OVERLAND TO LHASA

Day 3 Naqu to Lhasa

On our third and last day’s ride into Lhasa, the road improved and we covered 330km over 5hours. From Naqu onwards the bleak and desolate Qinghai plateau is replaced with pastoral scenes of sunny valleys and running streams. We start to catch glimpses of colour - valley floors golden with rapeseed wheat and maize, hill slopes dotted with clumps of mauve, pink and blue wild flowers and of course black yaks, white goats and wild ponies. Footbridges over streams are festooned with prayer flags, medieval Tibetan farmhouses with flat roofs and square cut windows are hung with bright strips of cloth, while electric wires compete with prayer flags which fly like ship’s mast from every Tibetan homestead. It gets to look more and more like God’s own country and it is not for nothing that Tibet is known as the Holy Land.

Where beauty walks in God's own country

Stopping by the Yangbajing Hot Springs we are an easy 91km away from Lhasa.

Yangbajing Hot SpringsAs we approached the Holy City we felt charged by energy from the sun. Lhasa is also known as the City of Sun with 3000 hours of sunlight annually and the intensity of the sun is like nowhere else on earth. Bathed in this radiance we follow the tree lined road until the golden roofs of the Potala Palace told us that we had arrived.

Potala Palace, the essence of dreams

Route Map

LHASA PART 1

POTALA PALACE

After successfully completing the Roof of the World Journey our group arrived without mishap in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Each one of us in the group of ten, must have, along the way, cherished some secret image or vision of Tibet. Medieval, wild, exotic, with mangy dogs, unkepmt citizens, levitating monks and other associations with the Forbidden Land ! Blame it on the early writers or media hype for colouring our minds with such strange notions or maybe blame ourselves for not keeping up-to-date. The Lhasa that we entered is a modern city with nothing remotely "forbidden" about it. Good paved roads, wide boulevards and concrete buildings with finish and polish is a more apt description.

Presto !

Lhasa in the 21st Century, seen from the 7th storey deck of the Potala Palace.

Despite the mobile phones, the internet connections and other signs of the hi-tech age, Lhasa still had a laid-back, other worldly feel about it. Traffic was sparse, monks in saffron robes are still chanting on rosaries, pilgrims still swing their hand held prayer wheels, and people of faith (count myself in) still dream of touching sanctity in Tibet. The imposing Potala Palace still dominates the landscape and the hearts of Tibetans and tourists alike. To this immortal building our group were headed on the day after our arrival.

Dominating the Lhasa skyline, the Potala Palace seen from Bakkor Square

The Potala Palace was first built at the time of Songtsan Gampo in the 7th century and extended in the 17th century by the 5th Dalai Lama. The present day complex consists of the Red and White Palace built on the Red Mountain at an elevation of 3,700m making it the world's highest palace. It is 13 stories high with 1000s of rooms, chambers, halls, and chapels. It is a stunning piece of architecture, combining stone and wooden Tibetan watchtowers and Han Chinese palace halls with traditional beams and pillars, golden roofs and sunk panels. Courtyards and winding corridors provide a maze of interlocking patterns and space. My impression has always been that Han Chinese and Tibetans are as different as chalk from cheese, but where monasteries and palaces are concerned they have a lot of similar points.

Front View of Potala, with well scrubbed, empty roads.

Unlike pilgrims of old, modern day tourists are driven up the back of the mountain to the midway level where a short climb leads to the entrance of the White Palace. When we arrived the bus bay was full and groups of foreigners, mostly Westerners and Japanese were milling around. Expectations ran high as we tripped up the wide stone steps in the shadows of the towering palace. I took out my rosary to simulate a mood but was as diverted by the well heeled, well equipped crowds as by the historic walk up the Potala. I saw shutterbugs, with cameras strapped around their necks, others had videodigitals in their palms, binoculars hooked to their belts, torches stuck to pockets (for lighting up the dark wall frescoes), recorders hanging from wrists (for recording the details related by guides), ... but who was I to comment? I was as wild as anyone. Everyone happily snapping away to store a memory because once we stepped through the gates of the Potala there would be no more picture taking until we reached the roof. They say that the Potala is a Center for high energy and it was no wonder that we were feeling so light headed.

