Being a Guest of hospitable Tibetans

Being a Guest of hospitable Tibetans

Since you come to Tibet, you have already been a guest, or maybe a friend to The local people.

More than 95% of the people in Tibet speak Tibetan languages. There are 3 main dialects respected in Lhasa & Shigates districts, northern Tibet and east Tibet. Many of them can speak fluent Mandarin. Some of the staffs, businessmen, students and monks speak English and they'd like to talk with foreign tourists in English.

Tibetans are hospitable and friendly. To make friends with them, you should know that Smoking in Tibetan Buddhism monasteries is strictly banned. It is not allowed to touch the statues of Buddha and religious articles or take pictures of them. In addition, everybody should walk clockwise around monasteries or other religious objects like pagodas, Mani-stone piles, incense-burners, etc.

Eagles are sacred birds in the mind of Tibetan people. And also the sheep or cows with red color or colored strips on their body are considered as sacred animals. It is forbidden to disturb them or do harm on them.

When
Whenever you are with Tibetan

Where
Tibet

How
Come to Tibet to visit.

Tip
Greetings
It is a courtesy that when Tibetan people meeting and greeting to you, they will put their hands palm to palm in front of chest and stretch out their tongue to show their respects to you. You may put your hands in front of your chest and say "Tashidele" (good luck) to them.
Toasting
When Tibetan people present you a cup of wine, you should dip your ring finger in the wine and flick the wine to the sky, in the air and to the ground respectively to express your respects to the heaven, the earth and the ancestors before sipping the wine. Then the host will fill the cup, and you take a sip of the wine again. After the host fills your cup three times, you will take the whole cup of the wine.
Diet Habits
The main food and meat in Tibet are highland barley, beef and mutton. Tibetan people never eat horse meat, dog meat and donkey meat. In some areas in Tibet, people do not eat fish, either.
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How to Take Care of your Thangka

How to Take Care of your Thangka

For those of you who own a thangka, a few suggestions may help you in preserving it. You can care for your thangka as a museum cares for its thangkas.

Resist the temptation to clean your thangka. The traditional offerings of butter lamps and incense smoke form an insoluble mixture that deeply penetrates and darkens the painting. Since this is not just on the surface, attempts at cleaning will cause thangka paintings to have a stripped look. Too often these days, the fine, elegant details on faces, brocades, and landscapes too often get stripped away permanently by cleaning.

*Over-cleaned Painting

From a scientific, museum standards point of view, frequent rolling and unrolling of your thangka is the singularly most harmful thing you can do. Although thangkas traditionally are rolled and unrolled, these actions compress the delicate paint layers and the layer of chalk/hide glue they rest on. The paint layers can crack and flake off. The textile mountings that the painted cloth is sewn onto and the cover of the thangka rub up against and abrade the paint layers during rolling and while rolled up. Rolling also creases the cotton or silk cloth onto which the thangka was originally painted, and the cloth itself can crease and split, causing further paint loss. Rolling and unrolling causes the traditional textile mountings to tear as well. Older mountings are often made of a blue silk with characteristically weak warp threads.

*Painting Damaged from Rolling and Unrolling.

You can transport your thangka as a museum does. Thangkas can be transported and stored lying flat on an archival-quality supporting board, available at most art supply stores. It is best to hang your thangka up and then not move or handle it after that.

Do not pull on your thangka to try to adjust its shape. Some dimensional changes are expected. Cotton and silk swell and contract with changes in temperature and relative humidity. The cloth it is painted on and the textile mounting will expand and contract at different rates, causing some unevenness in the fit. This will happen, but if you pull on it to flatten it, you can tear the thangka and cause paint loss.

Hang the thangka out of direct sunlight, and not over a heating or air conditioning element. Even a bright spotlight on it can direct heat towards it in a harmful way. In addition to the heat of many light sources, both the intensity of the light and the ultraviolet content of the light cause irreparable damage to thangkas. This is true whether your thangka has its traditional silk mounting, or is framed in a Western-style frame behind glass.

If you have questions or concerns about caring for your thangka, we will be glad to help you!


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Tibet Butter Oil Tea

Tibet Butter Oil Tea

The butter oil tea is the necessary drinking in Tibetans' daily life just like coffee to the westerners!  

