Cormorant Fishing in Guilin

Saturday 22nd September

For thousands of years, men in southern China have utilised cormorants to fish for them in the rivers and lakes of the region.

They start with an egg that is ready to hatch and are there when the chick emerges. The fishermen nurture their young chicks and the birds imprint on the fishermen as if the men were their mother. When the bird is about a year old it is ready to go to work.

A choker is fitted to their neck so that they can't swallow the fish. The cormorants are fed a meager diet of fish... one meal a day to keep them hungry. A well fed cormorant is lazy and won't try hard to catch any fish.

The fishermen take the birds out on a bamboo raft, using a bamboo pole as a punt. The raft is fitted with two kerosene lamps which attract the fish and the cormorants go to work, swimming under the water ahead of the raft searching for fish. When a fish is caught, the cormorant surfaces and jumps aboard the raft, or is hoisted on with the fisherman's pole.

The fisherman then grabs the cormorant by the neck and removes the fish from its gullet and the cormorant goes back to search for another fish.

We joined a large cruising boat to watch a couple of fishermen working the river for half and hour. Thirty years ago, four cormorants would feed a fisherman and his family, but these days fish are more difficult to find.

Cruzin' in Guilin on the River Li

Saturday 22nd September

Our amazing adventure in China and Tibet is quickly drawing to a close. But not quite yet!

Today we spent a wonderful morning, cruising down the Li River on a boat which is roughly the equivalent of a Captain Cook cruise. But we were not alone. There were 17 other boats just like ours and each carried about 120 passengers. They cruised downstream in convoy. Half an hour previously another similar convoy preceded us. That is about 4,000 passengers each day, seven days a week doing the Li River Cruise.

Along the way we marvelled at the stone casts, or small mountains made of limestone on either side of the river. The scenery was enchanting. The river was clear but shallow. In places it seemed no more than a metre deep. Water buffalo occasionally drifted by as they grazed on the water weed, their heads below the surface.

There were fishermen in their long narrow boats and motorised rafts of bamboo that you could hire, complete with driver and colourful umbrella.

Lunch was served downstairs on the boat. As usual, the table was crammed with an endless supply of Chinese dishes and as usual, we only ate about 10% of what was served.

There was something surreal about this cruise. On board was a table of eight Indonesian Christians who had brought their own electronic keyboard and spent the entire cruise singing songs of praise. But in the middle of all this, a couple of heads appeared at the window from outside the boat, offering fake jade carvings for sale. The two men were on a raft made of 5 sticks of bamboo lashed together and propelled by another in the form of a punt. Between them was a large basket of trinkets which they offered at outrageous prices which quickly dropped when no one wanted to buy. They would maneuver their craft into position beside the boat and then attach it with a piece of rope and a steel hook. Balancing precariously, they would stick their head in through the window and start to bargain with the passengers.

The cruise continued until we reached our destination... Yangsuo.

Yangsuo is a pretty little river port resort style town, with shops and the ubiquitous gauntlet of market stalls selling just about everything that you don't need. "Hello!!!" echoed in our ears as the stall owners spotted us approaching from the boat. "Hello!!!" they aggressively shouted, trying with their limited 'Ingalish' to attract our attention to their wares.

We wandered the streets of Yangsuo for 45 minutes until it was time to go. After a brief ride in an electric golf buggy to our bus, we headed back to Guilin.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Thursday September 20th.
Today we took a chairlift to see Jade Dragon Snow Mountain from a plateau below the mountain itself. The chairlift climbed the slope flanked by spruce trees with views that stretched forever. Once at the top, we meandered along a plank walkway for about 500 metres through spruce and moss covered slopes to a large green open field within the forest. Here we had a clear view of the mountain before us.

The mountain is imposing and grand, overlooking the plains below with its permanently snow-capped peak often shrouded in cloud. You can clearly see the peak from Li Jiang, as it stands as a backdrop, towering over all around it.

In the days when the NaXi People had arranged marriages, lovers who didn't have their families' consent would climb the mountain to spend 3 days of happiness together before jumping off this local Lovers' Leap with the expectation that they would spend eternity in paradise together.

Birthday in Li Jiang

Thursday 20th September

Today we celebrated Judy Roffey's birthday in a beautiful courtyard at the Li Jiang Jiannanchun Hotel. After a long day on the road looking at temples and other attractions, we all gathered to make Judy's day a special one that we hope she will always remember.

