A different view of Tibet

1. TOURISM PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT IN TIBET
Potala Palace, Lhasa
Dr Trevor Sofield
Foundation Professor of Tourism
University of Tasmania
Australia

2. PREFACE
While this presentation is focused on tourism policy and planning for the Tibet
Autonomous Region of China, it is also a refutation of generally held Western views
about Tibet.
For the vast majority of westerners the only perception they hold
of Tibet is derived from interviews by the Dalai Lama, who makes a wide
range of claims about conditions inside a country which he has not visited in
fifty years. As with anybody who has not been „home‟ for 50 years such
views will inevitably be out of date. He enjoins people to visit Tibet to see
for themselves that he is talking the truth – but I cannot find the Tibet he
describes!
Part I
Mount Namchak Barwo

3. PREFACE
This presentation might thus be sub-titled: :
This presentation might thus be sub-titled:

4. Introduction
In June/July 2008 I made my ninth visit in 8 years to Greater Tibet and the Tibet Autonomous
Region (T.A.R.). Each visit has been a research planning exercise designed to gather data and
undertake analyses for the development of appropriate forms of ecotourism and cultural tourism
for Chinese (domestic) and International visitation. This has given me first-hand an in-depth
knowledge and understanding of the T.A.R. and its people.
Dr Trevor Sofield, Professor of Tourism, University of Tasmania, Australia

5. The Dali Lama contends that China is practising cultural genocide on his people.
Yet the Chinese Government has a transparent policy of opening up Tibet and its culture for
the whole world. Their objective is the opposite - to conserve not destroy Tibetan culture and
promote it to the world.
Further, the Tibetan Tourism Bureau recently issued a booklet (2008) for all Chinese visitors to
Tibet on Tibetan etiquette, customs and culture and how to behave in order not to be
insensitive. This is not the sort of publication one would expect following the assertions by the
Dalai Lama to the contrary.
The very reason for my visits to T.A.R. has been to assist in these endeavours.
Buddhist
Festival,
Changda,
2008
Dr Trevor Sofield, Professor of Tourism, University of Tasmania Australia

6. Introduction
Previous outcomes have included a tourism master plan for the „Greater Shangri-la Region‟
(which encompasses the Tibetan communities of northern Yunnan Province, western Sichuan
Province and Eastern Tibet), and various tourism plans for Tibet itself. At the highest political
level, a major commitment, supported by more than US$20 billion, has been made for the
economic development of China‟s western provinces (the Western Development Plan) because
of their relative under-development compared to the booming eastern coastal provinces. Tibet
and Tibetans are beneficiaries of this national intervention.
The objective of the latest visit was to develop a Master Tourism Plan for Linzhi Prefecture in
south eastern Tibet.
Dr Trevor Sofield, Professor of Tourism, University of Tasmania, Australia

7. TOURISM PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT IN TIBET
TIBETAN PLATEAU
LIN-ZHI
HIMALAYAN MOUNTAINS
Satellite photo of Tibet (NASA web site)

8. Objectives: A major component of the most recent exercise was to focus on Tibetan
ecology and culture to advise on appropriate forms of development that would safeguard
and retain the integrity of Tibetan traditions and the environment to the greatest possible
extent for international visitors and Chinese alike. The Master Plan is being formulated
under the auspices of the China National Tourism Administration, a key aim of which is to
promote Tibetan culture. In this context, as with all previous field trips, I found a resilient,
dynamic living culture being expressed and manifest on a daily basis in literally hundreds of
different ways. The total integration between Tibetan culture and their biophysical
environment thus lends itself to holistic forms of ecotourism development that have the
capacity to benefit local communities directly.
Yang Zhou Yong village Ba-rang Village
Dr Trevor Sofield, Professor of Tourism, University of Tasmania, Australia

9. The Dalai Lama asserts that the Chinese Government is destroying Buddhist
temples, closing their teaching institutes and preventing Tibetans from practising
their religion.
But I have witnessed major rebuilding of temples all over Tibet (many were damaged
during the Cultural Revolution) and they are vibrant with active discipleship and
teaching.