Just before stepping through the portals, our guide kindly reminded us to remove out hats, put away cameras and to behave in a sensitive and appropriate manner. I think he meant to say "do not ask questions on sensitive issues."

Modern day tourists trekking up to the White Palace, Potala.

Inside, wending through numerous chapels filled with stautes, shrines, tombs and stupas dedicated to various Dalai Lamas, we met with swelling queues and jostling crowds reminiscent of standing in line to view the crown jewels in the Tower of London. The religious art treasures, tangka paintings, historical relics and wall fresoes depicting events and legends are a testimony not only to the faith of Tibetans but also the high quality of Tibetan art in the 7th century and again, in the 15th-16th centuries, when the palaces were rebuilt. Although mostly a museum, the dimly-lit, high ceiling, ceremonial halls of the Potala still commanded a sense of its past glory and spirit. Besides demonstrating cultural interchange with the Han Chinese these art treasures also demonstrated a culture which is in no way inferior to the Han Chinese.

Western media have often harped on the persecution of Tibetans by the Han Chinese but I got this gut feeling, walking through these hallowed halls that there must have been a time when both races were close as brothers, otherwise how to explain such a natural intertwining of art and customs, from sutras and scriptures, to garments, silk brocades, curtains, and canopies. Etched on the wall frescoes are also records of social events between Chinese emperors and Dalai Lamas. Hmmmm ...., perhaps I like to believe it, but maybe there was even mutual admiration on both sides !

The Tibetan pilgrims among the crowd carried bags of yak butter which they spooned out to dab on to the candle bowls of shrines as they counted their rosary beads. They also donated money in the offerings bowl and following their example we also placed our money in the heaps. We learnt that the deities could also act as "bankers" for when we ran out of small change, which was pretty soon, we could put our ten yuan offering in the bowl and take back hundreds of fen, and then continue our round of offerings .... !

Upon reaching the Roof of the Potala which is an open area, shutterbugs were finally allowed free rein. It was quite a carnival atmosphere up there with tourists jostling for space for that memorable picture.

Carnival crowds

Tourists jostling for space on Potola roof

NORBULINGKA

From the Red and White Palace of the Potala we proceeded to the Summer Palace, or Norbulingka. Located, 3km West of Potala, it was constructed in the 18th century as the summer resort of the Dalai Lama. As its name implies, it is somewhat of a leisure park, made up of palaces surrounded by gardens, pavilions, lakes and ponds with picturesque overhanging treees.

Our visit coincided with the Xue Dun (Fermented Milk)Festival which had its roots in the Buddhist practice of religious "cultivation" in the mountains. After the period of cultivation, these folks would be welcomed back by their families with fermented milk together with singing and dancing. These celebrations have evolved into the Xue Dun Festival and now every year Tibetan opera troupes perform in the Norbulingka attracting Tibetans from all over Tibet and Qinghai.

Opera Troupes enacting plays and dances to a captive Tibetan audience.

Strolling through the sprawling grounds we caught a glimpse of how Tibetans enjoyed themselves at the Festival, music making, guitar strumming, playing cards and mahjong, picnicking and praying on their ever spinning wheels.

Xue Dun Festival at Norbulingka

LHASA PART 2

DEPRUNG MONASTERY

Deprung Monastery, a spiritual haven.

Early next morning we visited Deprung Monastery which lies a few kilometers out of Lhasa. Its name means "rice heaps" refering to the series of white buildings resting against the olive mountains, which make up the Monastery. We followed the pilgrims path, past a row of big brass prayer wheels which we spinned to gain merit. Next the colourful Buddha on the Cliff blessed us, then we ran into beggars sitting on the steps and we gained more merit by dipping some yuan into their bowls. The beggars are not greedy, if your notes are too big, they are quite happy to return you some change !

Spinning the Prayer Bells help us to gain Merit.

Blessings from the Buddhas on the Cliff.

Deprung is a monastic university providing religious education to monks from age 8 to up to 70 in some cases. In its heyday it held more than 7000 monks within its walls. I don't know what the current official count is, but red robed lamas are encountered everywhere and it is still very much a spiritual haven. In one of the chapels Tibetans were receiving blessings by having their heads tapped by a lama. We quickly offered our heads for tapping too and he good naturedly obliged ! Elsewhere monks were making religious artefacts for sale, studying scriptures and I also spied them engaged in lively debates demonstrating the hand clapping gestures.

