Tibet is no longer a distant place!

Preface: Tibet has always been the most sacred distant place in my heart! Here, there is the magnificent Potala Palace, the rarely seen Namcha Barwa Peak, the plateau lakes, the world's highest peak—Mount Everest, the deepest canyon—Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, the mysterious Tibetan Buddhism, and the greatest king among the living Buddhas who wrote 'How can one achieve both in this world, not failing the Buddha nor failing you,' the 6th Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso, the most beautiful lover wandering the streets of Lhasa! Every time I finish a long journey, I like to record the bits and pieces of the trip with my pen! This year's hard seat direct train to Lhasa is the best way to unlock Tibet! A carriage full of Han and Tibetan students, a carriage full of laughter and songs, a carriage full of passion, a carriage full of youthful dreams! I also seem to return to my student days, without a trace of fatigue from long-distance travel and various troubles! Train Z164 is known as the most beautiful train to Tibet. Departing from Shanghai, it heads west, traversing China, and directly reaching Lhasa. After arriving in Xining, passengers transfer to an oxygen-supplied train. During the transfer, passengers voluntarily get off the train to wipe the windows, just for the most beautiful scenery after Xining station, passing through Qinghai Lake, Hoh Xil no-man's land, Tuo Tuo River, Tanggula Pass, and Cuona Lake! On this train, you can see spectacular sunsets, vast grasslands, winding rivers, and other natural landscapes through the windows! After arriving in Lhasa, renting a car for self-driving is a must, allowing you to freely drive on the snowy plateau! The blue sky in Tibet is particularly blue and particularly close! The white clouds are just on the mountain tops, within reach! The golden rapeseed flowers are one of my favorite sceneries! I didn't expect that in this season, hidden deep in the mountains of Tibet, there are beautiful sceneries comparable to the rapeseed flowers of Qinghai Lake! At the beginning of July, Tibet has entered the rainy season, but we were quite lucky. Although we didn't see the golden summit, we still clearly saw the 'shy girl' peak! As night fell, at the foot of Namcha Barwa Peak, by the Yarlung Tsangpo River, we walked into the internet-famous black shop in Suosong Village, drank 318 Road beer, listened to Xu Wei's 'Blue Lotus,' and went crazy with a group of young people... Leaving Nyingchi, our self-driving car continued to drive on the land of Tibet, taking some photos of Tibetan residences along the way. Overall, the lives of Tibetans in Lhasa, Nyingchi, Gyantse, and Bailang in Shigatse are relatively affluent, but the lives of herdsmen in some remote Tibetan areas are still quite difficult, and the Tibetan residences are also very simple! Dagu Canyon is the most dangerous road section I have driven so far. On one side are towering peaks, and on the other side is a turbulent canyon, the thrilling excitement always accompanying the whole journey! The monkeys at the Monkey Viewing Platform here are very friendly to tourists, eating the food they are fed without any aggression! Yamdrok Lake is one of the three holy lakes in Tibet! I have driven around Erhai Lake, Qinghai Lake, Dongting Lake, and Taihu Lake, but this time, the Yamdrok Lake loop amazed me the most. It can be said to be the most beautiful lake I have ever seen, bar none! The sky, mountains, and clouds are reflected in the clear lake water, presenting a dreamy blue that cannot be described in words! One lake after another is the most unique highlight of traveling in Tibet. Due to time constraints, we did not go to Namtso, but we still went from Yamdrok Lake to Pumoyong Lake. Although the weather was not favorable, we accidentally experienced the sunny and cloudy weather of Tibet! At Pumoyong Lake, we also captured an eagle soaring under the dark clouds! The Everest Base Camp is also a must-visit place for traveling in Tibet. On the way to the Everest Base Camp, we passed by the Karola Glacier and the Manla Reservoir! Due to my wife's slight altitude sickness, we couldn't get close to the glacier, which was the biggest regret of this trip to Tibet! However, standing on the viewing platform and looking at the Manla Reservoir made up for my previous disappointment! Look! The person standing on the mountain top in the distance, with arms outstretched, embracing the mountains, is me! Here, at a glance, the entire pass is covered with prayer flags! The colorful prayer flags and wind horse flags are a beautiful scenery on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau! Believers of Tibetan Buddhism believe that every time the prayer flags flutter in the wind, it is equivalent to the devotee chanting once! Tsangyang Gyatso wrote about the wind horse flags: At that moment Raising the wind horse flag Not for blessings Just to wait for your arrival That day Closing my eyes in the incense mist of the temple Suddenly hearing Your true words when chanting... The G318 National Highway, which must be driven in this life, is the only way to the Everest Base Camp! Desolation is the main theme of this journey! Everest Grand Theater, Everest Base Camp North Gate, Everest Guandi Temple, Everest 108 Turns... Everything here is inseparable from the 'Everest' name card! Standing at the Gawula Pass at an altitude of 5210 meters, looking at Everest! Although due to the weather, Everest was not visible to the eyes, Everest is still in the heart! The Potala Palace and Barkhor Street are the first choices for every traveler to Tibet, but we still put the most essential part at the end of the journey to slightly alleviate the melancholy of the journey's end! The main colors of the Potala Palace are red and white. The white buildings are the White Palace, where the Dalai Lama lives and handles affairs, and the red buildings are the Red Palace, mainly the stupas of successive Dalai Lamas and various Buddha halls. We climbed up the steps into the Potala Palace, which inevitably reminded us of Su Dongpo's poem: 'From the side, it forms a ridge, from the front, a peak, different from near and far, high and low!' Barkhor Street is the last stop of this trip to Tibet! What fascinates me most here are the traditional Tibetan buildings! The Qing government’s resident minister's office in Tibet is also on this street, open to the public for free. The collection of pictures and materials includes the heroic deeds of the Tibetan people fighting against the British and the various achievements of the resident ministers of the central government in Tibet, further proving that Tibet has always been a sacred and inseparable part of China! In the blink of an eye, the six-day trip to Tibet has come to an end. Although it was arduous, it was wonderful all the way! Goodbye! Potala Palace! Goodbye! Lhasa! Goodbye! Tibet! Looking forward to crossing Tibet again!