10. Touring route development
The scenery in south eastern Tibet is stunning. When the area is opened to international
visitors the route we took will I believe become one of the most spectacular touring routes
anywhere - towering snow capped peaks adorned with numerous glaciers, deep
perpendicular gorges, thick old-growth forests in the lower altitudes, windswept grasslands
on the plateau, picturesque villages occupying tiny fragments of arable land among the
peaks and gorges, and a vibrant Tibetan Buddhist culture all around!
„First Bend‟ of the Yangtze River
Mount Gyala Belri
Dr Trevor Sofield, Professor of Tourism, University of Tasmania, Australia

11. Yarlung Tsampo (Brahmaputra) River Silong Glacier

12. “The Roof of the World” - Mila Mountain and pass, 5,424metres.
Dr Trevor Sofield, Professor of Tourism, University of Tasmania, Australia

13. I have witnessed, on a daily basis, literally hundreds of acts and aspects of Tibetan culture in all
its forms and variety. I have spent weeks at a time immersed in an extremely vibrant and
dynamic culture that is Tibetan first, Tibetan second and Tibetan last. I have spent many hours
in more than 100 monasteries and temples where monks, nuns and pilgrims have practised
their beliefs and carried out their religious activities without hindrance. The development plan
submitted for the pilgrimage town of Chamdo in central eastern Tibet, home of perhaps the
most famous Yellow Hat sect Buddhist teaching monastery in Tibet with currently more than
2000 resident monks, Qiangbaling, provides such an example. Chamdo is surrounded by eight
ancient monasteries and temples located high up in the surrounding mountains, each one at
the end of a road that radiates out from Chamdo like the spokes of a wheel. Each temple
requires a full day in 4WD vehicle to reach and return to Chamdo.
Qiangbaling Monastery and temples
Dr Trevor Sofield, Professor of Tourism, University of Tasmania, Australia

14. Daily activities at Qiangbaling

15. This configuration lends itself to a classical hub-and-spokes cluster development and the
concept incorporated in our Tourism Development Plan utilises the Tibetan prayer wheel or
circle of life to emphasize the cultural richness of the experience. Each day trip to the ancient
temple at the end of the road combines a range of nature based experiences that focus on a
village or villages en route so that ecotourism in its holistic form constitutes the foundation of
our planning. For example, the trip to the 8th century Garma Temple passes the village of
Ridung, famous for traditional Tibetan herbal medicines where there is a thriving cottage
industry; Wami, a craft village famous for its metal workers who make Buddhist idols and other
statuary for temples all over Tibet; and Wazai which hosts families of „thanka‟ artists who
specialize in producing traditional paintings and art works for temples and monasteries. The
village of Dorje is located above a fast flowing stream ideal for kayaking and rafting, and there
are many potential wilderness walks into the mountains along the entire route to Garma on yak
or pony (or on foot) with local guides and home-stays, including a high alpine forest of
rhododendrons and conifers that are home to at least one large troop (more than 250
members) of long tailed Tibetan macaques.

16. Dr Trevor Sofield,
Annual installation ceremony for graduation of new monks, Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Qiangabling Monastery, Chamdo Australia

17. Diagram showing the
hub-and-spokes
relationship of
Garma
Chamdo to the Temple
surrounding temples. Chajima
There is no linking Jiuzhaotse
Monastery Monastery
road between any of
the temples which
are separated by
very high mountains, CHAMDO
deep valleys and
swift flowing rivers.
Dalak temple Chaya Temple
Wa La Monastery
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
Buddhist wheel of life University of Tasmania,
Australia

18. Cluster Planning:
The Spokes
Chaya
GARMA
Jiuzhaotse Monastery
CHAMDO
Dalak Monastery
Chajima Monastery
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Wa-La Monastery Australia

19. Hub-and Spokes Cluster – en route community development
Each of the Chamdo „spokes‟ could be developed over a period of time as an en
route attraction, as exampled by the route to Garma Temple:
CHAMDO
Attractions en route Tourism Type
Dechen Patsun Tibetan religion, built
Holy Mountain heritage, living culture,
forests, nature & eco-tourism
Ridung Tibetan traditional
Traditional heritage, living culture
Medicine village
River recreation Ecotourism
Wazai Tibetan rural way of life,
Handicraft Centre artefacts, living culture
Master artist’s Tibetan religion, religious
village art, living culture
GARMA TEMPLE
Dr Trevor Sofield, Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania, Australia

