RAIDER.PLANET-TIBET

Info.T I B E T

Best time

Climate

Custom

Festival

Food

People

Religion

Visa and other entry problem(must see !)

BEST TIME

The best season for touring in Tibet is from April to October.But various route has its own golden times:

A.Lhasa, Tsedang, Shigatse:As the weather and tourism facilities in these places are relatively better, So you can visit them anytime for enjoying the breathtaking scenery!

B.Lhasa---the border of Nepal/China: This area is not available for tourists from Dec-Jan because of the sowed land; every August, the rain season, landslide will be occurred!

C.Mt.Everest area: it is too cold to the tourists visiting this area from Oct to April!

D. Ali (Mt.Kailash): You can enjoy the wonder in this area at the time of every May, June, July, Sep, Oct without the trouble of the landslide by the big rain & snow.

E. East Tibet: Don't touch this area in winter & and in Jul, Aug, as there will be a terrible landslide in summer and frozen load in Winter!

F. North Tibet: Since it is too high with the average altitude at 4,500M, you only can appreciate her beauty in Summer!

CLIMATE

Temperature in Lhasa
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	April	May	June	July	August	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Highest (°C)	6.8	9.2	12	13.7	19.7	22.5	21.7	20.7	19.6	16.4	11.6	7.7
Lowest (°C)	-10.2	-6.9	-3.2	0.9	5.1	9.2	9.9	9.4	7.6	1.4	-5	-9.1

CUSTOM

Presenting Hada- Present hada is a common practice among the Tibetan people to express their best wishes on many occasions, such as wedding ceremonies, festivals, visiting the elders and the betters, and entertaining guests. The white hada, made of grege silk, embodies purity and good fortune.

Keeping away from Burials- Sky burial is a common form in Tibet. There are many prohibitions. Strangers are not allowed to attend the ceremony. Visitors should respect this custom and keep away from such occasions.

FESTIVAL

Tibetan New Year(February or March)

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 day, families unite " auspicious dipper" is offered and the auspicious words " tashi delek" are greeted.

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 Lukhang" park at the foot of Potala.

Gyantse Horse Race & Archery(May or June)

Horse race and archert are generally popular in Tibet, andGyantse 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 picnicing. Presently,ball games, track and field events, folk songs and dances, barter trade are in addition to the above.

Bathing Week( Sptember)

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

The reason that festival dates fall on different day of the year is because they follow the traditional calender. A summary of important festivals are tabled below:

Festival	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Tibetan New Year	Feb 24th	Feb 13th	Mar 3rd	Feb 21st	Feb 9th
The Monlam Festival	Mar 3rd - Mar 10th	Feb 20th - Feb 28th	Mar 11th - Mar 19th	Feb 28th - Mar 7th	Feb 16th - Feb 25th
Butter Oil Lantern Festival	Mar 9th	Feb 27th	Mar 18th	Mar 6th	Feb 23rd
Saga Dawa Festival	Jun 6th	May 26th	Jun 14th	Jun 3rd	May 23rd
Horse Racing Festival, Gyantse	Jun	Jun	Jun	Jun	Jun
Chubacexi Festival	Jul 24th	Jun 14th	Jul 2nd	Jul 21st	Jul 10th
Yalong Cultural Festival	Jul 25th	Jul 25th	Jul 25th	Jul 25th	Jul 25th
Shoton Festival	Aug 19 - Aug 25	Aug 8th - Aut 15th	Aug 27th - Sep 3rd	Aug 15th - Aug 22nd	Sep 3rd - Sep 10th
Qiangtang Kyagqen Horse Racing Festival	Aug 10th - Aug 16th	Aug 10th - Aug 16th	Aug 10th - Aug 16th	Aug 10th - Aug 16th	Aug 10th - Aug 16th

FOOD

Foods in Tibet differ from pastoral and agricultural areas. The staple food include roasted highland barley flour, wheat flour, meat, or red food, and milk, or white food. The principle in summer is the white food, while that in winter is the red food. Local flavors in the pastoral areas are mutton sausage, and dried beef. The flavor of the Tibetan food is fresh, light ,and tender. Salt, onion, and garlic are the main ingredients.

PEOPLE

Tibet's population is about 1,890,000 but is so thinly populated that it averages out 1.6 persons per square kilometers. About 90% of the people live on farming or led a nomadic life. Nomads have no fixed abodes, and keep roaming along fine pasture together with all their belongings-tents and livestock. The remaining population, approximately 10%, live in towns earning their living mainly on business and handicraft, and many are factory workers and government officials.

Ideology of people in this land differs greatly from any other nationality both at home in China and in the world. Religion seems almost everthing. Many live for the next life, rather than for the present. They accumulate deeds of virtue and pray for the final liberation-enlightenment. Lips and hands of the elders are never at still, either busied in murmuring of the sixsyllable mantric prayer OM Ma Ni Pad Me Hum (Hail the Jewel in the Lotus) or in rotation of hand prayer wheels, or counting of the prayer beads. Pilgrims from every corner of Tibet day to day gather at Jokhang Temple and Bharkor Street offering donations and praying heart and soul for their own selves, for their friends, and for their friends' friends.

RELIGION

No other religion apart from Buddhism has been able to take root in tbiet. Only a small population of about 2,000 throughout Tibet have faith in Islam, while there is no trace of Christianity at all.

VISA AND TIBET ENTRY PERMIT

You MUST have these 2 documents if you want to enter Tibet:

Visa- Foreign tourist or mountaineers visiting Tibet must have a valid passport. They should Also possess a visa issued by a Chinese Embassy, except in the case of countries that have visa-exemption agreements with China.

Alien's Travel Permit- Except the normal visa to China, foreign tourist who desires to visit Tibet have to hold The Alien's Travel Permit, which is issued by Tibet Tourism Bureau(TTB).

How to obtain the visa & Alien's travel permit?

Tourists can apply for the visa in Chinese Embassy in their own country. Organized overseas tourist groups must get the Alien's Travel Permit handled by Tibet Tourism Bureau(TTB). Your local travel agency can be your representatives to obtain this permit in the Shanghai Branch of TTB. They will take minimum 10 days to process. Tourist should submit a copy of the first page of their passport and their occupation (for very obvious reason) as well for the permit application. The application may require a copy of your visa too which they did not state clearly in the website. You can send the copy both by fax (086-21-63231016) and e-mail.

Note:

1."Foreign tourists" here refers to the person who doesn't hold Chinese ID card. Although Hongkong, Taiwan are part of China, but the citizens are still required to get the permit.

2. Independent tour is not allowed in Tibet. You should join an organized group or have the local travel operator arranged for you. Honestly speaking, I m not quite clear about this point too. Perhaps someone can enlighten me in the forum. Thanks!

For details, you can visit Tibet Tourism Bureau(TTB)