Southwestern China & Tibet 2023 — Carol & Scott On The Road

We started our China and Tibet trip in Shanghai, where we were able to get an appreciation for the incredible development of China since we were last here 20 years ago. It is now like the NYC of China! We also, were able to learn more of the history of the city layout and the different city neighborhoods as defined by the land concessions made to the French, British, and Americans in 1942. We enjoyed various activities with our guide, including a food tour, a walk in the art district and a visit in the Yuyuan Gardens.

Lijiang was our second stop and is near Tibet. This southwestern area was a poor and sleepy area until about 20 years ago. The area is home to several of the minority cultures of China. The Lijiang area had its own kingdom called Naxi and was “freed” by Mao forces as they moved toward Tibet in 1951. The Moso minority has only 26,000 people remaining, of which our guide is one. He explained to us that the culture is the last governing matriarchal society, and learned that a child born to a couple stays with and is raised by the women’s family. The male in this culture participates in raising his sister’s children and has no participation is raising his own children. Also, the grandmother controls the money and makes the decisions of the household. The Maso have 3-4 generations living together in the family home.

We also had a visit with a local Shaman who conducts religious ceremonies, and is the healer, fortune-teller, arbitrator and performs other activities. Shamanism is from the Bon religion, which is Animistic and was the pre-Buddhism faith in Tibet.

We trekked 2 trails in this area, the first was a portion of the Tea Horse Road which about 1000 years ago was used to travel between the Naxi Kingdom (Yunnan and Sichuan) and Lhasa, Tibet. The Naxi traded their pu’er tea and Tibetans traded ponies and the trail is a southern version of The Silk Road. The second trek was a 2-day journey along the Tea Horse Road that follows the Tiger Leaping Gorge and had an overnight at the Tea Horse Guest House.

We spent two nights in Shangri La. The government changed the city’s name in 2003 to Shangri La to capitalize on the popular fictional book (Lost Horizon) published in 1933. It greatly reflects this mythical city and we enjoyed walking through Dukezong Old Town and visiting the Songzanlin Lamasery, which is known as Little Potala Palace. The highlight was our hike up to Abudje Lake which gave us amazing views throughout the hike, and at the top, views of the “holy” lake up against the mountain peaks were amazing.

Our visit to Tibet, also known as the “Roof of the World”, included Lhasa (12,000 ft), Shigatsu(14,600 ft), and a few other stops during our drive from Lhasa to Shigatsu. You cannot help but to get pulled into a deep immersion of Buddhism in all forms of life, while staying in Tibet. Our visit to monasteries, nunneries and their neighboring cities were incredible. As we toured the sites, our guide did an exceptional job educating us about the history, Buddist temples and statues, Buddhist practices and beliefs, and how the monks and people live in Tibet. We first visited the Potala Palace, which was first built in 631 AD and sits on Lhasa’s highest point, and is 13 stories high and houses over 1,000 rooms. It has served as the winter palace for the Dali Lama until his exile to India in 1959.

We also visited the Jokhang temple, which was founded in 639 AD to house an image of the Budddha brought as a dowry by a Nepali princess on her marriage to King Songstsen Gampo. Some of the other monasteries and temples we visited were not as famous but had fewer tourists and provided us a more authentic experience.

We thoroughly enjoyed our drive to Shigatse. The views of the lakes and mountains were breathtaking and we enjoyed our visit to the Dzong and Palcho Monastery in Gyantse. Our visit to the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Shigatse was during the full moon which is a Buddhist holy day and was filled with visitors from many villages in the area. The monastery was founded in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama and is the 2nd largest monastery in Tibet. It has a unique layout with many chapels and beautiful court yards and flourished as a center of learning and housed more than 5000 monks in 1959. Now, the Monastery houses only 400 monks.

Our final stop after Tibet was Chengdu, which is in the southwest portion of China and is the capital of Sichuan. We visited the Jinsha Archaeological Museum which displayed items from 1199 – 850 BC. Chengdu is also well known for the native area of the Giant Pandas. We enjoyed visiting and watching the Giant Pandas and Red Pandas at the Dujiangyan Panda Base. In addition, Chengdu is recognized by UNESCO as a city of gastronomy. We not only enjoyed the spicy Sichuan food but were able to cook a few dishes at the culinary museum. Our trip ended with a very entertaining cultural show!

Hi.

Oct 14 Southwestern China & Tibet 2023

Hi.

Oct 14 Southwestern China & Tibet 2023

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