Walking into a Tibetan Home

Fourth Day Walking into a Tibetan Home Today, Guide Yang took us to visit a Tibetan home. We departed from the hotel at eight in the morning. This hotel claims to be three-star, but the breakfast was terrible, and the room didn't even have towels or bath towels, with only one tissue which was far from enough. Guide Yang is very diligent; he started explaining as soon as we got on the bus. He talked about the ancient fortress group of the Gongbu Tibetan culture. He said that the Gongbu Tibetans commemorate Sakyamuni by exposing their right arm, tying it with a belt, and wearing a round-topped hat with two hat tails. He mentioned that the Gongbu people have excellently preserved their traditional handicrafts, and their craftsmanship is superb. Today, Guide Yang took us to visit a Tibetan home. The hostess of this Tibetan home is named Moon. Her father is the village secretary. She said she is 48 years old, has a 5-year-old grandson, and her four children include a doctor, a teacher, and a graduate student. Moon is very eloquent, friendly, and enthusiastic, with a quick response and well-organized speech. Through her eloquent narration, I learned about Tibetan history and culture, especially gaining some understanding of the Gongbu Tibetans. Most of her time was spent talking about the past and present of the Tibetans, their history and culture. I knew she mainly wanted to sell silver jewelry. She is very different from salespeople in many places. Listening to her talk, you gain insights and reflections. For example, she said that the Han and Tibetan people need to communicate; only through communication can there be understanding and support. Indeed, communication is needed between ethnic groups and between people. Only with communication can there be understanding, empathy, and willingness to give. She was very sincere, and in the end, I bought a silver comb. After leaving the Tibetan home, we went to the Xiuba Ancient Fortress. The Xiuba Ancient Fortress is located in Xiuba Village, Bahe Town, Gongbujiangda County. 'Xiuba' means 'skinning' in Tibetan. The Xiuba Ancient Fortress has a history of over 1600 years. It is the oldest, most historical, densest, and best-preserved ancient fortress group in Tibet, housing the largest prayer wheel in Tibet. The entire fortress group is surrounded by a square formation, giving visitors the feeling of being on an ancient battlefield. Walking into the Xiuba Ancient Fortress at noon, it didn't feel hot but rather cool, as the fortress is surrounded by plants, mostly peach trees that are hundreds or even thousands of years old. Some peach trees have hollow trunks but still green leaves, and some branches even have ganoderma growing on them. It is said that in spring, the peach blossoms of the fortress are one of the most beautiful sights in Tibet. In the Xiuba Ancient Fortress, you can also admire the largest prayer wheel in Tibet, the Gesar Command Platform, the Prayer Flag Tower, and the Blue Peacock, among other cultural and natural wonders. Visitors to the fortress can feel the rich historical atmosphere, as if traveling back in time to a thousand years ago. There is also a legend about the Xiuba Ancient Fortress. Legend has it that the Xiuba Ancient Fortress was built over a thousand years ago by Songtsen Gampo during his conquests to facilitate communication between the army and for garrison and defense purposes, thus constructing these fortresses with ruling symbols. The Xiuba Ancient Fortress predates the Potala Palace by 300 years and is one of Tibet's important historical and cultural heritages. For dinner, we had stone pot mushroom chicken soup. Guide Yang said to eat the chicken first, drink the soup, and finally blanch the vegetables. Everyone enjoyed this dinner. Eight strangers from all over the country gradually started communicating while adding ingredients and soup to the hot pot, making the meal more flavorful. Of course, everyone didn't eat much rice but had steamed buns made of highland barley, which were extremely delicious. On the way back to Lhasa, we also checked in at the internet-famous bridge. Standing on the bridge, overlooking the night view of Lhasa, walking on the bridge with the evening breeze was quite pleasant. However, the night view couldn't compare to that of Xiamen.