Forgotten land - Tibet

[Ray]

That's a fascinating article by Petri Kaipiainen, for me at least. I'd love to visit Tibet, but as a keen amateur photographer I like the freedom to wander around as I please, photographing whatever takes my fancy. My impressions is that tourists in Tibet have to be accompanied by an official guide, and all excursions within the region have to be organised and planned within an official schedule. That puts me off.

I remember years ago being fascinated by the James Hilton novel, Lost Horizons, which described experiences of extreme longevity in the fictional place of 'Shangri-la', located in Tibet.

When trekking in Nepal in 1964, without guide or porter, or the benefit of hotels or lodges, I came across Tibetan refugee camps,funded by the Swiss, and took many photos of such camps. (Well, not many by digital standards. Just a few really. I was a backpacking hippie on a budget.    ) 

But those few were very significant in an emotional way when computer technology allowed me to scan the Kodochrome slides, and B&W negatives, and reveal detail I'd not seen before. I never had my own darkroom, although I'd experienced when a child, the miraculous appearance of images in my father's darkroom, which is the basis, or driving force, of my interest in Photography.

[Paulo Bizarro]

Indeed a fine story, with some very good photos.

[Petrus]

That's a fascinating article by Petri Kaipiainen, for me at least. I'd love to visit Tibet, but as a keen amateur photographer I like the freedom to wander around as I please, photographing whatever takes my fancy. My impressions is that tourists in Tibet have to be accompanied by an official guide, and all excursions within the region have to be organised and planned within an official schedule. That puts me off.

Thank you for your kind words.

About the compulsory guide & official schedule: you are only half right about it. In the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), which comprises half of Tibet, namely mostly Ü-Tsang and western Kham, this is true. For the rest of Tibetan areas, whole Amdo and eastern Kham, there is no requirements for any guide or overseer or fixed schedule. This story of mine was done in Amdo and Kham, which now are administered as part of Qinghai and Sichuan (also small parts in Gansu and Yunnan) provinces, where foreigners are free to travel around just like everywhere in China. People often mistakenly think TAR as Tibet, in fact Tibet extends twice as far east, with more Tibatans living in Amdo and Kham than in TAR/Ü-Tsang. Also it seems that the culture and customs have actually been better preserved in the eastern parts, as the Chinese oppression is there also less severe.

There are some smaller areas which are off-limits either for political or national safety reasons (Ngaba/Aba region for political unrest, nuclear installations near the Qinghai Lake for military reasons). Other places are open. For practical reasons having an interpreter/guide is nice, as is a Land Cruiser with driver, as moving around using public transport is difficult if one does not speak either Chinese or the local Tibetan dialects. So the costs come to the same, but freedom of movement and itinerary remains.

Petri Kaipiainen a.k.a. Petrus

[rdonson]

Petrus, thank you so much for sharing your story and the photos.  Truly amazing work.

I still have no idea why China wants to control Tibet.  Is there mineral wealth here?  It smacks of the days when the Soviets moved Russians all over eastern Europe to dilute the native ethnic populations.  This has resulted in hatred and unrest for eastern Europe and that same seems likely for Tibet. Even the new housing in Tibet seems like old Soviet policy.

[mecrox]

Fascinating article and great images, so thank you very much. Some of the news is enlivening but some other things about the marginalization of the native Tibetan culture are depressing. It makes me wonder for how long this unique blend of Buddhism, shamanism and perhaps Bon too, all based on a nomadic way of life, will be able to survive. I would love to visit that part of the world, particularly eastern Kham.

[Mark K]

So happened I visited Tibet two times since Sept 2014. I spent three weeks at the Tibetan areas north to Tibetan region with my luck to get very close to local people, followed by another two week trip (secretly) to visit the southern parts of Tibet where partial martial law has been issued for years.
Their culture really shocked me......and not many images were taken during my second trip because....being constantly seen by various local authorities.

