festive occasions. It is made of white silk, which symbolises the pure heat of the giver. The symbolism behind the gift promotes goodwill, auspiciousness and compassion. It is usually given at weddings, funerals, births, graduations, or to a host at the arrival or departure of guests. When it is presented it is accompanied by an acknowledgement of “Tashi Delek”, meaning “good luck”.

Tibet music is religious music before it is anything else, and reflects the influence of Tibetan Buddhism on the culture. The music also reflects the heritage of the trans-Himalayan region and all ethnic Tibetan groups that are found in India, Bhutan and Nepal. Chanting is an integral part of Tibetan music and is often accompanied by drums.

The Tibetan calendar is a lunisolar calendar, which means that a Tibetan year has either 12 or 13 lunar months in it. Each month begins and ends with a new moon. The 13th month is only added every three years, which makes an average Tibetan year equal to a solar year. Months are referred to by numbers and are not nominal. They associate each year with an animal and an element. The animals alternate in the following order: Hare, Dragon, Horse, Sheep, Ape, Bird, Dog, Pig, Mouse, Bull, and Tiger. The elements also alternate: Fire, Earth, Iron, Water, and Wood.

The Tibetans have a relatively complex system for numbering their years. Each element has 2 consecutive years. It has a male aspect followed by a female aspect: for example a male Earth-Dragon year would be followed by a female Earth-Snake year, which would be followed by a male Iron-Horse year. Tibetans often leave the sex out as the year can be inferred from the animal.

Tibetan festivals are also deeply rooted in religion. Some of the most important festivals are the Losar, Shoton and the Bathing Festival. The Bathing Festival requires that each person take part in it three times in the course of their lifetime: at birth, marriage and death. In Tibetan culture it is believed that bathing is not a casual endeavour, but should rather be saved for the most important occasions only. Festivals are high points in the social calendar and feature many entertaining activities such as yak racing, which suggests that perhaps the bathing should be saved for the conclusion of the festivities.

Recommended site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibetan_culture

Sandra wrote this article for the online marketers Language and Culture News language and culture news one of the leading providers of news in the different languages and cultures to be found worldwide.

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The Tibet House was established in 1965 by Dalai Lama. It is said that Tibetan refugees started coming to India even from the late 1950s fearing the alleged atrocities by the Chinese army. The institution is a result of those early refugees’ efforts. The institution hosts a museum that exhibits Tibetan artifacts and other memorabilia of Tibetan origin. It also has a neatly maintained library where books and periodicals that deal with various aspects of Tibetan people and their culture. One can find plenty of books and articles that deal with the so-called Tibet issue involving the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Government. The book collection includes those books that Dalai Lama took with him when he fled from Tibet on the face of mounting Chinese aggression.

The common people who visit the Tibet House in Delhi, however, are not generally concerned with the politics. Most of such people look for decorative artifacts and antiques. And the Tibet House offers a vast collection of such material. Some of the items are brought from Tibet when people fled from their homeland fearing Chinese aggression. But many of the items are made in the various Tibetan settlements in India.

The museum in the Tibet House contains a large number of artifacts and curios. The main item in the museum is Tankhas. These are the painted scrolls that depict the entire life of Buddha. Small statues and figurines of Buddha are also prominent attractions of the museum. Old currency notes, Tibetan musical instruments, prayer and ritual material of Tibetan people, and exquisitely carved Tibetan jewellery are the other major items in the museum. Tibet house also has a shop that sells various Tibetan specialties from clothes to medicine. One can find a number of handicraft and antique materials in the shop.

The Tibet House is open on all weekdays. It is closed on Saturday and Sunday. It functions from 9.30 AM to 5.30 PM. The entry fee is Rupees 10. There is no special charge for photography or video recording. But one needs to get the official consent from the authorities for using still or video camera inside the building. One can reach here by bus or autorikshaw or by Delhi Metro.

Bed and Breakfast Delhi can arrange excursions to Tibet House. Bed and Breakfast Delhi is located near the Delhi Airport Hotels. Abhishek writes articles intermittently.

