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Travel in Yunnan is always a rewarding experience. Visiting Zhongdian, principally a Tibetan town with a mixture of Han, Bai and Naxi, constitutes a great sample of Tibet if you don’t have time to travel on to Tibet proper. The Old Tibetan Town plus Songzanlin Monastery are a must see places when in Zhongdian. Songzanlin Gompa is a clone of Potala Palace in Lhasa, a massive structure overlooking the nearly-11,000 ft. high plain around Shangri-La. Built in late 17th century it has wonderfully gilded rooftops, magnificent temples with impressive altars and frescoes. Visiting you will always run into many monks and Tibetan pilgrims though, if you’re lucky, you may be treated to a sight out of the ordinary, a visit of charming beauties adorned in their entire splendor.

Under the British Raj you could had ridden a train into India from Lahore in present day Pakistan. Since India’s independence you have to walk across the Wagha border between Pakistan and India, take bus to Amritsar and ride all over India from there. But now, Indian Railways has announced that it plans to establish rail links with Nepal, Bhutan and apparently concrete plans have been also drawn to connect the Indian rail network all the way with the Chinese railways.
With trade and tourism having reached large scale proportions in Kunming and Yunnan province of south-western China, the Chinese have already connected its rail system with that of Myanmar and plans are underway to extend it from there to Bangladesh with Dhaka being only a step from Kolkata, the eastern gateway to India. Once the network is fully in place and operational you’ll be able to tour Assam and Meghalaya from Kolkata and continue all the way to tour Yunnan in China.

With now being able to ride the iron rooster across China to Lhasa in Tibet, Chinese already started on extending the line across the High Himalaya down to Kathmandu in Nepal. Thus obviously after China you’ll be able to tour Nepal and then hop on a train and ride down into the plains of India. Of course this line will cost pretty penny as the road down from Kathmandu to Indian border is not an easy ride but the Chinese engineers have already blasted their way through much worse in Sichuan.

The third route in the works is to link southern Xinjiang Province of Western China with Pakistan. There is indeed another major obstacle in the way there and that’s the Karakoram. But never mind, just imagine, you could ride a train along the legendary Silk Road from Beijing via Kashgar over Kunjerab Pass, and along Karakoram Highway all the way to Deli and Mumbai!

Few years ago this Italian tourist asked me if I could arrange for her to take a taxi from Kathmandu to Mount Everest Base Camp! Now I wonder how soon will this really become possible.

K2, the second highest peak on the planet (28,268’) is a lonely place right now. It straddles the border between Pakistan and the Xinjian Uygur Autonomous Region in China, both fraught with riots, ethnic upheavals and terrorist attacks. Nonetheless it’s as beautiful from China as it was from Pakistan where I first saw it in ’98. I and my team of three Kyrgyz, one Uygur and three camels experienced bluebird conditions in base camp and not another soul the entire time. Our little family–Shiite, Sunni and kara bura (black camels)–celebrated the end of Ramadan, the Lunar New Year and the 60th Anniversary of Communism in China. Mostly we shared a common goal: to reach K2. A good time was had by all.Visit author’s website: Ruth Anne Kocour.

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Ever since Tibet first opened to Western tourists in the early 1980s, Kham, the eastern part of Tibet, remained closed. Few hard core travelers tried to bribe their way across in the early years, traveling atop trucks, often needing to keep hidden out of view for most of the journey that could last as long as three to four weeks, freezing, hungry, set to dodge numerous check posts, only to make it through. Getting caught meant getting a heavy fine and instant deportation. Sightseeing was nearly impossible unless the truck driver was willing to stop in the middle of nowhere, or at best perhaps at a small village. Through towns one could pass only by night or early dawn, and only with the utmost cooperation of the truck driver. But even from the back of the truck the scenery was magnificant, and the journey unlike any other.

In recent years as more Chinese tourists ventured to Tibet and started to navigate the Eastern Tibet roads to Sichuan and Yunnan, handful of Westerners have gotten permits as well. Because of protests and calls for Tibetan independence in 2007, Litang and most of Western Sichuan has remained closed since.

Whether travelling the route from Sichuan, from Chengdu via Lithang on to Lhasa, or from Zhongdian in northern Yunnan via Deqin and Markham, the Kham route to Lhasa is simply stunning and an experience not to miss.

Encountering the strong and proud Kampa Tibetans, passing over incredible passes such as Dongda La, Serkhym La or Mila, passing by striking lakes of Ranwu Tso, Rawak Tso, or Draksum Tso, and marveling at glaciers and towering peaks the likes of Namche Barwa is guaranteed to leave one often speechless.

Though the route can be done in either direction, Lhasa to Chengdu, Tibet to Sichuan or Sichuan to Tibet, Chengdu to Lhasa, you’ll need considerably more time for this routing. Aside that, this route through Western Sichuan is also more unpredictable, even if you should be able to get a Tibet Travel Permit. This has been even more so a case since the Lhasa and Litang riots of March 2008 and as a result since much of Western Sichuan has been off limits to Westerners, though in recent weeks few Western tourists are getting through.

The third routing, Lhasa to Zhongdian or Tibet to Yunnan, is just as rewarding, can be done in as few as seven days, though more days will allow for more stops and more enjoyable eastern Tibet traverse. For better acclimatization it is advised to travel the route starting from the lower elevations of Yunnan, thus travel Zhongdian to Lhasa.

Khams or Eastern Tibet
Cavaliers of Kham: The Secret War in Central Asia

Wondering the narrow alleyways of Erhai lakeside villages near Dali in Yunnan Province of southwestern China one can get lucky and stumble upon a genuine Bai village temple fest. Tourists who prefer to keep to Dali guidebooks most recommended sites seldom visit the smallest of these villages. Yet it is here at a typical village temple that a village folk gathering can be found worshiping. There are no guests, no outside visitors and the immensely enjoyable spectacle usually lasts all day. The participants, including the orchestra members are the villagers themselves. All of them take part; they are who live in the small village, sharing in the worship and the eventual feast. Both men and women participate, the women first in their own temple, and then together with men they light the auspicious incense in the main temple. After worship the participants gather to enjoy some of the foods the women cooked and offered as temple offerings to the gods pig head, rooster, bowl of spicy fish, plates of colored noodles, cups of rice, fruits, chilly and vegetables, all staple parts of their diet. This gathering and communal temple worship and meal was preceded by five days of abstinence from eating meat. The music and chants are mesmerizing, downright hypnotic. All villagers sport smiles and deep-rooted joy in participating. Their simple, authentic local celebration exudes in genuine display of friendship toward one another. The following video is Part 2 of 6.