By midday, our group arrived at the main prayer hall just in time for the midday service. The beautiful sound of tolling bells greeted us, as monks in maroon robes flocked from all corners of the monastery to assemble in the hall. To sit in that ancient hall, high up in mountains, listening to haunting mantras chanted by hundreds of monks, was an extraordinary experience. I wished I could have stayed, but all too soon our guide was giving us the signal to move on.

Here I try my hand at haiku  to recollect memories of Deprung:

Deprung Monastery -

temple bells reverberate on cold crags

all around

Main Prayer Hall at Deprung call us to Prayer

Deprung lamas in their cloisters.

JOKHANG TEMPLE

Our next stop brought us to the Jokang Temple located in the old parts of downtown Lhasa. As the spirtual heart of Lhasa, the Jokang Temple is the most vennerated and revered shrine in the whole of Tibet. First built in the 7h century the three storey building with an open roof, has undergone extensive rennovations particularly under the 5th Dalai Lama in the 17th century. Its open roof gives a bird's eye view of the Potala Palace overlooking the old city. On the roof too are a series of gold bells, dharma wheels and other symbolic articles.

Courtyard, Jokang Temple, Lhasa.

In the past, Tibetan Buddhists make ardous trips over high mountains and passes, braving innumerable dangers to make the pilgimage to this Holy of Holies, which holds the golden statute of Buddha Sakyamuni. This statute located in the main hall of the Jokang Temple was first brought from Changan in China, by Princess Wencheng in the Tang dynasty. Drawn as if by a magnet, these pilgrims who come from afar, circumambulate three pilgrimage circuits, the Lingkhor, the Barkhor and the Nangkhor that surround the Jokang Temple, some prostrating all the way, some walking and spinning prayer wheels and chanting mantras while counting their rosary beads. The fervour and faith generated by these pilgrims, was said to cast a powerful field of sanctity over the Jokang.

Present day Jokang Temple sits within a plaza like area with many shopping streets enclosing as well as leading off the temple complex. Except for a small clutch of prostrating pilgrims around the entrance of the temple, and a few walking the pilgrim's circuits, I did not see much fervour. Perhaps it had to do with the timing. It was mid afternoon and the temple doors were shut so this might have limited the religious activity. We had to use a side entrance to enter and inside tourists outnumbered the pilgrims. We followed the usual round of chapels, statutes, niches, deities, commemorations, and frescoes as our guide babbled the various historical details.

After praying in the Jokang, we went to people-watch on Barkhor Street plaza which is next to the temple. The melee of Tibetans, Han Chinese, Nepalese, tourists, monks, pilgrims, families out with kids, the elderly praying, the young licking on their iced lollies, each person doing his own thing, was not unlike a scene on our busier HDB squares backhome. Further off there was a maze of vendors, shops, hawkers and wares to gladden any shopaholic's heart.

Before I came to Tibet, I had read about the atrocities committed by the Chinese. Were the Tibetans sitting so placidly beside me seething with suppressed hostility, I wondered? Were there hidden electronic surveillance cameras watching the crowds on the square? Did it make them subdued? I can't fathom the political or tumultous events that these people had suffered in the past, but they do seem to have settled down to some hard won peace. Whether it was a massive sham or not, I sure wish my Tibetan and Han Chinese friends many more decades of blessed peace.

Butter lamps keep the faith burning bright at Jokang

Scenes of pilgrims and tourists around the Barkhor Square

ROAD TO GYANTSE

Leaving Lhasa behind we were headed for the town of Gyantse, some 260kms away. The ride has got to be the most dramatic of all, as we would cross 3 Big Passes, take in a Holy Lake, a Crystal Glacier and an artificial lake all in one day, stretching over 9 hours. We started off on a gravelled road driving through harsh, denuded mountains. The dusty road wound through deep valleys and squeezed up cliff hugging paths as the unending vista of granite mountains, cyan skies and turquoise waters swept us along.