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First off, foreigners must join a tour group in order to visit Tibet. Second, Tibet itself seemed much more developed than the places we had just seen in Qinghai and Sichuan.

For example, the hotels were much better and the roads were nicely paved and not pockmarked with potholes. Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet, seemed clean and orderly and caters to tourists with its many restaurants, sites and souvenir vendors. The scenery also seemed much larger: brighter sun, bigger mountains, more snow capped peaks and skies that are clear and blue. Temperatures can be warm during the day and then cold at night. The Tibetans that live here are different from the Kham Tibetans we encountered in Qinghai and Sichuan; the attire and language are very different.

Here’ my rundown of the top ten sites in Tibet.

1. Potala Palace

Located in Lhasa, this was formerly the residence of the Dali Lama. It’s the centerpiece of the city and Tibetans from all over come to do the walk around the outside of the palace in prayer. The tour brought us inside and we learned about its history. We were required to walk up many many flights of stairs along the outside wall to reach the main buildings at the top (not an easy task if not yet acclimated to Lhasa’s elevation). The views from the top of the palace are also spectacular as you can see all of Lhasa below with the snow capped mountains in the background.

2. Qomolangma, aka Mount Everest

Our tour took us to the Qomolangma base camp where we camped in a tent. The amenities were basically an outhouse, a stove that burns yak dung, beds with wool blankets and boiled water provided by the hosts.

The first day we were there we couldn’t even see the mountain due to cloud cover.

Miraculously, as we were leaving the next day the clouds cleared just enough to get some great photos of Qomolangma. The visit had its tough moments however. The base camp sits at 6000m elevation, and we hiked two km to the Rongphu Monastery which resides in a small village.

The monastery is known to be the highest monastery in terms of elevation. The hike was a little difficult for some of us due to the altitude. The night in the tent was also challenging because the strong gusts of wind and the cold temperatures. Our hosts had been diligently filling the stove with yak dung to keep the fire burning while we were awake. Unfortunately, nobody instructed us on how to keep the fire burning throughout the night, and it didn’t take long for the stove to burn out, the temperature going way down.

3. Jokhang Temple

Built in the fifth century AD, this temple in Lhasa houses Buddhist statues that were part of the dowries brought by the wives of Tibetan king Songsten Gampo.

Although many artifacts were damaged or destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, some of the oldest statues were hidden and therefore preserved.

Many Tibetans come to this temple to pray. People on the outside pray on the sidewalk. On the inside, Tibetans carry flasks of oil to help refill the burning oil candles. This temple is special to Tibetans and many come from very far to worship.

4. Barkhor Square

This is the centerpiece of the old city, and is adjacent to Jokham Temple. The square is full of vendors and shops selling traditional Tibetan clothes, jewelry and other goods.

We found it to be a good place to walk around and browse the many different things for sale. If you want to buy anything you must negotiate hard however.
The merchants can be aggressive and know how to get their price.

We also ate at a Nepalese restaurant here and found the food to be tasty and similar to Indian food.

5. Shigatse

Shigatse is Tibet’s second largest city. Tashilhunpo Monastery is in Shigatse and houses many statues of Buddhas and spirit towers. Spirit towers act as shrines and tombs for past lamas.

The monastery is traditionally the seat of the Panchen Lama who would rule over “back Tibet” or the western part of Tibet.

While at the monastery, we were lucky to get a rare glimpse of monks practicing a traditional spiritual dance. The dance is done to music from several long bugle-like horns.

6. Glaciers

During our many long drives around Tibet, we were able to see some spectacular scenery. Because we traveled through many mountainous areas, we were able to see many glaciers. Some even spanned several mountain tops.

One amazing glacier was at Milha mountain, where we stopped for a short break during one of our long rides. We were able to see the glacier up close. The place also must have been a very spiritual area given all the prayer flags.

I was surprised that even in a remote location, like near a glacier in a mountain pass, there would be beggars asking for money. The area must be well known for tourists stopping to take photos of the glacier. In any case, it helped that I had been carrying a bag of candy.