20. Pilgrimage: Among many other examples of cultural diversity visible all over Tibet are the
hundreds, perhaps thousands of pilgrims on trails and roads all over Tibet slowly and arduously
making their way to Lhasa, prostrating themselves full length on the ground, rising, taking three
paces forward, and lowering themselves to the ground again to stretch out to the full, an action
repeated thousands and thousands of times, on journeys that may take two or more years. We
came across one group of pilgrims who had been on the road from Chengdu, Sichuan (where
the recent earthquake was) for 2 years, a baby had been born on the way - and they had an
Australian budgerigar in a cage!!!! (Of which I have a photo of course!). Another old couple -
both in their 60s - let me pull their handcart up and over a pass at 4,884 metres! (I was
interested to see how heavy it was). Another family group had two or three family members at
a time prostrating themselves along the road for 2-to-3 kilometres and then being replaced by
others relay-team style. Their hand cart was adorned with solar cells and a battery – there is
no firewood at high altitudes of course, often no yak or cattle dung as an alternate fuel, and so
to boil the water for their yak butter tea, they had an electric kettle! The hand carts contain a
tent, spare clothing, a few pots and pans and not much else. To protect their hands and chests
from abrasions as they prostrate themselves full length on the ground they wear wooden pads
strapped to the palms of their hands and a heavy yak leather apron.
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

21. On the road 400kms from Lhasa
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of
Tasmania, Australia Pilgrims approaching Jorkhang Temple, Lhasa

22. Pilgrim‟s
handcart with
solar panel
Pilgrims on Mt Meli pass
Pilgrims with budgerigar in
cage
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

23. Mt Milu Pass
Me!

24. In terms of the integration of culture and environment, mountains in all forms of Tibetan
Buddhism are sacred, every high mountain pass in Tibet is regarded as sacred, and every pass
is adorned with literally thousands of Buddhist prayer flags and silk scarves. Buddhist belief is
that as each flag flutters in the breeze the prayer that is printed on it drifts on the wind and
blesses all those who feel the movement of the air. The scarves, hadah, are exchanged in
welcome ceremonies and in numerous other Buddhist rituals as a symbol of peace and good
wishes. At all mountain passes every Tibetan traveller stops to add more flags and scarves –
and nowadays, busloads of Chinese and other travellers engage in the same action. In some
places the fabric is metres thick. The thousands of torn and faded flags and hadah as well as
brand new ones indicate that the practice has been continuing for a long time. In addition to
prayer flags, piles of inscribed mani stones and tablets far more numerous than the many
thousands of temples dot roadsides, hillsides, riversides and other sites imbued with a spiritual
essence and are constantly added to, repainted and/or reinscribed. Often the skulls of yaks are
also inscribed with a Buddhist mantra and added to a pile of mani stones. This continuing daily
activity all around Tibet is inconsistent with claims of cultural genocide by the Dalia Lam.!
Every mountain is sacred and every pass is adorned with thousands of prayer flags

25. Sacred mani stones. Some are new, many of
them hundreds of years old.

26. A living culture: I have seen Tibetans going about their daily life ploughing their fields with
yaks while chanting the ubiquitous “Om-ma-ni-pad-ma-ni-om” as a prayer of forgiveness
because every turn of their plough is killing animals and insects in the soil in violation of the
Buddhist precept of never taking life in any form. Of women climbing cliff faces to place prayer
flags and juniper twigs in „worship power places‟. Of families tending their herds of yaks, goats,
sheep, donkeys and horses, milking them, weaving their wool, making yak butter, harvesting
barley in the lower valleys, making leather pouches, carving wooden saddles – not actors
museumized for tourists in traditional fancy dress, not Sinicized to destroy their culture, just
living as Tibetans have lived for centuries – but sometimes with electricity from micro-hydro
schemes to light and warm their homes!

27. Many Tibetans are pastoralists.

28. Bilingualism: In terms of support for the Tibetan language and traditional script, official
signage is all bilingual. Directional road signs, national nature reserves, government buildings,
clinics and schools, even government ministry vehicles, all display both Tibetan and Chinese.
Some signs were very old judging by the rust and faded colouring, some were brand new, but
combined they indicated that it has long been a policy of the Chinese Government to produce
bilingual signage and not in response to criticism arising over China‟s hosting of the Olympic
Games. In the village schools that I visited hundreds of kilometres from the town of Nyingchi,
the teaching medium is often in Tibetan for the simple reason that that is the only language
with which the teachers can communicate with their pupils. The children learn Chinese, as well
as Tibetan, just as Chinese students in many parts of China also take a second language,
often English. Once we left the two small cities in this part of Tibet, we needed Tibetan
translators because many of the local authorities and most of the people could not talk
Chinese. In short, I found a resilient use of Tibetan and a vibrant bilingualism that helps to
underpin the cultural foundations of Tibetan-ness, in stark contrast to the claim by the Dalai
Lama that the Chinese are banning the use of Tibetan..
Grand
Canyon
National
Park
signage –
Tibetan on
one side,
Chinese
on the
other.

