Tibetan China - the 'Real Tibet'
The last three weeks have seen us traipsing through some seriously obscure parts of the country. Xi'an was the last big city we were in, and in many ways, the last Chinese place we were in.
We have been in the North western provinces and the Tibetan Plateau - the traditional TIbetan regions - not the actual country, but the areas of China where the tibetans actually live. Everyone tells us that TIbet, and especially Lhasa, is so regulated and watched by the Chinese government that it is no longer where tibetans live in their traditional manner. Thanks to Beijing's migration and population movement programmes, 90% of the people living in Tibet itself are not of Tibetan descent...
We travelled to Lanzhou, former Silk Road destination, and more recently the world's most polluted city, and then an equally quick flyby to Xining. Both places were remarkable to me mostly for having more and more tribal or Tibetan or Muslim people - and also people who don't stare!! It's been interesting to see how different this part of the country is from 'China proper'. And how friendly and open the people are here.
All we get are smiles and nods and greetings, and proud grandparents who want pictures taken of their beautiful grandkids. Just like everywhere, it seems, the kids go to the big city and are leaving their children with Grandpa and Grandma to raise...
As we get further and further into the TIbetan part of the country