Whenever a child or elderly person approached, I simply handed out a piece of candy to each of them. Usually, they were happy to get something and went on their way. Always remember to hand out the pieces yourself. I made the mistake once of opening the bag and letting the kids pick a piece, only to have one boy nearly grab it all.

7. Gyantse

When we drove into Gyantse, something looked familiar. Along a mountain range that cuts through the city is a wall that slightly resembles the Great Wall.

Then, at the top of the mountain is a palace that seemed like a smaller version of Potala Palace. We didn’t get a chance to climb up to the palace, but instead visited the Pelkor Chode Monastery. Then we visited the Gyantse Kumbum Stupa, which is a six level tower with a golden dome on top.

The tower contains many rooms with old paintings. The name Kumbum means “100,000 images.” The view of the city from the very top floor is very impressive and above the doorway at the top is a painting of Buddha’s eyes. These eyes are symbolic and represent wisdom of Buddha.

8. Baji Cypress Reserve

One part of the tour took us to the southeast part of Tibet, known as the Nyingchi area. The landscape is much different from the rest of Tibet.

This area is lower in elevation and therefore is very green and full of trees. The Baji Cypress Reserve is a park that houses many 2000-plus year old trees with the oldest one about 2600 years old.

The trees are enormous, with trunks that are the size of houses. It reminded me of the giant sequoias in Yosemite except the trees here in Baji are cypress trees. Tibetans come to worship the trees, and there are many “hadas” (white silk sashes) that were hung in the tree branches. Apparently, the way to get them up there is to tie a rock to the hada and then toss it up into the branches.

9. Lakes and Rivers

Throughout the tour of Tibet, we’ve been amazed by the beauty and pureness of the lakes and rivers.

We visited Basomtso Lake in the Nyingchi area which had a beautiful blue-green hue. The lake has an island that has a temple built on it. Two bridges connect the banks of the lake to the island.

Another lake we visited was Yamdroktso Lake, which we passed after visiting Gyantse. The lake was equally beautiful, and some of the views of the lake from the hills made for great photos. The rivers of Tibet were also beautiful and many were rapidly flowing white water rivers such as Liyang river which we drove alongside on our way to the Nyingchi area.

10. People

One of the amazing things about the Tibetan people is how spiritual they are.

Every morning, hundreds of people will rise early to do the walk around Potala palace.

On the seven-hour drive back to Lhasa from the Nyingchi area we passed a family on a pilgrimage to Lhasa. It was a family of three, with one male pulling a cart with the family’s camping supplies.

The other two were performing the six-point prayer,where you start with hands together at your chest then move the hands to your head, back to the chest, kneel down, place hands on ground, extend body flat while lying face down, back to kneeling position and then stand up. One step is then taken and then prayer is repeated. Imagine how long it would take to reach Lhasa at that rate!

We had a great time in Tibet and saw so many beautiful and interesting things. The trip, however, was not without hardship. Luckily we were prepared for the altitude sickness, the cold evenings and minor inconveniences in this wild frontier. Although we had experienced Tibetan culture from our travels through Qinhai and western Sichuan, I definitely believe that visiting Tibet was well worth it.

Author: Greg Han – China hotels

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They do? I feel I have prepared well for our hitch-hiking trip by packing winter clothes and by reading the section on Tibet in my road map book of China: “Avoid discussing politics, religion and other sensitive subjects. Bring sunglasses and -cream.” Besides, pick a location, pack and go has always been our travelling style.

But yes, I can see now that it’s certainly going to take more than two days two get from Lhasa to Kunming overland, and that we should have believed the German guy with the frost-bitten lips who’d just driven from Shanghai to Lhasa on a motorbike. He said hitch-hiking in Tibet was impossible and the roads very, very bad: Snowy, rock-strewn and treacherous. This man, we decide in our insane optimism based on the road map, must be lying. .

For political reasons I’ve always been reluctant to go to Tibet, but when I start seeing photos from the new train thundering across the grasslands of Qinghai and northern Tibet, I cave in.
Of course those pictures were taken in summer or early autumn, not in April. In April it’s pretty much: Can’t see a thing because of blizzards.
On the train we meet a Chinese cook eager to educate us about Tibetan history, and learn that before the Chinese liberated Tibet, Lhasa was just a swamp. Also: Potala Palace was built by a Chinese king.