29. This sign, located below a
landslip on a hillside near
Bacang, carries a clear
conservation message in
both Tibetan and Chinese:
Carry Out the “Save
the Environment
Project” to benefit
future generations.
The date is recorded as
March 2001 and the area is
surrounded by a large
reafforestation project.

30. China experiences four major tourist flows, each of which has significantly
different characteristics that planning must take into account. The needs and
expectations of Chinese domestic tourists (by far the largest market) are quite
different from those of „Overseas Chinese‟, which in turn are different from
international Asian visitors (Japan, Korea, Thailand, etc), which are again quite
different from those of international western country travellers.
My focus as part of the team was to contribute to proposals for the international
western countries‟ segment of the market, particularly ecotourism and cultural
tourism. A major characteristic of this market is that Tibet has an almost mystical
fascination for westerners, and tours need to be undertaken with interpretation
that covers history, religion, biology, geology and culture. Given the relative
isolation of Tibet, its underdeveloped tourism services sector and the reliance of
access to many parts by four-wheel drive vehicles on precipitous roads over
passes more than 5000 metres high, the type of tourism might be appropriately
described as cultural/natural heritage adventure tourism.
The following vignettes are
included to indicate the potential
attractions for this type of tourism.
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

31. Road to Jiuzhaotse
Dr Trevor Sofield, Professor of
Tourism, University of Tasmania,
Australia

32. 1. In Dege, there is a very famous Buddhist printery and monastery that for
more than 300 years has been producing hand-printed Buddhist texts on scrolls
which are also of handmade paper (from mulberry tree pulp and bark) that is
made in an annexe. A visit to this monastery today will reveal an absolute hive of
activity as perhaps 100 monks continue to hand-print 3 million copies of such
texts each year that are distributed all over Tibet. They have a „library‟ of 60,000
woodcut blocks, which were kept in safekeeping during the Cultural Revolution.
Dege has recently been opened for tourism and thousands of Chinese and
foreign Buddhists, including from Taiwan, Japan, India and elsewhere, purchase
texts from the printery each year.
Dege Monastery
Printing House
Thousands of printed texts

33. 2. The wood-cuts used by the monastery in Dege come from a tiny village called
Sejiong about 200 miles away high up in the mountains which we approached
through the long narrow Jirong Gorge foaming with white water under precipitous
cliffs. Boys are apprenticed at the age of six to begin learning how to read and write
Tibetan sanskrit and to carve the wood blocks, using ancient templates that were
also hidden during the destruction of the Cultural Revolution years (1966-1976). After
the cultural revolution the art of template carving was resuscitated and is a thriving
cottage industry. On request you may be taken into the Sejiong monastery – largely
rebuilt by funds from India, under the supervision of a Tibetan monk who had
returned only recently from Dharmsala - and shown the ancient woodblock
templates, and some of the „books‟ of Buddhist mantras that are 300-400 years old
and black with age. The monastery is also filled with religious paintings, carvings,
accoutrements and artefacts of significant antiquity, as well as new monastic
decorations. Two artefacts did not exactly following conservation or the Buddhist
tenet against taking all life: the skins of two magnificent snow leopards. When I
queried this, I was told they were there to teach the people NOT to kill them: but one
looked very new and was being used as a 'robe' over a drum.
The point about these various activities is that they refute allegations of suppression
of religious freedom, destruction of material culture or cultural genocide. There is not
even one Chinese policeman in this remote community. Its isolation is likely to be
changed however if a new road proposed for the area runs through Jirong Gorge.
Dr Trevor Sofield, Professor of
Tourism, University of Tasmania,
Australia

34. Sejiong Monastery
Novitiate
with
woodcuts,
Snow Jirong
leopard Gorge
skin Ancient
inside
Sejiong Buddhist
monast- texts
ery
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