The hotel supplied the cake and Kathy was able to find 4 bottles of a very nice Chinese champagne style wine.

Our guide, also named Judy, gave Judy Roffey a nice green shawl.

Judy has helped to make the trip special and we all wish her happiness and health.

From Judy, Hi to Sam and family.

The NaXi People of Yunnan Province

Tuesday 18th September

The NaXi People (pronounced Nashi) are one of China's minority ethnic groups numbering about 280,000 and living predominately in Yunnan Province. They wear colourful costumes with traditions dating back into the mists of time. We visited a NaXi Theater performance in Li Jiang which was led by the DongBa or tribal leader. A man of 78 years he still throws all his energy into the performance which draws a full house each night.

The performance was full of colour and music, telling legendary stories of past conflicts and victories. There was singing and dancing, light and movement. Intricate costumes that must have taken hundreds of hours to prepare.

Where do you go when you dream?

Wednesday 19th September

Have you ever dreamed of a perfect place, where everyone is happy and the surroundings are beautiful? A place where crystal clear streams, traversed by stone-arch bridges run through a perfectly neat and clean village. A place where every street is a walking street with cafes, interesting shops and restaurants on either side. A place where every night is party night, lit up by red Chinese lanterns. A place of plenty where the fields are rich with produce surrounded by cloud capped mountains with touches of snow on the peaks.

You may have been dreaming of Li Jiang, in Yunnan Province of Southern China, not far from the Tibetan border. It may sound like Shangri-La and indeed it is not far away from that famous place of perfection.

The old town of Li Jiang is something out of a fantasy. A tourist haven preserved from high-rise development. You have to walk through winding alleys to find your hotel but that is half the fun. When you see it from the hill above there is a sea of old style Chinese rooftops with little stone-clad streets between.

Li Jiang has another part of town which is modern and new. Development during the last 10 years has turned this sleepy outpost into a bustling city of about 2 million. But within the old town, you could be lost in a dream.

Last year, Li Jiang played host to 4 million visitors.

This is the town from which you can visit Tiger Leaping Gorge, where the mighty Yangtse River, the third-longest river in the world after the Amazon and the Nile, asserts its place in the world by crashing down through the mountains fed by numerous mountainside waterfalls and roars through the gorge that keeps alive the legendary tale of the feat of an tiger, intent on escaping his pursuers.

The sheer power of the water is awe inspiring and it is no wonder that the Chinese Government is considering harnessing the power to convert it into electricity. Time will tell whether the conservationists or the desperate need for energy will win that battle.

The Flying Tigers of Yunnan

The Flying Tigers were a volunteer group of American aviators, who formed a squadron of fighter pilots during WWII to help the Chinese living in Yunnan Province to defend themselves against the Japanese invasion.

Captain Claire L. Chennault set up a squadron at the request of Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, who had taken over the task of reorganising the Chinese Air Force. He ended up with a squadron of volunteer ex-US airmen, who were basically mercenaries acting outside the authority of the US Government. However, connections in high places eventually saw the squadron successfully equipped and transported to China.

Their air base was located by the Yang Zong Lake, near Kunming. Unfortunately this was destroyed, not by the Japanese, but by the Red Army during the Cultural Revolution. However the barracks that the aviators lived in are still standing today and have been protected by the Chinese Government, as a historic site.

The story of the Flying Tigers makes fascinating reading and is published in paperback. You can also read about them on http://www.flyingtigersavg.com/tiger1.htm

This photo was taken today, Monday 17th September and show some of the barracks in which the aviators lived, during their time in Yunnan Province.

The Stone Forests of Kunming

Monday 17th September
270 million years ago the terrain on which Kunming in China's Yunnan Province stands, was seabed with massive coral reefs. As a result of the collision of the tectonic plates of India and China, the seabed rose to form the Himalayan Mountains and surrounding high country.

In the process, the coral became the limestone which is now the Stone Forest of Kunming, a major attraction lying 120km east of the city. In spite of the rain our fearless guide Nancy (The Pocket Rocket) Wu, ensured that we had and exciting and interesting visit.

Yunnan Province is home to 26 of the 55 ethnic minorities in China. Their costumes are colourful and flamboyant and are worn by the staff in many of the local restaurants and tourist attractions.