Ah, yes, the Potala Palace, object of a hundred documentaries and scourge of Michael Palin. As usual with world famous monuments it looks much smaller than in the pictures and, it turns out, isn’t the real tourist attraction in liberated Lhasa.

No, what all the red baseball cap-wearing hordes with their shrieking guides have come to see is in fact Potala Square; a veritable Tiananmen in miniature and home of a gigantic phallic monument celebrating the everlasting friendship between Tibetans and Chinese. Around it stand statues of rifle-thrusting workers and peasants, all staring grimly and with much clenching of eyebrows at the Chinese flag in the middle of the square.

In the morning, thousands of Tibetans shuffle round and round Potala Palace in prayer, many prostrating themselves for hours in front of the holy site. In their Tibetan garb and long braids intertwined with red cloth they look startlingly out of place as they lie face down on the wide, Parisian boulevard-style pavement while Han Chinese sporting the latest fashions saunter forth. Shiny cars with black windows zip by on the four-lane highway dominating the square, built to celebrate twenty years of successful liberation.

When the new Qinghai – Lhasa railway was built, many people were concerned about increased masses of mainland and foreign tourists further destroying the Tibetan culture. These people should worry no more – there’s not much left to destroy. At least not architectonically. Apart from some traditional buildings and piss-stinking old winding streets around another site for much prostrating, the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa looks like any Chinese city with green glass-tiled monster houses, badly built apartment blocks and total absence of connection with the past. It seems to be Han Chinese running most businesses. We ask ten or 12 shop keepers how to say “hello” in Tibetan, but nobody knows.

When we discover by leafing through a bunch of old postcards that Potala Palace used to be mirrored by a large, smiling lake lined with weeping willows and traditional Tibetan houses, it all gets too depressing, and in a hurling blizzard we start our hitch-hiking trip back to Hong Kong. The driver is a man we met in a bar the night before and he is a professional. Effortlessly he thunders down the road at 140 km/h in the grey weather while wearing sunglasses, talking on his mobile and watching a movie on the little TV monitor thoughtfully placed on the inside of the windshield.

I have to say I feel some pangs of nervousness several times on that journey as we hurtle through the yak-dotted scenery, and have to laugh in retrospect. Nervous – nothing! That road was paved, and wider than the car! But it is certainly a cause for concern that after an eight hour drive we are just a few millimeters out of Lhasa, according to the map.

The next morning we are immediately picked up, by an official in charge of bringing Guangdong technology to the hinterland. To accommodate him and other investors, a spanking new city, Zhilin, has been plonked down, last week it seems, in the middle of the mountains. I suppose “downtown Shenzhen” doesn’t look more incongruous among these towering snowy ranges than “Tiananmen Square, Shenzhen” does in the middle of Lhasa.

The kind official doesn’t really get our explanation about hitch hiking in Tibet but with unfailing Chinese hospitality he drives us to the next village, immediately turning back the way we’ve come. We catch another lift with some Tibetans who also turn back after dropping us – and that’s the end of private cars in Tibet. We have no choice but to start walking… and continue walking. Not only aren’t there any private cars; there are no vehicles at all.

According to our plans we should be making the descent into Kunming by now; instead here we are with a bottle of water between us, three hours’ walk from the nearest town. Adventurous! We are very happy to pay the next driver 100 yuan each to take us across the next mountain range, scarily high and covered in snow. From then on we realise we are basically travelling across Tibet by taxi.

The road soon becomes a narrow gravelly track hacked out of the vertical mountain face. One centimeter too far to the right and we will plunge scenically into the gully several hundred meters below. Far above there’s a movement, a furious flapping of wings: Vultures. A sky burial! The map book warns against unauthorised visits to these too. But when we pass the feather-flying spot on our way up and forever up, we see they are only feasting on a dead yak.