35. 3. Qiang-ba-ling monastery in Chamdo, perhaps the most famous Buddhist Yellow
Hat (Gelu) sect teaching institute – swarming with more than 2000 resident monks.
Pilgrims coming and going all day, every day of the week. Some prostrating
themselves across the huge courtyard to the inner temples, others lighting incense in
front of statues of Buddha and his guardians, throngs of Tibetans burning dwarf juniper
twigs for its purifying scent. Teaching and debating all day, with the monks shouting
and gesticulating and stomping in a walled courtyard lined with river pebbles, raising a
huge clatter as they emphasize a point - incredibly dynamic and participatory. If only
my students displayed the enthusiasm of these novitiates! The temple complex was
inscribed on China‟s list of protected heritage and cultural sites in 1962, suffered
significant damage during the Cultural Revolution, but has since been rebuilt and
expanded in the past three years, following my first visit in 2005.
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia Pilgrims approaching Qiang-ba-ling

36. Monks sneaking out of evening meditation
Main temple of
Qiang-ba-ling Monastery
Novitiates at class in the
“Lamaist Scripture-
Discussing-Courtyard” of
Qiang-ba-ling Monastery

37. 4. Similarly, Wa La monastery, 1500 years old, now rebuilt after major destruction
during the cultural revolution, all its main statues, icons and artefacts hidden away
in caves for more than a decade, is enjoying rebirth with more than 500 young
novitiates, also clattering on their courtyard of pebbles as they debate esoteric
topics. One group while I was there was debating “How high is the sky?” with one of
the elderly professor monks, using Buddhist texts to substantiate their arguments. I
visited temple after temple, monastery after monastery around central eastern and
southern Tibet, some so isolated they completely escaped the turmoil of the
Cultural Revolution, all of them alive with complex ceremonies, elders teaching
younger artists the highly skilled art of thanka painting, pilgrims with prayer wheels,
monks chanting mantras, where their daily rituals were being practised without
hindrance as far as I could ascertain.
This is not the picture the Dalia Lama paints.
Wa La Monastery Thanka master at work,
Dalak monastery

38. A living
religion,
a living
culture
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

39. 5. Wami village on the road to Garma temple and monastery five hours drive
up into the mountains from Chamdo where blacksmiths make their traditional
Buddhist metal masks and carvings, all handcrafted, not a single Chinese-
made percussion drill, welder or metal grinder in sight, smoke rising from
charcoal kilns where the iron is smelted, tap-tapping and ringing tones
reverberating around the valley as they shape the metal into temple artefacts.
And near Garma Temple itself a whole village of thanka artists producing
traditional paintings and decorations for Buddhist monasteries. Here we were
invited into a sunlit courtyard and enjoyed lunch of fresh barley bread, yak
yoghurt and stewed yak washed down with copious volumes of yak butter tea,
joined by many of the villagers. All local authorities were Tibetan, the only
Chinese present being members of our planning team.
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

40. Artists at work for Buddhist temples
and monasteries
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

41. 6. The cave temple of a Buddhist healer in the mountains above the Nujiang
Valley, halfway between Chamdo and Bo-mi. So famous have his healings become
in the last 20 years that Tibetans and non-Tibetans, Buddhists and non-Buddhists
alike, seek his services in their hundreds. The entire mountainside where the cave
is located is draped in prayer flags and there are numerous shrines beside the trail
that leads from the gravel road for a kilometre up to the cave. As new healings are
made, more and more offerings are made and prayers and incense offered at the
shrines - active, dynamic, a living culture in open view. The cave has become a
Buddhist shrine, its caverns lined with offerings of all kinds, one cavern piled high
with the skulls of yaks, horses, oxen, sheep and goats on which are inscribed
Buddhist mantras. On descending from the cave I noticed a pile of abandoned
crutches left behind by those who had been cured, and now a shrine in its own
right as pilgrims have placed mani stones and incense next to the crutches, where
they stop and pray.
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
Abandoned crutches are now a shrine University of Tasmania,
Australia

42. The flag-festooned trail up Entrance to the healing The healer monk
the mountainside to the cave temple Dr Trevor Sofield, Professor of
Tourism, University of Tasmania,
cave Australia