On the way back from the Stone Forest, we stopped to enjoy a traditional tea ceremony. Our hosts wore traditional dress as they explained about the various types of tea produced in the area, before inviting us to spend our Yuan and take some tea home with us.

Panda Antics

Keeper:
Please panda, do come down from the tree. It is time for your lunch and a nice sleep.

Panda:

Bugger off. I like it up here.

The Pandas of Chengdu

Saturday 15th September.

The Giant Panda is synonymous with China in the same way that the Koala is with Australia. But pandas are in a more precarious state with a total population of less than 2,000 in the world.

The 2003 survey produced a count of about 1,500 in the wild and there are a couple of hundred in captivity.

25 years ago, a natural event with the Arrow Bamboo, the main food source of this remarkable animal, saw their wild population slashed from the then estimated level of about 1,000 down to 800. The event was the once in 50 years flowering cycle of the bamboo followed by a mass die-off. Starvation and sickness took a heavy toll.

The wild population has now made an encouraging recovery to more than 1,500 and the future looks promising.

Our visit to the Chengdu Base Research Centre was one of the highlights of our tour.

Renmin Park

Friday 14th September

The roads in Chengdu are wide and well-planned. The footpath is divided so that bicycles and electric scooters can travel in safety without having to compete with the ever-increasing motor vehicle congestion on the street. In some places there is a metal rail separating the eco-friendly transportation from both pedestrians and motor vehicles. Chengdu is arranged within 3 ring roads. Petrol motorcycles are excluded from within ring road #2 to decrease pollution, but electric scooters abound.

Renmin (People's) Park is a place where you can go to escape the bustle and noise of the inner city. The residents of Chengdu take their Tai Chi and dancing as seriously as those in Beijing. At any time you can see groups of men and women, (mostly senior citizens but with a smattering of all ages) practicing under the guidance of a tutor, or just dancing to the music which seems to be playing for anyone who wishes to join in.

I walked through an archway to the tea house to sit and absorb the atmosphere. A sound resembling a thousand moaning ghosts emanated from inside a small pagoda. I went to investigate and found a group of people practicing on instruments resembling a violin. I approached the tutor and she eagerly insisted that I sit and try my hand at some music. The instrument, which is called an erhu consisted of a violin-like body with just one double strand of string, The bow passed between the two strands of the string so that it was captive and inseparable from the instrument. I managed a slightly recognizable bar of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" before thanking the tutor and heading for the tea house.

I was offered a menu in Chinese of green teas. The waitress brought my attention to the most expensive item on the menu, being about double the price of everything else. I agreed to the proposal and waited for service. In a few minutes, I was served with a bowl of green tea leaves, a large thermos of hot water and a plate of roasted sunflower seeds. This, it seemed, was the premier offering of the establishment.

The young woman poured some water into the lidded bowl for me and showed me how to crack the sunflower seeds. She also enquired if I wanted a massage. I politely refused and thanked her for the tea. Several free-lance masseuses came to pester me for a massage. One man had a tuning fork like device and a brush with a metal stem. He struck the brush on the tuning fork to make it vibrate and then indicated that it was to be inserted into my ear. I replied "boo-yow" (no thanks) and he left me in peace.

Sunflower seeds are very popular with Chinese people and may account for their slim build. You spend so much time and energy opening the husk that the tiny morsel inside cannot possibly replenish it. I sipped my tea and relaxed. This is a city that I could put up with for a long time if I had to.

Traffic and Optimism

Friday 14th September

Chengdu, like many other Chinese cities, is busy sprucing itself up for the excitement and anticipation of the Beijing Olympics, 2008. Although it is a long way from Beijing, it is expecting and making ready for a surge in tourism next year. Everywhere you look there are reconstructions going on.

China's X and Y generations are hard-working, optimistic and prepared to do "whatever it takes". They can smell the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and they want it badly. They are reaching out for it and they will get it soon.

A new underground railway is under construction in Chengdu. The road to Wolong, where one of the important Panda exhibits is located, has one half closed and a tidal traffic system is in place. From 5pm to 8:30am, the traffic flows up to Wolong and from 8:30am to 5pm it flows in the opposite direction. As a result, our planned visit there would have required us to leave the hotel at 5am and since we had been bumped around on a bus in Tibet only a couple of days ago, we opted for the alternative of a visit to the Chengdu Panda Park instead, for our Saturday activity.