Our driver on this, what turns out to be a 17 hour, non-stop drive, has just popped out in the morning to get some fags when we shanghai him. He is wearing slippers and a thin jacket. That’s why Lee and I with our superior footwear and clothes have to get out again and again to push the car out of snowdrifts every time it gets stuck, which is often.
When it starts getting dark and we’re pushing the car, waterless and foodless, across yet another endless expanse of snow, we start thinking that distrusting the words of Germans isn’t always a good idea. And neither is trusting the words of certain locals: The next town turns out to have no cash point although everybody said it does. After paying the driver and the hotel we thus have 100 yuan for the journey to Kunming, still well over two days away.

This is what real adventure is all about. Not your boring, predictable “Hitch-hiking through Tibet in a couple of days” but real, concrete fear of death, first from plunging, then from exposure and finally from starvation.

Back in Hong Kong I now have a Zen-like indifference to the minor irritations in life such as being burgled and being told I will soon lose my house. What’s that compared to tumbling down a ravine, broke and really, really hungry?

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The rolling hills of the high plateau and the stunning Himalayas exert an awesome draw to Tibet travelers and adventurers ever since. Most visitors’ trip to Tibet will start in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. Lhasa is home to an amazing UNESCO registered collection of spectacular palaces and temples which you should not be missed on a Tibet tour.

Potala Palace: Located in Lhasa, the Potala Palace is the symbol of Tibet. It was formerly the winter residence of the Dalai Lamas. This 13-storey edifice containing 999 rooms is absolutely awe-inspiring and you will be enchanted as you visit the rooms, halls and chapels of the palace.

Jokhang Temple: As the spiritual center of Tiber, the temple is the earliest wood-and-masonry structure still existing in Tibet. Thousands of pilgrims come here for worship everyday. Many of the pilgrims were crawling on the ground. Many others were spinning prayer wheels.

Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery: They are two great Gelugpa monasteries in Lhasa. Drepung Monastery was once one of Tibet largest monasteries and monastic universities. Sera may not be as majestic as Drepung, but is more serene surrounded by many small temples. The ‘Buddhism Scriptures Debating’ in Sera is very famous.

Travelling to Tibet, visitors can witness the unique overland landscapes, the snow-covered mountains, plateau lakes, more and different monasteries and have the chance to get close to the real people of Tibet. There are many activities to offer you on a Tibet tour depending on if you are interested in nature, trekking, monasteries or Tibetan culture.

A typical Tibet trip starts in Lhasa, and includes short trips to Ganden Monastery and Nam Tso Lake, follows by a week trip to Mt Everest via Yamdrok Tso, Gyantse, Shigatse and Shegar, Lhaste. Visitors not only can see all the famous sites in Lhasa, but also can witness the other must sees of Tibet including the Yamdrotso Lake, the Palkhor Temple, the Tashilumpo Monastery, the Sakya Monastery and the Everest Base Camp along the way.

Yamdrotso Lake: One of the three holy lakes in Tibet and the world’s highest freshwater lake. For Tibet people, Yamdrotso Lake is the home of the “wrathful deities”. Here visitors can enjoy the intoxicating plateau natural scenery at the sacred, turquoise-blue lake. Far in the distance is the huge massif of Mt. Nojin Kangtsang (7191m).

Pelkor Chode Monastery in Gyantse: Built in the 15th century, this monastery is unique in Tibet for it has the characteristics of Tibetan, Han, and Nepal architectural styles. And what’s more, visitors can view the three sects of Buddhism-Sakyapa, Kadampa, and Gelugpa existing in harmony under one roof.

Tashilumpo Monastery: Located on the slops of Mt.Tara, southwest of Shigatse, the Tashiilumpo Monastery is one of the six big monasteries in Tibet. Besides the grand palace and gigantic statues, the Tashihunpo also treasures characteristic wall paintings. These are priceless and rare historical relics for researching the history and society of Tibet.

Sakya Monastery: Built in 1073, the Sakya Monastery has long been renowned for its large collection of Buddhist scripture, evaluable porcelain and vivid wall paintings dating back nearly one thousand years.

