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October
28, 1999
Lhasa to Xigaze
Altitude 12,500ft
In the last
few weeks we have seen many different types of terrain. Each of these
areas has unique climates and topographies. When one studies the
similarities and differences between people, geography is fundamental.
This is true in the United States as well as the rest of the world. For
example, in a river valley, fish would be much more common in the area's
diet than that of one who lived in a desert. This concept does not stop
with diet. It includes ways of life, how houses are built, the style of
dress and much, much more. All this to say I did not realize that China
and Tibet were such diverse places, the lanDscapes as well as the people.
There are many different ethnic groups that occupy niches in this vast
land.
Within
Tibet alone there are many different regions and ethnic groups each having
their own space and way of life. Leaving Lhasa, which is situated in a
valley between several major mountain ranges, we followed the Lhasa
river. Along the valley banks we saw a lot of farming. Most plots were
farmed by individuals or families. I don't know how many plots a family
might have, but the majority, on average seemed to be about 10X30 meters
in size, just a guesstimate. Although harvest was mostly over, there were
a few plots that had, from what I could tell, cabbage, and perhaps some
bok choy. I have never eaten so much bok choy in my life. It is tasty on
rice, and I would suspect it is fairly nutritious.
As we drove
up the road, which for most of the way paralleled the river, we saw
people working in their fields, some with donkey-pulled plows, others
with rototillers, but for the most part the fields were empty due to the
harvest. I must say that I am impressed with the tree planting program in
China and Tibet. It seems as though most villages, if they are below
treeline, line the road with trees. They seem like a sort of Poplar.
Anyway, it looks really nice and I am sure it reduces wind and noise
problems generated from the highway.
As we
slowly ascended we found ourselves in a giant river gorge. If I was to
compare it to a place in the States, it reminded me of the large gorge
you drive through just before St. George, Utah. The road conditions were
fairly good, but I had a few nervous passengers due to the lack of
guardrails. The steep walls gave way at the bottom to a rushing river
that was probably 20 meters across. Each turn of the river was marked
with white water, yet it looked refreshing as we looked down. There were
various streams that feed into this river, but as far as I could tell it
was mostly just snow run off. The days here are warm, with a strong sun,
however, as soon as the sun falls things get quite chilly.
As we made
our way out of the gorge we found ourselves either above treeline, or in
a place where trees have never really taken root. We were flanked by
rounded green mountains that had apparently been carved away by water.
The bases of these hills had been seriously eroded, which left behind
vertical walls exposing clearly marked layers of geological years. The
taller of these mountains were lightly covered with snow. Since we were
here after the majority of snow melt and before the new coat, the water
flowing from the mountain tops had pretty much slowed to a trickle.
We ate a
box lunch consisting of two hard-boiled eggs, an apple, a drumstick, a
piece of sausage and a piece of bread. We ate this at a village in the
middle of our journey, it was very small and I am not sure of the name.
As usual we caught the town's eye as we rolled in with our Land Rovers.
It is really pleasant how people come out to say hello and see what
things are all about. As an American I have a tendency to keep to myself,
glancing instead of engaging something new. That same tendency in America
makes it more common to walk by someone rather say Hello. The Tibetans as
well as the Chinese seem vary curious about us. It makes me wish I knew
more of the local languages so I could both ask and answer questions. We
have a lot to learn from these people, as well as they from us.
Following
the river we saw a variety of clever irrigation systems as well as some
fisherman at work. Later in the day our course diverged from the river
and the lanDscape became much more flat. As the lanDscape became flatter,
herds of goats, sheep, and yaks became much more common. However, we were
all amazed that although the canyon walls were steep, terraces had been
cut for agriculture and livestock purposes. There is not much land wasted
here, since a great portion of the land is not arable, they have to use
everything they have to the greatest extent. It is truly impressive.
The local
dress seemed to be hats made of fur from fox-like animals, and coats made
of yak or sheep wool. For the most part the women had colorful aprons
that seemed to have been woven in four-inch strips and sewn together for
an overall width of about twelve inches. However, there is a great
mixture of traditional as well as more western attire.
The
villages we saw seem to be a made up of a collection of compounds. A mud
brick wall seems to enclose four or five structures. In the course of our
travels we have seen bricks being made, which reminded me of how I built
my house when I lived in The Gambia. In some of the more upscale village
structures a house was plastered by cement. The use of mud bricks is
probably reflective of how little rainfall occurs here. I would guess
they get mostly snow, otherwise the houses would soon be eroded by rain.
However, I will have to do more research, I as I am just figuring at this
time.
We finished
our 260km drive in Xigaze after about six hours of driving. The roads were
good and the heat of the sun made it a pleasant journey for all of us.
Xigaze seems like a frontier town. Most of the businesses are owned by
the Chinese, so we used facial features as our guide for what language we
chose to speak. Tibetans resemble, in my opinion, Native Americans.
Before arriving in Xigaze we heard rumors that feral dogs take over the
city at night. Both Doug and I were interested in this and did take a
late night stroll, and although we saw much of the nightlife, we did not
see to many active dogs. Although, there were many laying around the
city. Perhaps we were a bit early in our 10:00pm stroll. In the mourning
Doug commented that he almost came and got me at about 2:00am when he
began to hear howling. So I didn't see the dogs, but perhaps I will
return another day.
Before
finishing this e-mail I must comment on the plight of the Tibetan people.
I know I am only passing through, but it seems like their plight is very
similar to that of the Native American. I have seen Many nomadic herders
in Tibet. As I have said earlier, goats, sheep and yak seem to make up
the majority of livestock. As most of the land is above 12,000 ft, it is
not exactly lush with green, nutritious vegetation. Furthermore, a great
deal of this area is above 15,000 square feet with large mountains
providing natural boundaries between areas. I am not sure of the
rainfall, but it seems like farming is only feasible in river areas.
All this to
say that the geography here supports a nomadic herding lifestyle, as
there is not sufficient food in a given areas to support a herd. Nor is
it possible to grow enough to support a large herd, herders must roam
from place to place in order to maintain their herds. In the last fifty
years Tibet has undergone development, one might ask what this is, and I
am not exactly sure. Since then roads have been laid, walls have been
built, cities have grown, old structures torn down, and beer and
cigarettes have been introduced. What are the benefits to Tibet? Walls
and roads hinder the nomadic way of life. Now the few wide open spaces
have been cut into smaller areas, making it harder for nomads to maintain
their herds by moving from pasture to pasture. However there are plenty
of opportunities for young Tibetans to come to the cities and find
employment at Chinese-owned businesses.
The
removing of the old to prepare for the new has also affected Tibetan
culture in some areas. To ease the pain of this loss beer has been
introduced, a scene that Americans are all too familiar with. It just seems
as one asks more questions the plight of the Native American runs
parallel to that of the Tibetan, the only difference is one hundred years
later. Can we, and do we learn from history?
I hope so.
Todd signing off.
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