Tibet (Xizang), the Roof of the World, remained unknown to the
world until the beginning of the 20th century. The massive, snowy land has
exerted an awesome draw on travelers and adventurers ever since. Its majestic
scenery, mysterious and exotic religious culture, and wonderful people, reward
every tourist with an indelible life long memory!
Tibet (Tibet
Autonomous Region, TAR for short) borders Xinjiang,
Qinghai, Sichuan
and Yunnan internally while India, Burma,
Bhutan, Sikkim, and Nepal meet its external borders. It
covers a massive 1,220,000 square kilometers (470,920 square miles), which is
about 12.8 % of the whole of China.
With an average height of 4,000 meters above sea level, Tibet is
encompassed by some of the world's highest mountains. The Himalayas to the
south, the Karakoram to the west, and the Kunlun
to the north are the dream lands of all adventurers and mountaineers.
The vast land is also the cradle of several great rivers such as the Yangtze River,the Yellow
River,the Nu River (Salween), the Lancang
River (Mekong), the Yarlong Tsangpo
(Brahmaputra),the Indus, and the Ganges. Tibet also
offers awe-inspiring scenery of beautiful lakes and valleys. Over 1,500 lakes
including Heavenly Lake
Namtso and the holy Lake
Manasarova make Tibet
the plateau with largest amount of lakes.
The long history and exotic religion allures more and more tourists every
year. Tibetan Buddhism inhabits most Tibetans’ hearts. Thus, a great deal of
splendid monasteries, vivid murals and sculptures, and solemn stupas were built
to worship the unparalleled Buddha. Lhasa and Shigatse, the most important
cities of Tibet, feature most of the religious monuments including the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery, Ramoche Monastery, Tashilunpo Monastery
and Sakya
Monastery. Besides the monasteries, sacred mountains and holy lakes are
also great places to show the Tibetan peoples' devotion to Buddha.
Western Tibet, Ngari, is a vast barren
plateau and renowned as the Roof of Tibet. As the place where the Holy Lake (Lake Manasarova)
joins the Sacred Mountain (Mt.Kailash), Ngari is a holy
pilgrimage destination of both Tibetans and Hindus, as well as a popular
challenge to trekkers.
Similarly,the people from tibet
are warm and hospitable. Tourists can visit local families and experience the
daily life of Tibetan people. Holidays and festivals are the most important
days in Tibet.
Enjoying the local food and dancing with beautiful Tibetan girls are the most
excellent ways to celebrate these joyful times. Buying some typical handicrafts
in Barkhor Street or from
other authentic vendors may add extra happiness to your visit.