After 西宁 we took a 22 hour long train to the capital of Tibet, Lhasa (拉萨). 拉萨 is the second most populated city on the Tibetan Plateau after 西宁. It is also one of the highest cities in the world. The altitude there is 3,490 meters or 11,450 feet. 拉萨 has been the religious and administrative center for Tibet since the mid-17th century. Tibet is completely different from the rest of mainland China. It has a distinct history, culture, and language that keep it from ever fully becoming "Chinese."
拉萨 also is called Chengguan (城关). Chengguan means "urban gateway" in the Chinese language while 拉萨 translates to "place of gods" in the Tibetan language. Tibet has an interesting history in my opinion. It's really not similar to mainland China at all. In early Tibetan history it was ruled by kings. One of these kings decided to marry at princess from mainland China and one from India. This brought influence from mainland China and India into Tibet as well as introduced Buddhism into Tibet. Before Buddhism was introduced, Tibetans practiced Bon. To me, Tibetan history doesn't really get interesting until 1911. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Tibet declared independence. It was recognized internationally as an independent state and functioned completely independent. Mainland China left Tibet alone because they were dealing with a civil war as well as dealing with World War I and II. When China invaded Tibet in 1951, this should have been seen as an act of war internationally since it was one independent state invading another one but no one did anything to help Tibet. Not to mention, the United States relationship with Tibet has been very back and forth.
While in 拉萨 we visited a couple of famous temples, Barkhor Street, and Potala Palace. My favorite place was Potala Palace but it felt a little strange to be able to visit the home of the Dalai Lama even though he isn't able to visit his own home. Potala Palace (布达拉官) began construction in 1645. It remained the winter palace for the Dalai Lamas from 1649 to 1959. Since then it has become a museum and in 1994 it was named a World Heritage Site. The palace contains 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines, and about 200,000 statues. It is very tall and since the air is already thinner, it takes a while to climb up to the top. You have to take it pretty slowly. I find it incredible that the old Dalai Lamas were able to make that climb centuries ago. The palace was moderately damaged in the Tibetan uprising against China in 1959. Since then, it has escaped damage during other events such as the Cultural Revolution. I am thankful that it was able to survive and remain in great condition. It was a little strange going through all of the rooms because their were monks still in their praying and trying to live their lives. I hope they don't mind all the people that go through the palace everyday.
At the end of our time in 拉萨 we had a group dinner. It was fantastic. There was also a show that they put on for us. The last number on the show was called the "Crazy Yak Dance." Try to image what that dance entailed. It was really funny.
With that my time in China is nearing its end. However, I managed to visit just a few more cities before I left which we will talk about soon.
Until next time!
再见！
马乐
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