[Petrus]

It takes some nerve to travel in the closed areas, and it could be deadly to those locals who help you. We did go through Ngaba, which has been sealed off to travelers since 2008. I looked enough like a local in my felt hat, so no questions asked. In several places hotels would simply not register me, or list me under a chinese name to prevent a nocturnal visit from the security bureau.

Can you spot a policeman/men in these pictures?

 

[Mark K]

 ::)I cannot agree on the marginalization of Tibetan culture by any means. On the contrary, local Tibetan Buddhism spread as fast as any other religion in the country. I saw Dali Lama's portrait in every place I went. The only concern is the deeper gap between Tibetan and other Chinese people.

[JimAscher]

Sometime during the time I was serving with the American Embassy in New Delhi (India), 1968-72, the U.S. Information Agency (my parent agency, since reincorporated into the Department of State) made a wonderful film (which I was privileged to screen pre-release) about Tibetan culture.  It was however never ultimately released because its production coincided with Kissinger and Nixon's reestablishing of relations with Communist China, and portions of the film were highly critical of the Chinese invasion of Tibet.  The film was therefore suppressed by the State Department (or White House), and to all intents and purposes has completely disappeared.  What a loss!

[mjdl]

Just out of curiosity (and I'm not a US person or resident there), do you think the film was actually destroyed (which would surprise me), or given some convenient secret classification and archived somewhere? Would some sort of FOIA procedure bring it back into the open after all these years? An institution like the Internet Archive (archive.org), which disseminates many archived 20th cent. US government films would certainly be interested in such a foreign policy document!

[JimAscher]

Just out of curiosity (and I'm not a US person or resident there), do you think the film was actually destroyed (which would surprise me), or given some convenient secret classification and archived somewhere? Would some sort of FOIA procedure bring it back into the open after all these years? An institution like the Internet Archive (archive.org), which disseminates many archived 20th cent. US government films would certainly be interested in such a foreign policy document!

I don't imagine it was physically destroyed, likely just "archived."  One problem, however, was that I believe in the Congressional Act establishing USIA in the early 1950's, the Agency was forbidden from disseminating any of its media products within the United States itself.  This was ostensibly to prevent any Administration from using USIA to propagandize the American people.  USIA media products could only be disseminated overseas.

[Jerrold]

Really enjoyed that and the photos. I visited the Eastern part of Tibet back in 2005. I was supposed to be flying to Lhasa as part of a "loose" tour but my permit was cancelled at the last minute and by complete chance I was able to join a small group of German zoo keepers heading overland to study Yak rearing. I don't exactly remember where we ended up, I have GPS coordinates buried away somewhere, but I believe we spent one night in Ganzi before driving further west to where the Germany based Buddhist monk who was guiding the group had his family village. We visited several monasteries and schools that were being build to teach and preserve Tibetan ways rather than the state provided Chinese schools. I remember seeing vast underpopulated monasteries with empty dwellings and hearing of the significant pressures put on the Tibetan way of living and culture to bring it in line with the Chinese way.

Some of my photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jerrold/albums/72157594276354857/page3

[mjdl]

I don't imagine it was physically destroyed, likely just "archived."  One problem, however, was that I believe in the Congressional Act establishing USIA in the early 1950's, the Agency was forbidden from disseminating any of its media products within the United States itself.  This was ostensibly to prevent any Administration from using USIA to propagandize the American people.  USIA media products could only be disseminated overseas.

Fascinating illustration of how the USA's checks-and-balances & scepticism relative to government interference in the life of the country inserts itself into every imaginable piece of legislation and regulation! (Perhaps now, however, the film would be seen of merely historical interest--you should really follow up!)

[Petrus]

Those of you who want to see more Tibet photos, visit my Flickr page at  https://www.flickr.com/photos/112698197@N08/albums

Albums 3 to 6 contain a total of about 190 photographs from Repkong Shaman Festival, Yarchen Gar and Larung Gar institutes and snaps taken along the road are in album "Amdo & Kham 2013". All photos are captioned.