Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
It is believed that shortly before his death he again fell out with the Chinese, arguing at
a high-level meeting in Běijīng that the price paid for development during the Chinese oc-
cupation was far greater than any gains. Accordingly, many Tibetans believe that the
51-year-old died not of a heart attack, as was reported, but by poisoning. Others maintain
that, exhausted and perhaps despairing, the Panchen Lama came home in 1989 to die -
as he always said he would - on Tibetan soil.
Of course, the story doesn't end here. In May 1995 the Dalai Lama identified Gedhun
Choekyi Nyima, a six-year-old boy from Amdo, as the latest reincarnation of the Panchen
Lama. Within a month the boy had been forcibly relocated to a government compound in
Běijīng, causing him to be dubbed the 'world's youngest political prisoner', and an irate
Chinese government had ordered the senior lamas of Tashilhunpo to come up with a
second, Chinese-approved choice. Chadrel Rinpoche, the abbot who led the search that
identified Gedhun, was later imprisoned for six years for 'splitting the country' and 'col-
luding with separatist forces abroad' (ie consulting the Dalai Lama), and Tashilhunpo was
closed to tourists for a few months.
Tashilhunpo's lamas eventually settled on Gyancain Norbu, the son of Communist
Party members, who was formally approved in a carefully orchestrated ceremony.
Běijīng's interest is not only in controlling the education of Tibet's number-two spiritual
leader, but also influencing the boy who could later be influential in identifying the rein-
carnation of the Dalai Lama. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama-appointed Panchen Lama, now
in his mid-20s, remains under house arrest at an undisclosed location. In 2010 the
Chinese Panchen Lama made his political debut, being named a member of the CPPCC,
China's top political advisory board.
There are a number of groups campaigning to free the Panchen Lama. The organisa-
tion Tashilhunpo Monastery in Exile (
www.tashilhunpo.org
) even offers a US$33,000 re-
ward for information on the whereabouts of Gedhun.
The Search for the Panchen Lama,by Isabel Hilton, is a look at the political intricacies
of Tibet, with an emphasis on the controversial Panchen Lama and China's abduction of
his current reincarnation.
Around Shigatse
There are several sights around Shigatse, but few are visited by Western travellers. It is
possible to visit Gyantse as a day trip from Shigatse.
