 |
| The Elite Lhasa Guard (VOA photo) |
As you may remember, the YRC staff was not able to obtain a permit to visit Tibet this year. We suspect that some of you may have written ahead to them as a warning, but it turns out that those who have residency visas in China cannot visit...China, but the part that used to be...Tibet.
But, we have an update for you. New stuff has come to light! To bring our loyal YRC readers up to speed, while it is extremely difficult for foreigners to get a permit, if you are planning on going and you are not from one of the "restricted countries" (UK, Norway, Korea, Austria, the Philippines and Vietnam) you may have a now have a chance of visiting the Roof of the World. But don't pack your bags until you read the rest of this missive, please.
 |
| Note absence of YRC staff in this photo...(VOA photo) |
Tibet Tourism Bureau issued new policy on issuing Tibet permits at the beginning of May. The new policy stated that Tibet permits will not be issued unless there are at least 4 tourists with the same nationality in the same tour group. Later, it became more harsh. Tibet permits will only be issued to a group with minimum 5, even 6 travelers with the same nationality. The new policy makes many individual travelers find that it is hard to get Tibet permits.
According to Explore Tibet, the new rules for Tibet travel are as follows:
Based on the need of specialty of Tibetan nation tradition, historical sites and environmental protection, Government releases new Tibet travel rules for non Chinese citizen; foreigners, Taiwan visitors and overseas Chinese (Chinese who hold foreign passports) must apply for Foreigner Tibet Travel Permit issued by Tibetan Tourist Administration before they enter Tibet. At the same time, foreign journalists, diplomat and government officers can’t go to Tibet with visitor identity. (There is no need for citizens in Hong Kong or Macau to transact Tibet Travel Permit only they have Home Return Permit or Hong Kong/Macau pass)B. According to rules of National Tourism Administration, foreigners, Taiwan visitors and overseas Chinese (except for citizens in Hong Kong/Macau who hold Home Return Permit or Hong Kong/Macau pass) are not allowed to free travel in Tibet.C. The overseas tour group must obtain Tibet Travel Permit from Tibetan Tourism Administration or other local office.A New Solution to the Problem Emerges:
But, as a wonderful lesson in how things are handled on The Other Side of the World, we YRC staff members were pleased to learn that you can now get...FAKE permits to visit Tibet. After all, if you are a world premier destination for "artificial" luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, food, software and hairy-crabs (see earlier YRC for explanation then you would naturally find a solution to the travel problem by provide low-cost and high quality fake permits. So, an elegant solution to a knotty travel problem.
This from ChinaTibetTrain:
 |
| Fake or Real? |
Fake TTB Permits: The lucrative tourist business in China is booming and the issuance of fake permits are increasing. As such TTB permits can only be issued by the Lhasa Tibet Tourism Bureau who will mail them out to various cities in China as well as Kathmandu. This policy changes from time to time so double check with your tour company as well as ChinaTibetTrain.com This is why it is important to apply for the Tibet Entry Permit 30 days in advance.So there is some possibility that if you are planning a trip, you may actually get to go. But there is an excellent reason you may want to wait a few years before visiting (and the real subject of this week's YRC).
Why Are We Babbling About Visiting Tibet Again?
 |
| The Lhasa Palace (Google Earth) |
And when they return, they generally have one comment. There is NOTHING TO DO in Tibet. Sure, you see the sights in Lhasa, you ride around and look at the mountains, you go see a few flat spots where a famous, ancient temple used to be, but then what do you do?
The Answer to "What to Do on the Roof of the World?"
The People's Republic has come up with an answer, as they always do. They are going to put a huge theme park in Tibet (this from the International Business Times):
Chinese authorities hope that a new $4.7 billion theme park will promote ethnic harmony and attract an additional 5 million tourists each year to the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Chinese name for Central Tibet. The 800-hectare (2,000-acre) cultural park will open just outside of downtown Lhasa, the capital and hub of regional tourism, and tell the story of princess Wencheng, the niece of a Tang dynasty emperor who became a symbol of ethnic friendship when she married Tibet's King Songtsan Gambo. Visitors to the park will view Wencheng-based outdoor performances and explore other educational and entertainment facilities relating to the princess and her adopted home of Tibet.
 |
| The Planned "Prayer Wheel" Adventure Ride...(Global Times) |
The YRC mind begins to wander when one thinks of the possible attractions at the $4.7 billion amusement park. The "Everest Climber" frozen custard stand? The "Catch a Yak" hoop throw? The "High Altitude" Ferris wheel with oxygen masks and of course, the "Prayer Wheel" roller coaster? The possibilities are endless.
For our part, we at the YRC can only say (now that we can get a "permit" <wink wink>) we can't wait for the theme park to open!! It is bound to be....epic.
1:45PM BST 16 Jul 2012
Comments
Plans to build the theme park on the outskirts of Lhasa, the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, were unveiled last week and are part of a government drive to attract 15 million tourists to the region by 2015.
Campaigners warn that promotion of mass-tourism could prove ruinous for Tibet's environment and culture and brings few economic benefits for the Tibetans themselves.
But Monday's edition of the Global Times, widely seen as a mouthpiece for the views of China's Communist Party, delivered a strongly worded rebuke to critics.
"Ordinary Tibetans do not want to live in a backwater museum to be exhibited to foreign visitors who can appraise how well their culture is 'preserved'," argued the article, written by commentator Chen Chenchen.
"The latest grand tourist project will further fuel the local economy and provide more opportunities for direct interaction between locals and visitors Economic growth and cultural prosperity are not in opposition."
"If Han [Chinese] culture is a form of invasion what about the intrusion of US culture in China, from Disney to hamburgers? Is this also a form of cultural genocide?"
The announcement of plans for the theme park comes at a time of increasing instability in Tibetan areas of west China, where campaigners say more than 40 Tibetans have self-immolated over the last 18 months.
Last week London-based campaigning group Free Tibet claimed there had been a "heavy security crackdown" in Damshung county, near Lhasa, after a 22-year-old Tibetan man set himself on fire in protest against the Chinese government.
Stephanie Brigden, Free Tibet's director, said the "Disneyfication of Tibet" through mass tourism projects would do little to improve the situation.
"We are not opposed to development per se but this type of [large-scale] tourism will not benefit Tibetans and will actually further marginalise [them]. Any kind of development within Tibet has to be inclusive of an informed by the opinions of Tibetans."
"[The government] believes that economic growth is the way to secure harmony [but] economic growth in itself does not bring harmony," she added.
Mr Chen said it was "increasingly impossible that a bulwark can be erected to "protect" the Tibetan culture from external impact." "[Whether] Western observers like it or not, the younger generations in Tibet are already making changes to their traditions. They speak Tibetan, and they also browse web pages in Chinese and English. They join in family religious ceremonies, and they also visit nightclubs.
"Tibetan culture is also evolving along a common road that many cultures have already experienced."