43. 7. Glaciers are common in the Tibetan ranges, and we visited six along the road
from Nying-chi to Dzayul. Zeju Glacier in the Tibet Yigong National Geo-park near
Bo-mi involved a four hour 4WD trip through the Baiyu Valley, past six or seven
villages, numerous shrines of mani stones and steles, little monasteries and
temples, and flocks of yaks, sheep, goats and horses. Our planning team voted
this one of the most interesting valleys/day trips we experienced, and the following
photographs attest to its scenic qualities. Community based tourism with home-
stays and guided treks to the glaciers and montane forests is the obvious
recommendation to take advantage of the nature-based experiences on offer.
Dr Trevor Sofield, Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania, Australia

44. Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

45. Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

46. 8. Perhaps most poignant of all, a visit to a sacred Buddhist valley high up in the
mountains above the Tibetan town of Po-mi, in a forest called Zha-Longou. I first
visited the site in 2005 and again in July 2008.
It is believed by some Tibetan Buddhist sects that a child under the age of one has not
been able to amass any merit for the next life and be reincarnated, and so if they die
they are condemned to be „lost souls‟ wandering in the void. Some 27 years ago –
that is, 1981 and 30 years after the Chinese moved into Tibet – a Buddhist monk
through various divinations determined that this valley had special properties that
would allow young babies to be reincarnated as humans again. Babies who have
died are brought to this sacred place by their parents, many of them coming from
hundreds of miles away. The bodies are wrapped in silk scarves and placed in tiny
boxes or baskets or blankets, their „coffins‟ hung from the branches of ancient
cypress trees that grow in this high alpine valley. The monk from his simple temple
offers prayers that never stop, day after day, week after week, his prayers guiding
the babies‟ souls on their journey to reincarnation.
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

47. Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

48. This site is not „secret‟, it is known to the authorities and as such represents
evidence of both religious freedom and tolerance of Tibetan culture. I was taken
there to offer my views on whether it was an appropriate place for cultural tourism.
This site raises critical issues related to the emic and etic perspectives and thana-
tourism (dark tourism to sites such as Auschwitz and the Choeung-Ek genocide
killing fields in Cambodia). As a westerner my initial judgement based on my
imported („outsider‟, etic) value system rejected visitation as an invasion of privacy
and personal grief. The anthropologist in me allowed me take 6 photos before the
(western) human emotions took over and put the camera away. My initial
recommendation against this place as unacceptable dark tourism was very firm.
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Entrance path to Zha-longou Australia

49. However, in talking with two sets of parents who were leaving after having brought
their babies bodies there two days previously I was exposed to the emic („insider‟
Tibetan) perspective, and was jolted by their response to my questions about
strangers visiting the valley. It was obvious that this place gave them enormous
peace of mind. Their dead child was not condemned to eternal void: his/her soul
had been saved. While not quite a celebration, it was certainly closure. They went
to some lengths to assure me that they did not to mind that as a complete stranger I
could visit this very special place, with hundreds of tiny moss-covered boxes and
baskets and blanket bundles swaying gently in the breeze under the gnarled trees.
Part of their response may have been common Tibetan courtesy to a foreigner but
their underlying value system suggested parents at ease with this form of thana-
tourism.
As a westerner I remain of the
view that this site should not be
„developed‟ for tourism and that it
should be respected as a special
Buddhist site. Despite the
apparent acquiescence of the
parents I spoke to, I would want
to see the results of a survey with
a much larger sample than 2
before moving to any Dr Trevor Sofield,
reconsideration of this position. Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

50. INNOVATION is increasingly necessary in tourism development because so many
diverse attractions are available that tourists are becoming very selective in what
they will pay to see and do. ACTION as well as ATTRACTION is necessary to
provide a QUALITY EXPERIENCE that tourists will be willing to pay for. The
application of principles of Ecotourism as advocated by the EcoClub provides the
opportunity for both innovation and action to be combined as attraction for
sustainable eco- and cultural tourism.
In many countries there are tall “skywalks” (boardwalks erected on 50+ meters high
posts) that allow people to experience the forest canopy (treetops) instead of
boardwalks and trails along the ground. And there are perhaps thousands of cable
cars that have been constructed in the past 30 years to take people through forests
and up steep mountains. Both of these types of construction are:
• expensive to build;
• are often environmentally damaging;
• limited in how much money can be
charged for people to use them; and
• they have no relationship to the local
culture.

