Lhasa, Tibet Travel Information - Travel Guide and Tips

If you are not a Chinese citizen, you can not travel to Tibet alone. It is illegal to do so. You have to find a Chinese travel agent for your Tibet tours. 

You will need a "permit to enter Tibet" from the TTB(Tibet Tourism Bureau). Without this permit, you can not buy a plane ticket to Tibet.

How to get this permit?
You'll need to provide your personalinfomation(name,citizenship,age,sex,occupation,passport number),your planned route to Tibet, a basic schedule,purpose of your trip,contact phone number, etc to the local Chinese travel agent or the local office of the TTB. They will need the clear copies of your passport and visa too. You can fax or email these copies to the agent or local TTB office. The TTB need 2 or 3 days to process your application.

How to get in?
By air: You can fly to Lhasa. But it is risky to fly to Tibet from a much lower altitude city because of the quick transition.(Altitude sickness) You can use a traditional Tibet medicine named "HongJingTian". It can alleviate your altitude sickness.If you are in Sichuan Province,flying from Chengdu to Lhasa is the easiest option.

By train: The Qinghai to Tibet train began to operate in July 2006. It took less than 48 hours to travel from Beijing to Tibet by train. The cheapest ticket is only 389 RMB but you should realize that it is not so comfort to travel by train in China( So crowded and noisy ).I don't recommend this type of transportation. The only advantage is that you can slowly adapt to Tibet's high altitude instead of a sudden transition of the altitude if you take the plane.

By road: Forget it! This mode of transportation will cost you a few days and the road fromSichuan to Tibet is dangerous!!

The Tibetan culture:
1. Tibetan Khatag (hada)
Khatag is very important for the Tibetan people. It is a silk product looking like a towel. The Khatag represents honesty ,loyalty and the purity of the heart. The Tibetan people believe that the white color means purity. That is why the Khatag is always white. Presenting Khatags to other people is a common comity in Lhasa, Tibet and it is used in all kinds of critical Tibetan events. (wedding, funeral, Buddhism ritual, etc)

2. Welcome tea and welcome wine in Lhasha, Tibet
The Tibetan people use the Tibetan tea and Tibetan wine to welcome their guests. Usually the wine is called "Qingkejiu", a special wine made by the Tibetan people. If the Tibetan people present the "Qingkejiu" to you, it means you are a noble guest for them. The tea they use here is called "Suyoucha" and it is given to the guests by the female Tibetan people. You will need to wait for them to present this tea to you. It is not polite to get the tea by yourself in Lhasa, Tibet.

3. How to say hello to the Tibetan people
When you meet the Tibetan people, you can add a "La" to the end of their names. For example, if her name is "Zuoma", you can call her "Zuomala" and this will show your respect to her.

4. Watching the funeral in Lhasha, Tibet
In Tibet, the sky funeral is very common. But there are many taboos here too. This kind of funeral is forbidden for the strangers to watch. You will need to leave the funeral quietly if you happen to meet one in Lhasa, Tibet.

5. Tibetan new year
The Tibetan people have their own calendar. It is similar with the Chinese traditional calendar and the first day for a year is usualy also the first day in the Chinese calendar.

6. Tibetan Lamp holiday
The 15th day of every year (in the Tibetan calendar) is named the Lamp Day in Lhasa, Tibet. The Tibetan people make lots of Suyou lamps in this day for the Buddhism rituals. The Suyou lamps look like human, birds or animals.

7. Shower week
The Tibetan people have a holiday named shower week. In this week, they will do the shower near the river. This weak is also called "Muyu" holiday in Lhasa, Tibet.

8. Xue Dun holiday
"Xue" means Yoguat in Tibetan. It is a special homemade Yoguat of Tibet. "Dun" means dinner. Now this Xue Dun holiday is becoming a holiday for the Tibetan opera shows and that is why Xue Dun holiday is also called the Tibetan Opera Day. Usually it is from the end of June to the beginning of July.

9. Horse racing holiday
Horse racing and archery are very popular in Lhasa, Tibet. This horse racing holiday is from July to August in the Tibetan calendar. The Tibetan people also do some barter during this holiday.

10. Wangguo holiday
This holiday is for the Tibetan people to celebrate the harvests. There are also horse racing, archery racing, Tibetan opera shows during this holiday.

11. Shagedawa day
It is the 04-15 in the Tibetan calendar. Some believe it is the day of Wencheng princess' wedding in Tibet. The people in Lhasa, Tibet celebrate this holiday every year.

12. Yak day
The Yak day is a traditional holiday for the Tibetan people. In this day, the Tibetan people will decorate their yaks with fresh flowers and this is to show their good wishes for the future.