Meanwhile I enjoyed wandering the streets of this beautiful city. A street-sweeping truck passed by and alerted the traffic to its presence by playing the tune "Happy Birthday To You" repeatedly in the manner of a "Mr Whippy" ice cream van. You couldn't miss it a kilometre away. The streets are scrupulously clean, as are the footpaths. The moment any fragment of rubbish hits the ground it is scooped up by a vest-wearing person with a broom and a dustpan. The only place in Australia that I have seen such fervor for cleanliness is at Byron Bay.

Traffic is more orderly in proud Chengdu than in other cities that I have seen here so far. The throng of bicycles and electric scooters mixing with traffic and pedestrians poses a challenge to road protocol and numerous traffic wardens, dressed in black slacks and an orange vest, are stationed at intersections to ensure that a semblance of order is maintained. No one seems to be penalised for transgressions, beyond half-a-dozen shrill bursts from the whistle and a wave of the red flag. This, in a country where tax evasion can attract the death penalty. To our way of thinking, China is a complex array of contradictions. They seem to have adopted gentle persuasion for traffic control in lieu of hash penalties and it seems to work, most of the time.

The one thing that stood out for me was the warmth of the people here who all wanted to either practice their 'In-galish' or just extend a warm welcome, when they learned that I was from 'O-adalia'.

Arriving in Chengdu

Thursday, 13th September.
Chengdu is a city of 12 million people located in the Sichuan Province of China. It is famous for it's panda breeding centre and exhibit.

We flew in at about 5pm on 13th of September and discovered that there had been a change in our hotel reservation from the Chengdu Tibet hotel to the Minshan Hotel. We were assured that it was equivalent in quality, but in a much better location being in the city instead of out in the 'burbs among the immigrant workers. The hotel was indeed very comfortable and within walking distance we could visit the Rinmin (People's) Park, the Science and Technology Museum or walk along the river.

After a deep and comfortable sleep and a sumptuous breakfast, I set out to discover the city. A statue of Chairman Mao dominated the square in front of the Science and Technology Museum. Mao is dropping out of favour with the Chinese for his indiscretions of the Cultural Revolution. Notwithstanding this, whenever his name has to be mentioned, it is done so with an air of reverence and respect. After all, he is the one who headed up the Long March and founded the People's Republic of China. Like a revered great uncle, who once was head of the family but fell and ended up in prison, once spoken, his name is put aside and the subject is changed. One day, perhaps he will no longer appear on their bank notes and when that happens, we will know that his banishment from their consciousness will be complete. But that will take several generations.

The Science and Technology Museum is modern and proudly displays everything from information technology to space and nuclear science. Throngs of school children fill the halls, filling the air with the musical sound of a thousand young voices electrified with excitement.

A group of young girls surrounded me as if I was a rock star. They wanted to shake my hand and speak with me in 'In-galish'. They enthusiastically posed with waving hands for my camera. I was swamped by a sea of eager faces vying for a look at the result on my digital camera screen.

Further on in the mechanical science section, a lad of about 12 years old wanted to engage in a deep and meaningful conversation with me about the exhibit in front of us, but a look of disappointed resignation came over him when he realized that my Mandarin was limited to "nihow" (hello) and "shay shay" (thank you). He didn't speak any 'In-galish'.

Yamdrok Tso Lake

Wednesday 12th September

We left our Shigatse hotel at 8:30 am for the drive back to Lhasa. On the way we took a detour up a steep, winding mountain road for about 40km to view the Yamdrok Tso Lake, one of four holy lakes in Tibet. We climbed to an altitude of 4,900 metres above sea level. As we drove, our breath was taken away, not just by the high altitude, but by the spectacular views. It was like being in an aircraft looking down on the valley below. We also gasped at each bend of the narrow road, as the local custom of taking a blind bend on the wrong side of the road was practised by buses, trucks and donkeys alike.

When we arrived at the top, the view of the lake, with a backdrop of snow-capped mountains was to die for. A couple of the locals were enterprising and provided some amusement, with a saddled yak that could be ridden with the opportunity to take photos, for a small donation.

We descended the mountain again, calling in on an elementary school in a local village to pass on some gifts that each of us had brought with us. Education in Tibet is compulsory up to 9th grade. This year, school fees have been abolished, making it easier for families, particularly those on very low incomes. The children are delightful and gave us a warm reception.