Base Camp of Mt Everest: The Base Camp is a small flat piece of land in front of the north face of Mt Everest with an altitude of 5200m. Recently more and more mountaineers start off from the Base Camp trying to conquer the world highest peak while travelers trek to the foot of the peak to enjoy its beauty through their own eyes.

Taking a Tibet vacation is surely different from most in the world. There are so many unique attractions, too numerous to mention. Many people might experience difficulties with the high altitude here. But when you witness the magnificent monasteries, pious pilgrims, snow-capped peaks and overwhelming ethnic culture, which all are located in the stunning landscape of the Himalayas, all the hardship you bear along the way make sense.

China tours-Professional China Tour Operator with tailor made service. Come with us to see China with your own eyes and touch this ground with your hands. All services are private and in small group with English speaking tour guide and license driver.

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The Tibetan Buddhism is the distinguished form of Vajrayan and finds similarity with the Shingon Buddhist tradition practiced in Japan with distinctive ceremonial rituals and sacred gestures and words. The capital city Lhasa is considered to be the most sacred city of Tibet. The Potala Palace in Lhasa has traditionally been the seat of secretarial and political power administered and executed by the His Holiness Dalai Lamas and his regents till its occupation by the People’s Republic of China in 1959. Currently Tibet has been accorded the status of an autonomous region within the fold of China mainland.

In 1624 Portuguese were the first among foreigners to have come to Tibet and built a church. They were most welcome until the mass influx of the Jesuits in the region causing the wrath of the otherwise peaceful lamas and were expelled by mid-18th century. Potato crop was introduced in Tibet by George Boggle, a Scottish man who came to the Shigatse region to explore possibilities of trade with the British owned East India Company. Shigatse is the second largest city and is situated west of Lhasa. Tibet from mid eighteenth century to mid nineteenth century was wrapped amid expansionist tendencies of the British in India and tsars in Russia. This made the government authorities of Tibet to shut its doors to all foreigners by 1855. Surveyor spies such as Nain Singh backed by the British Government in India clandestinely mapped the altitude, longitude and latitude of the Lhasa city and traced the route of the mighty river Tsangpo which enters the Indian mainland as River Brahmaputra.

Places of interest in Tibet include the historical monasteries such as the great Ramoche and Jokhang Temples. The Potala Palace has rightly been assigned a place of honor amongst the list of World Heritage Sites for its grandeur; splendor and magnificent architecture build on the lines of the traditional Buddhist art. Norbulingka is the summer abode of the much revered Dalai Lama is a delight to the eyes.

The colorful thangka paintings and mandalams, The Buddhist wheel with two dragons in fury mirror the meaningful Buddhist approach. It can vividly be seen infused in the architecture of the land. Chanting of the religious mantras in Tibetan or Sanskrit is well integrated into the spiritual way of living that religion inspires to the Tibetans. The air of Tibet has a tone of magic and mystique in it and is currently blending with the winds of modernization.

The Central government in China has done much to push the tourism sector in Tibet by way of infusing in much development. Qinghai-Tibet Railway which is the highest located rail line in the world connects Tibet with the eastern provinces of China and has become functional since July 2006. The serpentine passage of the train amidst the majestic mountains laden with awe-inspiring pictorial panorama and rejoicing of ones spirit in the reverberence of the cool, mystical air is a journey worth remembering for long times to come.

Traditional items of the Tibetan origin primarily the handicrafts such as the typical colorful Tibetan Buddhist murals, paintings, rugs, carpets, quilts, jewellary, fabrics, wooden items, precious stones, hats are very much in demand from the tourists generating returns in terms of the much desired foreign currency. Other items of tourists’ interest include the copper teapots, rosaries, turquoise, precious and semi-precious gems, Buddha figures, masks and costumes. The incoming of the tourism has brought about economic and social revaluation in the otherwise hard-up Tibet. However many view these progressive efforts as the killer of the religious culture distinctive of Tibetan culture. Tourists can avail the services of the experienced local tour operators to take them for the trek in the mesmerizing wilderness and lush greens in the deep interiors of the forest.

Rosy Vohra works for online books India

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