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Xiahe, Gansu
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Xiahe, Gansu
by Tom Carter
In these over-publicized times of China's new railroad to Tibet, one might be
better off avoiding the tourist circus than rnning away with it. Indeed, unless
the reader has a certain fondness for overbooked hotels and intrusive, red
hat-wearing tour groups, Lhasa is hardly the Tibetan delight that travel
agencies continue to bill it as.
Fortunately, lesser-traveled Gansu
province in northwest China offers the cultural charm of Tibet without the
crowds. Sharing borders with six other provinces except Tibet, it is physically
unobvious that Gansu would be home to any kind of Tibetan population. This,
coupled with the great shadows cast by the ever-popular neighboring Sichuan and
Shaanxi, results in Gansu being one of China's well-kept travel secrets.The
narrowly arching province makes it somewhat inconvenient to traverse, yet it is
due to this shapely fact that the northern and southern regions offer
dramatically different topography, climate and culture, lending to Gansu's
uniquely varying harm.
Situated adjacent to both Xinjiang and Qinghai
provinces, the small city of Dunhuang in Gansu's Hexi corridor is famed for its
mountain-sized sand dunes and ancient Buddhist grotto cave art. A tree-trimmed
oasis emmed by a limitless expanse of sand, Dunhuang, once an important outpost
along the Silk Road, is now a travel destination as hot as the outlying
deserts.
On the theoretically and geographically opposite end of the
province, the mountainous terrain of Xiahe provides a cool, quiet respite from
both the sweltering sands and disorderly tour groups of Dunhuang. After
threading through verdant grasslands grazing with yak, golden fields of wheat
and undulating hills of the contiguous Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, Xiahe suddenly
appears beneath the surreal blue sky like a monastic vision.
Of the
Gannon Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Xiahe is in fact no more than a simple
slat-wood settlement along the Daxia River physically and socially orbiting the
impressive Labuleng, mainland China's largest Tibetan monastery. Hugged up
against the surrounding mountainside, the picturesque state known also as the
Labrang Lamma monastery was built in 1710 and accommodates six Buddhist
seminaries and over 500 monks of the Yellow Hat sect.
Buddhists from
across the region come to worship at Labuleng, contributing to the colorful
activity that gives Xiahe its attractive allure. A three-kilometer kora
(spiritual walking circuit) halos the area and is heavy with foot traffic from
dawn to dusk, whereby crimson-robed monks and natively dressed Amdo pilgrims
spinning hand-held mani wheels orbit the monastery while breathlessly
prostrating themselves and chanting.
In between turning 1,200 vibrantly
painted wooden prayer wheels, the resplendently ornamented nomads rest beneath
stupas to chat and sip yak butter tea, a veritable portrait of Tibetan
culture.
Visiting the holy capital city of Lhasa on the roof of the world
may sound thrilling, but increasing occupation and rampant tourism has rapidly
diluted it from the serene getaway it once was. Xiahe, known as Little Lhasa, in
the Gansu highlands is a more intimate, and conveniently closer, alternative for
those desiring a secluded retreat of unadulterated Tibetan
culture.
Transportation
1. Flights from Beijing to Dunhuang
Airport, daily at 7:30am (3 hours, 1,880 yuan)
2. From Langzhou to Xiahe,
busses leave the North Bus Station at 7am, 8:30am and 2pm (5 hours, 25
yuan).
Accomodation
1. In Dunhuang, the Feitian Binguan located on
Mingshan Lu directly across the street from the bus terminal is a popular
backpacker hangout, offering dorm rooms and hot-water showers for only 20
yuan.
2. There are a number small inns of varying standards along Renmin
Jie in Xiahe, though the Tara and Overseas youth hostels on the west end of town
seem to be the preferred choice (25 yuan for a dorm bed).
Regional
cuisine
Hand-pulled noodles and thinner beef-noodle soup (saozi lamian)
are provincial favorites. Hui-Muslim influences to the north include heavily
seasoned mutton/lamb kabob (yangrou chuan), fresh baked bread (nang) and bushels
of fragrant peaches and watermelon. Tibetan fare is simpler, including the
notorious yak butter tea (po cha), a pungent, thick, salty beverage that
Tibetans consume habitually, and Tsampa, a nomadic staple of barley flour
kneaded with butter tea to form an edible, nourishing
dough.
###
Tom Carter of San Francisco is an internationally
published freelance photographer and travel writer specializing in the People's
Republic of China. Tom has traveled extensively throughout all 33 Chinese
provinces and autonomous regions and currently resides in Beijing.
This
article originally appeared in an October edition of China Daily newspaper.
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