To the Tibetans, tea is a beverage that is just like coffee to the westerners -- a wake-up and a shake-up drink that keeps almost everyone sound and safe.

In Tibet no meal can be complete without some tea, almost all the time the Tibetan buttered tea.

Town folks prefer to go to a tea house before going to work for the rest of their day. Tea houses sometimes stand as alternative places to find the ones who are otherwise expected in their workplace in the morning and in the early afternoon.

The Tibetan buttered tea is prepared by mixing butter and salt with the juice from fully boiled fermented tea leaves. Before serving, the mixture has to be further blended in a special blender.

More often than not, a slim wooden cylinder is used for the blending. After the mixture is put in the cylinder, a piston is used to push and pull inside the cylinder. With the passing of the mixture through the slit between the piston and the cylinder, the mixture of butter, salt and tea is forcefully and thoroughly blended.

In Tibet, tea, either sweet tea or Tibetan buttered tea, is served in small or large thermo flasks, in that both are of their best smack when served hot.

The local habit of drinking tea has to do with the local food composition. The Tibetans eat lots of meat of yak and goat. The strong buttered tea not only helps to keep the body warm but also helps to promote the digestion of the meat that is taken almost three meals a day and 365 days a year.

Local sayings have it that the others cannot do without salt whereas the Tibetans cannot do without either salt or tea.
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Shopping In Tibet

The Magic of Shopping in Tibet ! Tibet, without a doubt is full of scenic fantasies and historical wonders, but still, a trip to Tibet is never complete without a long shopping spree here, even if you have explored all the destinations inch by inch. Shopping in Tibet, over the time has generated great interest in travelers and now people often travel to Tibet for its shopping bonanza. That's how fascinating and unique the experience of shopping in Tibet is. You can start your stint from Lhasa where you will get everything, from a pin to a palace, and then move onto places that are special for their specialties.

Where to Shop From !

For small and big shopping flits one has to just hang around in the city. Lhasa Department Store, is located on the west end of Yuthok Lu, one of the largest and best-known market hub in Lhasa. It sells all the items one can ask for on urgency basis, or a tourist cannot do without like cotton clothing, mugs, canned food, towels, and toothpaste, plus local handicrafts. Barkhor is another most famous shopping market in Lhasa, where you will find more traditional Tibetan artifacts in small roadside shops. Buddha figures, prayer flags copper teapots, horse bells and jewelry inlaid with turquoise and other gem makes that allure any visitor. Though be aware of the quality of the material that you are buying, because few of them might be fake. But still, unique designs and cheap rates make them great souvenirs that you can take back home. 

What are the Famous Shopping Items !

Tibet is actually famous for its handicrafts and paintings like the Thangka which is a kind of a Tibetan scroll painting that generally have their base in Buddhist religion where as Tibetan crafts are often made from different metals like gold, silver, copper and stones like turquoise. These beautiful items with the most exceptional carvings on them have become the most shopped for item in Tibet. Apart from crafts, you should check out some of the most scintillating jewelry that you would have ever seen. There are numerous varieties of jewelry like pearls, agate, gold and silver ornaments.

What Else on Shopping Streets !

Just Wander down the Barkhor street and you will see not only handicrafts, paintings and carpets, but also precious gems, stones, exotic masks, dazzling knives and much more, that will make your head turn and your hands move towards your pocket. The one thing that you must remember is that if you buy a knife, make sure that you send it through mail to your home town, as you are not allowed to take knives with you on flight. You will also come across bookstores from where you can get books related to Tibetan history, culture and even travel like maps and postcards, so don't forget to take a look inside these useful stores.

Are You Ready For Shopping Thrill !

A single page cannot in any way, hold everything that you can shop here, but still a lot of main things that are sure to capture your attention have been mentioned here. Tibet is full of shopping treasures that are absolutely unique and spectacular, other thing for sure is that every one will get everything that one is looking for, just bring your pocket full ….not to repent later.
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Tibetan Festivals

Festivals

If possible, try to time your visit to Lhasa with one of the city's festivals. Pilgrims often flock to Lhasa at these times and the city takes on a colorful party atmosphere. The following Tibetan festivals are calculated according to the lunar calendar. Check before for the precise dates.