I had read about rock-throwing urchins posing a menance on these roads and I was on a lookout. Now and then we did see children running down the rocky slopes but none aimed any unfriendly shots at us. Instead they looked overjoyed just to wave at our passing bus while we waved just as delightedly back. Although we would dearly liked to have stopped many times along the way to capture the wild scenery our guide would not allow us many stops onroute except for the designated spots. At one of the rare unscheduled stops for a member to answer his call, two little girls appeared as if from nowhere to gaze at us. These two were so shy it was hard work to persuade them even to come near and these 2 tendermites were certainly not out to harm us.

The dust which crept in through the slits and crevices of the tightly shut windows was unbearable. On the bad stretches the bus rattled and shuddered until we were all broken up. At every super Bump I was tossed up and down and our overhead luggage was in constant danger of crashing down. And yet the beauty of the place is inexpressable ! Far below us the valleys appeared tranquil as in a dream -- golden with rapeseed and crisscrossed by ribbons of blue water. On the distant brown slopes, like a picture out of Biblical times, nomads in homespun clothes lead their flock. When the road descended to river level we were plunged straight into the valley we dream-watched, high up in the precipices. The driver absolutely refused to stop for us to capture all these brilliant moments, perhaps the road was really very dangerous.....and so willy nilly, through Paradise or through Hell we finally arrived at our destination, Gyantse, altitude 3,800m.

ENROUTE PICTURES

Just out of Lhasa we are greeted by this 1000 Year Old Cliffside Buddha meditating beside the Lhasa river and wishing us "Safe Journey"

The wild and dusty road to Gyantse

The first pass of the day is Gangbala Pass altitude 4852m

Lake Yumdrok Tso viewed from the top of Gangbala. Also known as Turquoise Lake it is one of Tibet's holiest lakes. The altitude and brilliant sunlight makes the waters shimmer in changing shades.

Another view of Gangbala with prayer flags and woolly yak.

Olive mountains, turquoise waters -- Lake Yumdrok Tso

Holy flock by the holy lake

Karola Glacier altitude 5045m. We also call it Crystal Mountain because of the many crystals available for sale and many strewn on the grounds

Karola Glacier. Although it was sunny on Gangbala and Lake Yumdrok, by the time we arrived at Karola, it was dark and chilly giving us another picture of the mountains.

Karola Glacier. Nice place for a picnic with the benches provided. But our guide thought otherwise. He already had our lunch booked at the designated eating house

Simila Pass altitude 4330m, our last Pass for the day. Thousands of white scarves decorate the Pass to thank the gods for safe journey

 
Another Holy Lake? No this is a beautiful body of water created by damming a nearby river.

Gyantse Town with Gyantse Fort and Little Wall of China in background. The fortifications withstood British aggressors in 1904.

Another view of the wall that defeated the British invaders.

The Kumbum Stupa, Gyantse’s landmark is the finest example of 15th century Newar art extant in the world. Sometimes known as the Wedding Cake because of its multi tiers it is actually symbolic of the various levels of Enlightenment in Buddhist Teachings.

SHIGASTE : HOME OF THE PANCHEN LAMA

Continuing with the last leg of our Tibet trip we were on the road again to Shigaste Tibet's second largest city. Situated at 3900m it is about 100km away fom Gyantse. On the two and a half hours roller coaster drive, the road conditions varied from good to bad to good again.

The highway follows the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) river climbing up narrow gorges and plunging into broad river valleys. Pastoral farmlands, rich pastures, ochre mountains, vast horizons and rural scenes engaged our visual senses as we bumped along. We journeyed on with this feeling of ji xin ku, you xin fu. (mixed feelings of hardship and blessings)

Shigaste is the seat of the Panchen Lama and the Tashilunpo Monastery was the main target of our travel to this Tibetan outpost.

SHIGASTE PICTURES

Tashilunpo Monastery

Tashilunpo Monastery, Shigaste's foremost attraction, was built in 1447. Tashilunpo sprawling over nearly 300,000 square meters and nestling among peaks and willow groves,is made up of chortens, temples and the Panchen Lama’s palace.

The monastery is a striking red, white and black Tibetan structure with a golden roof. At its peak, Tashilunpo held more than 4,000 monks in its monasteries. Within the Tashilunpo monastery there is a 26 meters statue of the Maitreya Buddha of the Future cast from 6,700 ounces of gold and over 115,000 kg of copper.

