Tibet. Part II. CitiesMapSeptember 24–27, 2013 The fences and walls of houses in traditional Tibetan villages are covered with cow dung. ![]() Even the simplest-looking village homes all have richly decorated windows and doorways. There’s usually a sun porch or terrace over the main entrance, which shows that the farmers are no strangers to comfort. ![]() LhasaMapA pretty nice city. ![]() With a strong Chinese influence. ![]() A very strong Chinese influence. ![]() A bus stop. ![]() A post box whose features betray its British ancestry. ![]() Every street trash can has two sections: one for regular trash and one for recyclables. ![]() Tibet’s most famous landmark is Potala, the palace of the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama himself fled into exile in 1959, and now the palace is a museum. But the Chinese can’t allow symbols of other religions to just stand there like that. So they stick a super-tacky but enormous monument to fallen heroes or defenders or whatever in front of every important site. They build a big square, place guards of honor around it, etc. In other words, they show everyone whose religion is boss. ![]() A palace trash can. ![]() By the way, the Chinese generally don’t get worked up about that many things, but the state ideology is sacred. I jokingly asked the guide what the Dalai Lama’s visiting hours are, and the poor man went pale, glanced around furtively, and whispered that it wasn’t a very good topic for conversation. I presume that asking an Intourist guide in 1950s Moscow about whether you could get an invitation to a barbecue with comrade Stalin would have elicited the same reaction. ![]() That said, it’s perfectly fine to display religious devotion for decorative purposes—this attracts tourists. Here are branches of some kind being burned. ![]() What can you expect from simple old village women? Might as well let them prostrate themselves on the ground. ![]() People throw paper bills into the fountain here to make their wishes come true. The bills don’t sink very easily; they have to be helped along. ![]() A city streetlight. ![]() Bollards along the sidewalk. ![]() An avenue, typically Chinese in style. ![]() A phone booth. ![]() An exceptionally hideous pedestrian on a traffic light, whose dangling leg is supposed to symbolize walking. ![]() Pedestrian lights in Tibet usually consist of a fairly tall column with a pictogram that’s half a meter high. ![]() The most interesting traffic light here is the one for cars. It has one big color band which shrinks until it turns into a square. The red light shrinks from right to left, the green one—from left to right. It’s a countdown timer and signal in one. ![]() NagarzeMapA payphone. ![]() Another payphone. ![]() A fire hydrant. ![]() The city’s food market. ![]() GyantseMapThere are some beautiful temples in the city. ![]() And outside the city. ![]() ShigatseMapThe crosswalk sign is turned to face pedestrians, so drivers have no chance of seeing it. ![]() Policewomen roll a mobile traffic police platform down the street. ![]() The city awakens from slumber. ![]() |
september
|
september
|
september 2013
Tibet. Part II. Cities
← Ctrl →
|
september
|
september–october
|
© 19952025 Artemy Lebedev |