The mysterious Tibet, the roof of the world, whether in old days and at present, always remains locked away with the outer world. It all the time stirs lots of imagination of different kinds of people. Tourists select a few methods to explore it, traders design to get there for riches or treasure, even before centuries imperialists wanted to conquer it, taking, Kublai Khan for example he failed to get to Tibet though he at last grasp the sovereignty over it, and some more examples. The reason why this snow land obstructed those kinds of people from coming in is the simple transportation condition, like roads with rock, grass, wild animal, etc.
In 17th century, when fifth Dalai Lama went to Beijing for the interview with Shunzhi, the emperor of Qin Dynasty, he spent four years on the way. Before he went to Beijing he had Potala Palace begun the building, and when he came back, the gigantic palace stood on the red mountain. Truly even from the point of view of people at present it is still a difficult project which would cost a few years to finish the task with the modern facility.
Another example to illustrate the poor transportation in the old days was Princess When Cheng came to Tibet for the marriage with Tibetan thirty third king Srongtsan Gampu. When the king’s foreign minister went to Chang’an which now is called Xi’an and showed the way back to Lhasa, they spent more than 4 years.
The recent example was that the fourteenth Dalai Lama in 1950s went to Beijing, he simply denied going overland but went to India and then to Hong Kong and finally flew to Beijing. Thus he still spent more than one month on the way.
Those descriptions are the ones about Tibet transportation condition and simple transfers methods in general 10 years before and centuries before.
However, the condition changed much and rapidly. From 10 years ago there has been more and more flights come in to Lhasa for tourists, and more and more automobile vehicle are used to change the transportation condition. Especially after Tibet Railway began, the transfers methods have one more member. Tourists now come to the most remarkable place in Asia without doubt, to visit fabulous monastery sights, breathtaking high-altitude treks, stunning views of the world’s highest mountains and one of the most likeable peoples you will ever meet. Pilgrims on a spiritual quest come to Lhasa, the remarkable and inspiring faith center of the Tibetan people, to accomplish their long dreams on this lost Shangri-la and steep in the magic and mystery.
Although there are more than one transfer methods, transportation condition is still not as good as that in New York, or Paris, or London, or Tokyo, or Shanghai, or Beijing. It is still difficult to get the train tickets to Tibet, and there is not any discount on the airfare like that you fly from one place to another in the world. Especially if you travel to Tibet overland, in spite of that your trip will take you past glittering mountain turquoise lakes and over high passes draped with prayer flags, the epic overland trip is usually along some of the world’s wildest roads. Yet the scope for adventure in Tibet is limitless, trekking past remote hermitages is also a kind of enjoyment.
To come to Tibet and enjoy a quiet spot in a prayer hall full of chanting monks is the best way to escape from the noisy metropolis.
by Skyman's editing