Do and Dress Modestly among Tibetans, Especially in the Monastery

One of the most common questions I am asked is whether there is a problem when wearing shorts to visit Tibetan monastery on Tibet tour. Would we be turned away? Are there any special rules for travellers to enter the monastery.

Doing:

1. Keep silence in the hall.

2. Do not smoke in the hall

3. Do not bring any water, fluid, lotion to the monastery.

4. In the temple, tourist must walk from left to right in accordance with clockwise direction as the religious people do.

5. If you want to take photos inside the main hall, you will need pay for it and ask for the permission.

Dressing:

1. Do not wear a hat or sunglasses in the monastery.

2. Dress modestly. It is respectful to be well-covered up, especially if you will be with monks and nuns or visiting monasteries or nunneries.

3. Save the sexy off the shoulder, tight, no shirt, low cut, short dresses, short shorts, mid-riff baring stuff for another part of your trip 

Shoton Festival Tibet in 2013, 2014 and 2015

Tibetan opera performances

Shoton Festival 2015 coincides with the 50^th Anniversary of Tibetan Autonomous Region. The Shoton Festival keeps the traditional opening ceremony, Buddha exhibition, Tibetan opera performances, and Thangka art fair, and restores Namtso walking assembly, and adds the 2^nd Tibetan music workshop and pure health industry investment projects cum pure health products exhibition. In addition, since 2015, Shoton Festival Organizing Committee adjusted the annual Lottery Cup Football League to the period of Shoton Festival.

Shoton Festival 2014 contains 9 items and a total of 13 exciting activities, fully demonstrating new development, new changes, new life and new image of Lhasa. They are Tibetan opera performances, Grand Buddha exhibition at Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery, the 4^th Thangka art fair, the 7^th Qomolangma photography exhibition, the holy land appointment - outdoor activities week in Lhasa, Shoton Festival trade talks and real estate fairs, and “flying snow” folk music concert. The theme content of the opening is mainly to watch the large real drama “Princess”, and other featured, rich and novel form of festival activities.

Shoton Festival 2013 was open from August 6^th, and a number of activities were held including Buddha exhibition at Drepung Monastery and Ganden Monastery, the 1st Paradise Prairie Cup short cycling match, Tibetan Opera Festival contest, the 8th Namtso walking assembly, the 3^rd Tangka art fair, the 5^th Shoton Star singing contest, fireworks evening party, etc. They can be described as brilliant and distinctive characteristics, showing the happiness outlook of the ancient Lhasa city to the world.

cycling match in Tibet

Thangka art fair

 real drama “Princess”

Namtso Lake

Shoton Festival Tibet 2016 from Sept.1st to 7th

According to the news from Sho Dun Festival office in Lhasa city, Shoton Festival 2016 will be held from September 1^st to 7^th in Lhasa. 

Shoton Festival, also as Sho Dun Festival, is a great festival and one of the most important traditional festival in Tibet. In Tibetan, “Sho” is yogurt and “Ton” is banquet, which is evolved from the original religious cultures. After thousands of years, Shoton Festival has gradually developed into one comprehensive cultural event, including a set of Buddhist activities, art performance, tourism and leisure, and other activities.

Known as a traditional Tibetan cultural festival, Shoton Festival was listed in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List, and has won “Top Ten Chinese Festivals”, “Top Ten Awards of Chinese Festivals”, “Top Ten Chinese Brand Festivals” and so many honors. The visibility and influence at home and abroad of Shoton Festival Tibet continues to expand, and has become a important window and platform of displaying Lhasa’s image and attracting domestic and foreign tourists to Tibet for sightseeing tour and businesses to invest in Lhasa. 

Recommended Itinerary: 5 Days Shoton Festival Experience Tour

Naimona’nyi or Gurla Mandhata

Naimona’nyi is the highest peak of the Nalakankar Himal, a small subrange of the Himalaya range. It lies in Burang Country of Ngari Prefecture in Tibet Autonomous Region of China and near the northwest corner of Nepal. Naimona’nyi is called “the Mountain of Goddess” in Tibetan language. It faces the crystal-clear and snow-capped Mount Kailash in the north and across the pure Lake Manasarovar and demon Lake Rakshastal. The best time to visit there is from May to late June.

The ridge in the east has been corroded into a blade-shape ridge, forming nearly 2,000 meters elevation difference of cliffs. But the western slope is relatively gentle.

Naimona’nyi owns the largest glaciers group in the Himalayas. Five huge glaciers pour down in the canyon, among which are ice steeps full of cracks, looking like several fairy-tale palace. 

Recommended Itinerary: 15 Days Kailash Tour, Lhasa to Kailash and Manasarova Travel

Zhada Earth Forest National Geopark

Zhada Earth Forest, as a special combination of landscape, has rich and varied forms. At the macro, the earth forest group spreading along both sides of Sutlej is the unique “earth forest landscape” on the world, undulating, mountainous, steep and slow, and magnificent. 

Tour to Zhada Earth Forest. 

Lake Rakshastal or “Lake of the Demon”

Lake Rakshastal is a lake in Tibet, lying just west of Lake Manasarovar and south of Mount Kailash. The name of the lake literally means “lake of the demon”. But its reputation can not be compared with the holy lake - Lake Manasarovar (Tour to Mount Kailash).

In the demon lake stands a small island, it is said, on which there is a small temple. In every winter, when the water freezes, the Lamas in the temple can only have contact with the outside world. Demon Lake and Holy Lake both are the paradise of birds.

Shiquanhe or Ali Town

Shiquanhe Town

Shiquanhe, also known as Ali Town in English, is the main town of Ngari Prefecture. The name derives from the Shiquanhe River.

Most of the places that Shiquanhe flows through are no man’s lands, so the river has not any pollution. At the depth of four to five meters, fish and river stones in the water can be view clearly. When the river flows through Shiquanhe town and Tashigang township, a beach with lush willows is formed which is rare to see in Ngari region. This beach is a special gift of nature to Ngari.

Near to Shiquanhe, there is a airport named Ali Kunsha Airport, which started operations since July 1, 2010. It is the 4^th civil airport in Tibet and its elevation is more than 4,200 meters above sea level.

Nowadays, there is one flight from Lhasa to Ngari and one flight from Ngari to Lhasa each day:

Lhasa Gongga Airport - Ali Kunsha Airport

07:20 - 09:20

Ali Kunsha Airport - Lhasa Gongga Airport

10:00 - 11:35

The flight makes you more convenient to travel to Mount Kailash from Lhasa. 

Ali Kunshan Airport

Shiquanhe Town