Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
RESPONSIBLE TOURISM
Tourism has already affected many areas in Tibet. Most children will automatically stick
their hand out for a sweet, a pen or anything. In some regions, locals have become frus-
trated at seeing a stream of rich tourist groups but few tangible economic results. Please
try to bear the following in mind as you travel through Tibet:
Try to patronise as many small local Tibetan businesses (including your tour agent), res-
taurants and guesthouses as possible. Revenues created by organised group tourism go
largely into the pockets of the Chinese authorities.
Doling out medicines can encourage people not to seek proper medical advice, while
handing out sweets or pens to children encourages begging. If you wish to contribute
something constructive, it's better to give pens directly to schools and medicines to rural
clinics, or make a donation to an established charity.
Monastery admission fees go largely to local authorities, so if you want to donate to the
monastery, leave your offering on the altar.
Don't buy skins or hats made from endangered animals such as snow leopards.
Don't pay to take a photograph of someone, and don't photograph someone if they don't
want you to. If you agree to send a photograph of someone, ensure you follow through on
this.
If you have any pro-Tibetan sympathies, be very careful with whom you discuss them.
Don't put Tibetans in a politically difficult or even potentially dangerous situation. This in-
cludes handing out photos of the Dalai Lama (these are illegal in Tibet) and politically
sensitive materials.
Try to buy locally made souvenirs and handicrafts, especially authentic and traditionally
made products whose profits go directly to artisans, such as at
Dropenling
.
If you have a guide, try to ensure that he or she is a Tibetan, as Chinese guides invariably
know little about Tibetan Buddhism or monastery history.
Farming & Trading
Farming communities in Tibet usually comprise a cluster of homes surrounded by agricul-
tural lands that were once owned by the nearest large monastery and protected by a
dzong
(fort). The farming itself is carried out with the assistance of a dzo
,
a breed of cattle where
bulls have been crossbred with yaks. Some wealthier farmers own a small 'walking tract-
or' (a very simple tractor engine that can pull a plough or a trailer). Harvested grain is car-
ried by donkeys to a threshing ground where it is trampled by cattle or threshed with poles.
The grain is then cast into the air from a basket and the task of winnowing carried out by