Tibetan new year

It is the greatest festival in Tibet. In ancient times when the peach tree was in blossom, it was considered as the starting of a new year. Since the systematization of the Tibetan calendar in 1027 A.D., The first day of the first month became fixed as the new year. On the new year's the families unite " auspicious dinner" is offered and the auspicious words " tashi delek" are greeted. It is the most colorful festival of Lhasa.

Monlam (great prayer festival of Lhasa)

Known also as the great prayer festival, this is held midway through the first lunar month. An image of maitreya from the jokhang is borne around the barkhor, attracting enthusiastic crowds of locals and pilgrims .

Saga dawa festival (May or June)

It is the holiest in Tibet, there memorable occasions coincide on this day, buddha's birth and buddha's enlightenment. Almost every person within Lhasa join in circumambulations round the city and spend their late afternoon on picnic at "dzongyab lukahng" park at the foot of potala.

Gyantse horse race & archery (May or June)

Horse race and archery are generally popular in Tibet, and gyantse enjoys prestige of being the earliest in history by starting in 1408. Contests in early times included horse race, archery, and shooting on gallop followed by a few days' entertainment or picnicking. Presently ball games, track and field events, folk songs and dances, barter trade are in addition to the above.

Changtang chachen horse race festival - (10 august)

As the most important festival in north Tibet during the golden season on the grassland, thousand of herdsmen throng to nakchu riding fine horses, and carrying the local products. They form as city of tens south of nakchu town. There will be thrilling horse race, archery and demonstrations of horsemanship. Songs and dance troupes from all part of Tibet will add to the fun. 

Shoton festival (august)

It is the opera festival and the greatest festivals in Tibet. In ancient times pious folks went into mountain hermitages of which yoghurt was served for meal followed by entertainment of folk songs and dances. Since 7th century, opera performances were held for days in norbu lingka. Presently, opera contests and distribution of prizes are held for seven days.

Ganden festival

On the 15th day of the 6th Tibetan month, 25 precious articles belonging to ganden monastery, which are normally locked in their treasure house, are displayed in the main shrine hall. A grand offering ceremony accompanies the display. These articles consist of the images of the sixteen arhats, akshobhya, the secret assembly, the four great kings, the upasaka and hashang image.

Harvest festival (September)

The farmers in Lhasa, gyantse and shangnan to celebrating their bumeer harvest in this time. During that time, people enjoy with horse racing games, costume fashion show, songs and dance archery and picnic etc.

Bathing week

It is believed when the sacred planet Venus appears in the sky, the water in the river becomes purest and cure diseases. During its appearance for one week in the sky, all the people in Tibet go into the river for bathing.

Dates

Fairs & Festivals	2007	2008	2009
Tibetan New Year	Feb 19	Feb 7	-
The Great Prayer Festival (Monlam)	Feb 22 - Mar 1	-	-
Butter Lamp Festival	Mar 4	Mar 26	-
Saga Dawa Festival	May 31	Jun 18	-
Buddha Unfolding Festival	June	June	June
Gyangtse Horse Race Festival	May 30-June 3	June	June
Paying Homage to the Holy Mountain Festival	-	-	-
Universal Prayers Festival	Aug-Sep	Aug-Sep	Aug-Sep
Changtang Chachen Horse Race Festival	10 Aug. – 16 Aug.	10 Aug. – 16 Aug.	10 Aug. – 16 Aug.
Shoton Festival	Aug 12 - Aug 18	Aug 30 – Sep 5	August
Bathing Festival	-	-	-
Tsong Khapa Butter Lamp Festival	-	-	-

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Tibetan History

Tibetan History

Tibetan history can be traced thousands of years back. However, the written history only dates back to the 7th century when Songtsan Gampo, the 33rd Tibetan king, sent his minister Sambhota to India to study Sanskrit who on his return invented the present Tibetan script based on Sanskrit.

Tibet's history can be divided into the following periods:

-- From the 7th to the 10th century
In the Tang Dynasty: Close Relations between Tibet and Central China

-- In the 13th century
In the Yuan Dynasty Tibet Became an administrative Region of China

-- From the 14th to the 17th century
The Ming Imperial Court's Administration of Tibet

-- From the 17th to the 20th century
The Qing Imperial Court Improving the Administration of Tibet

-- From 1912 to 1949
The Nationalist Government Safeguards China's Sovereignty over Tibet

-- 1951 ~
Peaceful Liberation of Tibet in 1951

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