51. 9. One of our proposals for a form of ecotourism activity new to Tibet is based on
a traditional Tibetan form of transport – their use of ropes and pulleys to transport
goods and people across the deep narrow gorges of rivers and streams. For
example, since 700 A.D. the cha-ma-trail (tea-horse trail) which runs for 2,500
kms from Lijiang in northern Yunnan Province to Lhasa has used ropes and
pulleys to transport tea across the Yangtze and Mekong River gorges en route to
Lhasa, with horses being transported across the rivers on the return journey.
In 1930 the biologist,
Joseph Rock, made an
historic mounted
exploration of the
mountainous regions
running between
Lijiang, China and
Tibet. Because he
travelled with a large
guard, Rock was able
to have his mules and
horses winched across
the raging rivers
of Tibet.
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

52. This proposal builds on that tradition to introduce a new way of „travelling‟
through a forest - a „zip line‟, or high wire harness ride through the
treetops. Such zip lines are becomoing common as a form of adventuyre
tourism in several countries (including Australia). Locations for such an
adventure ride could be the Tsebark Valley National Nature Preserve near
Dyazul, the Mel-dway Glacier, and the Five Cultures Villages. Such a
development would be innovative (in terms of tourism), active, and
environmentally sensitive, but culturally derived since Tibetans have been
using zip lines for centuries!
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

53. In Australia, an example is
the Hollybanks Treetops
Adventure in the Tasmanian
forests. The US$700,000
project takes thrill-seekers on
a 730m elevated tour in the
longest continuous treetop
cable ride in Australia.
Participants are strapped into
harnesses clipped to cables
50m above the ground,
stopping at seven special
platforms known as „cloud
stations‟ along the way.
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

54. This cable wire harness ride is environmentally sound. Unlike cable cars for
example which must travel in a straight line, not a single tree was cut down
to make the Hollybanks cable harness ride as it winds through the treetops.
It uses the giant trees in the forest for its „sky platforms‟, it has no steel
posts or other man-made structures to support it, and it uses gravity rather
than a form of generated power to transport „riders‟ along the cables. Its
carbon footprint is thus negligible. The fee is $150 per person to take the
ride, groups are restricted to ten at a time and are accompanied by a
trained guide who provides interpretation of the forest canopy habitat.
Forestry Tasmania supports the Hollybank Treetops Adventure with an
international mountain bike park, walking trails, signage, car parking, toilets,
picnic facilities and a café, and this model has been suggested for a range
of sites in Tibet.
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

55. One such site for an innovative access experience incorporates the Five
Cultures Villages, Lunang Valley.
Diagram illustrating how the cable harness ride could provide an exciting
access for adventurous tourists to the Five Cultures Villages. Instead of just
driving along the road, they could stop at the top of the hill, and slide down the
cable across the river and down the valley to the village of their choice. Their
bus would take the road.

56. Proposed zip line acces to Five Cultures Villages, Lunang Valley.
Dr Trevor Sofield,
Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

57. Dr Trevor Sofield,
Mount Namchak Barwo in the background Professor of Tourism,
University of Tasmania,
Australia

58. Some Final Thoughts on Planning for Tourism in Tibet.
As with all tourism planning for development in China, much of
it is top-down and driven by government as the key
stakeholder. Increasingly, however, authorities accept and
invite additional stakeholders to participate in the formulation
of planning, and slowly community based tourism among the
Minorities* is reaching out to those most directly affected, and
their views and proposals taken into account. Many Chinese
planners have trained in western countries and mixed teams
(i.e. of both Chinese and international experts) provide a
strong combination to bring global best practice into an
informed socio-cultural synthesis with Chinese values and
priorities that may be difficult for a non-Chinese to fully
appreciate. In the case of Tibet this has proved especially
important where the environment and the culture require
sound, sensible and sensitive management.
[* China has 55 officially recognised ethnic Minorities – minzu – who
collectively number more than 110 million, almost 10% of the total
population. There are about 3 million Tibetans resident in the TAR
and another 5 million living in neighbouring provinces such as
Xinjiang, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan.]

59. In posting this brief outline of recent tourism planning activities
in Tibet my hope is to better inform an often uninformed world
of aspects of Tibet that I have been privileged to see.
Trevor Sofield, 20 August 2008