Stupas housing the embalmed remains of past Panchen Lamas.

Some of the floors within the monastery are encrusted with

semi precious stones such as this turquoise symbol.

Terrace for Sunning Thangkas. The wall is used for displaying
enormous Thangkas during religious festivals.

Courtyard of the Main Hall. The walls are entirely covered
with murals of Buddha.

Some wall murals in the chapels

Mingchen : a walled city with a long history

We arrived on a dusty, dun-colored afternoon in late Autumn. The gaunt walls of the Gate Tower loomed theatrically as we alighted from the minivan. We had travelled hundreds of kilometers through the Province of Guangxi in South China to visit the 480 year old walled city of Mingchen. The old city is fortified by solid granite walls which originally bounded Mingchen on four sides, North, South, East and West. However through the vicissitudes of centuries, the Western and Northern walls have crumbled with only the Southern and Eastern walls standing intact.

Visitors to Guangxi Province would no doubt be more familiar with Guilin which is one of the most popular toruist spots in the province. Mingchen, however is undocumented in China's tourist industry. Located in Fu-chuan County in the Northeast of Guangxi Province it was first setup in the Ming Dynasty from which the city derived its name.

Old houses, an old pagoda, some old wells, an ancient wall, and a vanishing way of life this is the essense of Mingchen.

Pictures of Fu-Chuan County and the Ancient City of Mingchen.

Fuchuan County is a little known and therefore unspoilt region with many attractions for the traveller.

It is situated in a triangluar area bordered by Hunan, Guangdong, and Guangxi provinces. Fuchuan, which is in the east of Guangxi province is a beautiful place with many minority villages and the ancient city of Mingchen.

Enduring China -- Men leading bullocks

Enduring China -- Women swinging baskets

While it had not the grandeur of Beijing's Forbidden City or the majety of the Great Wall of China, Mingchen's imposing South Gate with beautiful flying eaves is like a relic from the past. Built of massive slabs of grey-green stone, we could well imgine that the Wall must have been quite an impregnable obstacle against attacks in former days.

Today there are no sentinels at the Gates or on the Tower battlements. Their places have been taken over by these old crones with inscrutable faces, who guard the gates like ghosts from yesteryear.

The arched gateway leads to a network of narrow alleys flanked by old-style houses inside the Walled City.

The earth toned houses with black tiled roofs

 are constructed in the Ming and Qing style.

Mingchen residents must be a pretty trusting lot judging from the number of open doorways that we passed or this was just the way of small town folks. Besides being a thoroughfare, the cobbled alleyways also houses communal activities as family life pours out of doors.

Sewing by her doorway an old woman watches the world go by.

Passing time these old Mingchen folk play cards in the alleyway.

As the narrow lanes do not permit the intrusion of motor vehicles, Mingchen is effectively a city without cars but there was no lack of bicycles ant three-wheelers and we often heard the sound of "tinkle tinkle", warning us to step aside.

The open air stage is another communal point in this old town and dates back 300 plus years. During our visit the place wore a sad deserted air as performances are only held during the harvest and New Year festivals. A passing villager confided that this was a hotbed and center of action during the Cultural Revolution.                            

An ancient city is not complete without an ancient pagoda and Mingchen's Ruiguangta pagoda is a promenient landmark. Built in they years of the Ming Emperor Jiajing, this multi-storey, six sided edifice rises to a height of 28m and one can get a birds eye view of the countryside from the top of the Ruiguangta Pagoda

The dilapidated East Gate is overgrown with moss and lichen.

As ancient cities go Mingchen also has its fair share of ancient wells. Imbibing from the waters of one's village well is very much embedded in the cultural psyche of the Chinese. Apparently this custom is alive and well in Mingchen whose residents still fetch water from the wells despite piped water being available in most households.

TRAVEL NOTES

Mingchen and Fu-chuan County are accessible by road from major towns and cities in Guangxi Province. From the North it is approachable by road via Guilin taking about 6-7 hours travel time. From the South it is connected by road to the riverport of Wuzhou, taking about 7-8 hours travel time.