It was then back to the hotel for our final night in Lhasa. We went out to dinner at a fabulous restaurant for a final farewell to our wonderful guide, Chimpel and our hat wearing, ever-smiling driver, Lobsang.

Shigatse & Gyantse

Tuesday 11th September.

Today we travelled to Shigatse, 180km west of Lhasa. We drove along a gorge between rows of high mountains. The road shared the valley floor with a river, which starts in the high mountains and runs to India. The Tibetans call this the Yarlung River but when it reaches India, it is called the Barmabutra. The current was quite strong and you could probably use it for white water rafting, except that it would be brown water rafting, such is the sediment load that it carries. Just across the gorge, probably 50 or 100 metres away, narrow goat tracks precariously followed the contour on almost vertical cliff faces. Occasionally we would spot a herdsman carefully shepherding his precious livestock along the track.

The trip from Lhasa to Shigatse took about four-and-a-half hours. First stop was the Tashilhunpo Monastery, founded by the first Dali Lama in 1447. It is one of four monasteries of the Yellow Hat Sect of the Buddhist religion. Many sacred relics are housed here and the site is 70,000 square metres in area.

Shigatse is the second largest city in Tibet and lies 4,200 metres above sea level.

After lunch and settling into our hotel rooms, we continued on to Gyantse for the afternoon. We drove through rich farm land on the flat valley floor between the rugged mountains of the northern Himalayas. Barley, wheat, beans and canola were the main crops, however there were extensive areas of vegetables under hothouses which consisted of plastic sheeting supported by wooden ribs in long rectangles with a curved rooves.

At Gyantse we toured a monastery and a Stupa, or Buddha house. The Stupa has 77 rooms, each with a depiction of one of the Buddhas in the form of a colourful statue. By climbing up internal staircases and ladders, it was possible to reach a balcony that ran around the outside of the stupa at a considerable elevation. This gave wonderful views of the surrounding town and rural areas beyond.

Gyantse was the theatre for a bloody attack on the local population by the British in the late 19th century. Britain was concerned that her rival, Russia, may take control of Tibet so it decided to do so herself before Russia had a chance. Britain attacked the fort at Gyantse and it is said that in four minutes, 700 local Tibetans were dead and Britain suffered just four casualties.

Today, like all cities in Tibet, Gyantse is well and truly run by the Chinese, via the Tibetan "Autonomous" Government. One thing that is very evident in all the ares that we have visited in Tibet, is the high level of infrastructure investment Beijing has made in this country. It seems that you can get mobile phone coverage almost anywhere. The roads are pretty good and everyone seems to have electricity.

We wandered down the streets of Gyantse, taking photos of the locals and their wares, before returning to Shigatse for a well earned rest.

Did you hear the one about...

A Tibetan, a Chinese and a Japanese were all travelling together on a small aircraft from Lhasa to Shigatse.

The Japanese took out his camera and threw it out of the window of the plane. Startled, the Chinese asked him why he had done this.

"We have plenty of those where I come from, I don't need it" replied the Japanese.

The Chinese took out his radio and threw it out of the window. “Why did you do that?" asked the Tibetan.

"We have plenty of those where I come from" replied the Chinese. "I don't need it" he added.

The Tibetan thought for a moment. He had nothing to throw out of the window. Without warning he grabbed the Chinese by the throat and threw him out of the window.

Alarmed, the Japanese asked him why he had done such a thing. "We have plenty of them where I come from, I don't need it!" was the reply.

Winnowing the grain

Monday 10th September.

The most important grain crop in Tibet is barley. It is the staple diet and is used to make tsampa, (barley flour). Tsampa is used to make everything from porridge to beer.

Another important grain is millet, which provides Tibetans with cooking oil, as well as straw to make brooms. We stopped on the side of the road to watch these men and women winnowing the millet.

Ganden Monastery.

Monday 10th September

The Ganden Monastery stands proudly on a mountainside, 70km by road east of Lhasa at an altitude of 4,200 metres.

Before the Chinese invasion of 1959 it was home to 3,300 monks. During the cultural revolution in China, the monastery was badly damaged by the Red Guard. restoration has been underway for some time but is still not complete. Only 300 monks remain at the monastery today.

We drove along the wide valley floor, flanked by steeply rising grass-covered mountains on which yak and sheep were grazing. The road turned up the mountainside sharply and zig-zagged towards the monastery through about 50 hairpin bends. It was narrow, but well sealed.

