Today 18th April, the destination for the day is Xiahe ( Sangqu Tibetan ) ) a county in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu province, the People's Republic of China. It is home to the famed Labrang Tibetan Buddhist monastery, one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries outside the Tibet Autonomous Region. The town is populated largely by ethnic Tibetans, as well as some Hui and Han Chinese. The area is highly rural and pastoral (including yak and other animal rearing).
The geography is mountainous. In recent years it has become a tourist attraction. The town was named Xiahe in 1928. But we made a unscheduled stop for lunch, a little early, in one of the numerous Tibetan camps /guesthouse/ restaurant..they looked so colourful and inviting with beautiful tents and flags.
Here's what the team shares to us on Day 24, after travelling 524 kms:
'Left Jiuzhaigou Valley around 8.30 am. We opted for an early lunch today at a Tibetan tent restaurant. Lunch was black mushroom, potato and a bread.
Served with a Tibetan tea Suyou or butter tea. It is made from churning tea, salt and yak butter. The tea used is a particularly potent, smoky type of brick tea from Pemagul, Tibet.
Sitting in the open with the people from the "guest house " (the young lads wanted to learn a bit of English) sharing food with them was something to write home about .
First scheduled stop was Zoige Wetland (Ruoergai Wetland), located in the upstream of the Yellow River in eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, also called the flower lake as the whole wetland comes alive with blooms in May to July .
Second stop was this beautiful Tibetan Monastery Langmu Temple. Founded in 1748, Langmu Temple belongs to Tibetan Buddhism. After years of extension and development, the temple today is composed of ten affiliated temples and two ashrams.
One of the main pagodas of the temple lays the human body of the fifth Living Buddha, which is the best preserved one with longest time, though after more than two hundred years the skin of the Living Buddha is still elastic. What’s more, there are pagodas made from thousands grams of gold, silver, pearl, etc. to remember other Living Buddhas.
Considered a very sacred place, we met a few Tibetans who have traveled a very long distance to pay obeisance here .
The roads today were open, stark and sterile. Atmosphere in the car was contemplative. The vastness and the roads left us a little overwhelmed.
My thoughts were muddled , the uniqueness of this experience , the roads so less traveled ,specially from where we come from leaves me humbled and appreciative of what life has offered to me ! We are constantly at an altitude of 11-12000 feet and it is slowly getting to us'.
The team will rest at Xiahe and leave fresh to yet another exiting place today (19th April, 2017).
The geography is mountainous. In recent years it has become a tourist attraction. The town was named Xiahe in 1928. But we made a unscheduled stop for lunch, a little early, in one of the numerous Tibetan camps /guesthouse/ restaurant..they looked so colourful and inviting with beautiful tents and flags.
Here's what the team shares to us on Day 24, after travelling 524 kms:
'Left Jiuzhaigou Valley around 8.30 am. We opted for an early lunch today at a Tibetan tent restaurant. Lunch was black mushroom, potato and a bread.
Served with a Tibetan tea Suyou or butter tea. It is made from churning tea, salt and yak butter. The tea used is a particularly potent, smoky type of brick tea from Pemagul, Tibet.
Sitting in the open with the people from the "guest house " (the young lads wanted to learn a bit of English) sharing food with them was something to write home about .
First scheduled stop was Zoige Wetland (Ruoergai Wetland), located in the upstream of the Yellow River in eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, also called the flower lake as the whole wetland comes alive with blooms in May to July .
Second stop was this beautiful Tibetan Monastery Langmu Temple. Founded in 1748, Langmu Temple belongs to Tibetan Buddhism. After years of extension and development, the temple today is composed of ten affiliated temples and two ashrams.
One of the main pagodas of the temple lays the human body of the fifth Living Buddha, which is the best preserved one with longest time, though after more than two hundred years the skin of the Living Buddha is still elastic. What’s more, there are pagodas made from thousands grams of gold, silver, pearl, etc. to remember other Living Buddhas.
Considered a very sacred place, we met a few Tibetans who have traveled a very long distance to pay obeisance here .
The roads today were open, stark and sterile. Atmosphere in the car was contemplative. The vastness and the roads left us a little overwhelmed.
My thoughts were muddled , the uniqueness of this experience , the roads so less traveled ,specially from where we come from leaves me humbled and appreciative of what life has offered to me ! We are constantly at an altitude of 11-12000 feet and it is slowly getting to us'.
The team will rest at Xiahe and leave fresh to yet another exiting place today (19th April, 2017).