Below the monastery an old man and some young boys were employed chasing the wandering yaks off the road using something very similar to a stock whip which they cracked with gusto and shouted at the unconcerned yak.

We arrived at the monastery and toured around the many buildings among the locals and tourists from afar. Our guide explained about the Buddhist faith as we went from temple to temple. Then a wonderful surprise, as we found ourselves in a temple with hundreds of monks who settled down for a session of chanting which was to last for two hours.

For Y20 (AU$3.30) we were allowed to take photographs of the monks, the statues and the interior decorations.

The Drepung Monestary

Zong Khapa founded the Yellow Hat Sect in the 14th Century AD. One of his disciples was named Jamyang Choje. Jamyang Choje built the Drepung Monastery, high on a mountainside overlooking Lhasa in 1416 AD.

King Nya Tri Tsanpo - 1st king of Tibet

In the second century BC, Nya Tri Tsanpo from India decided he would like to travel to Tibet, (as you do). He set off and when he reached the southern mountains of Tibet, he met some herdsmen. They asked him where he came from, but neither understood the other's language. So they communicated with sign language, (as you do).

Nya Tri Tsanpo gestured in the direction of India, but the herdsmen misunderstood the communication and thought that he was pointing to the sky. As everyone there knows, anyone who comes from the sky is very wise, so they asked Tsanpo to be their leader. Tibet at the time had no leader and the population just wandered around and lived in caves. There were no buildings.

Tsanpo agreed to become their king and set about having the first Tibetan building constructed. It was his palace and stood on the site now occupied by the Potala Palace, which was built on the remains of the original Tsanpo palace, 900 years later.

King Tsanpo followed the Bon religion, which was the original Tibetan pagan religion, involving among other things, the worship of animals.

King Gampo and the Jokhang Temple

Sunday 9th September

King Songtsan Gampo was the 33rd king of Tibet and the first religious king. He had five wives of which three were Tibetan, one was Nepalese and one was Chinese. The Nepalese and Chinese wives were the most important. He ruled Tibet in the 7th Century AD.

King Gampo wished to build a temple in which to place many statues and religious artifacts which he had. He asked his Nepalese wife to help him find a suitable location for this temple. Neither he nor his Nepalese wife could find the inspiration to choose the correct site on which to build the temple. They asked the Chinese wife if she could choose a site. The Chinese wife consulted her astrology and found what she believed to be the perfect site for the temple. It was where a lake stood which confounded the King and the Nepalese wife. They didn't believe that this could possibly be the site. It was very controversial.

King Gampo prayed to the Compassionate Buddha to ask for guidance. The Compassionate Buddha showed the finger ring of the Nepalese wive to the king. King Gampo and the Nepalese wife walked around the lake. They threw the ring up into the air and it landed in the lake.

Out of the lake, a vision of a Stupa rose. A Stupa is a Buddha house. From this vision, the king, his Nepalese wife and all the population then believed that the Chinese wife was correct in the choice of the site for the temple. So the king had the temple built on that site.

During construction of the wall which was the first part to be constructed, devils arose at night and destroyed the wall many times. The king placed guards around the construction and they defeated the devils and the construction of the Jokhang Temple was completed successfully.

The Jokhang Temple now stands there and is the most important temple in Tibet.

Bakor, Jokhang Temple, Hospital. Sunday 9th Sept.

Sunday 9th September.

We set out at 9:30am to spend some time in the Bakor, a street market area which encircles the Jokhang Temple. Hundreds of stalls sell all kind of Tibetan and Nepalese craft and art, including jewellery, hats, clothing and various religious artifacts.

Buddhist pilgrims and monks walked between the rows of stalls, rotating their prayer wheels in their hands as they circled the Jokhang Temple. Small children interacted with tourists, trying to charm their way to receiving a tip. Some sold snacks from tiny trays while others eyed off our bags, looking for an opportunity to help themselves to unguarded property. There were also beggars in the crowd.

At 11:30 we entered the Jokhang Temple for our tour. This temple was constructed in the 6th century on a site chosen by the one of the king's wives. The site was a lake at the time and was a controversial choice, but she prevailed and the temple was built.

The Jokhang is the most sacred temple in Tibet. It holds magnificent statues of important religious figures. Jok Hang means Buddha House in Tibetan. From the roof of the temple you can get a clear view of the surrounding town, including the Potala Palace.