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Foreign tourists enjoy free trips in Tibet
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-07-23 01:01
Overseas tourists have enjoyed unrestricted sightseeing in all the 70
counties of southwest China 's Tibet Autonomous Region.
Altogether 1.34 million overseas sightseers have visited Tibet from 1980 to
2003, with 51,000 in last year alone, according to the official statistics.
"We welcome more foreigners to travel in Tibet, and no special forbidden zone
would be imposed for them," said Wang, an official of the local tourism bureau.
Overseas tourists must have confirmation letters issued by Chinese
governments before they enter Tibet, according to the regulation made by Chinese
central government in 1989.
Workers maintain
the roof of Potala Palace, a famous sight-seeing site Tuesday in Lhasa,
Tibet Autonomous Region.
[newsphoto] |
Currently, in Chinese metropolis
including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, foreign tourists can easily secure a
confirmation letter enabling them to travel freely in Tibet simply by presenting
their passports. Chinese nationals also must obtained the letter, according to
Wang.
"I've planned my Tibet trip for one year, but finished all the procedures in
one day," Ben Long told Xinhua at the square before the Potala Palace, an
American enthusiast in Tibetan Buddhism. He works in northeast China's Liaoning
Province as an English teacher.
In the prime tourism season from June to September, Tibet's capital city
Lhasa receives thousands of overseas tourists each day. You can see them
strolling in at Norbu-Linkag Park and the Potala Palace, a holy shrine for
Tibetan Buddhists, shopping for Tibetan accessories, and hanging out in bars at
night.
A couple named Chris and Eron from the United States, have just concluded
their trip in famous Chinese scenic sites of Xi'an and Dunhuang before they
flied to Lhasa.
"The travel agency did everything for us, so the application procedure is not
that hard for us," said Chris.
Fluent in English, French, German and Japanese, more than 100 tourist guides
in Tibet have helped tourists from all over the world to better understand the
mysterious culture. From next year on, scores of new college graduates will join
this guiding force each year, noted Wang.
Since Tibet is known as the holy land for Tibetan Buddhism, Wang also
extended his welcome for devout worshipers from overseas. Nearly 600 Indian
Buddhist worshippers flocked to Tibet each year to pay religious homage to the
"Holy Mountain" and "Holy Lake" in its Ngari Prefecture.
Thonden, an official in charge of religious affairs in Tibet, said that now
Tibetans worship many times more frequently than the period before 1958 due to
enhanced living standard and communications conditions.
"Seeing is believing, so we'd like you to come to Tibet to have a look," Wang
Pijun, an official with the Information Office of the State Council, usually
tells foreigners.
Apart from the general foreign visitors, Tibet has also received many special
guests in the recent years. This July, journalist delegations from several other
countries including Belgium and Nepal have wrapped up their visits.
However, one thing that has bothered Ben Long and other travelers was the
5000-yuan (about US$602) return air ticket from Beijing to Lhasa, almost an
equivalent of his one- month salary in China. Because of its high geographic
altitude and comparatively inconvenient communications, expenses for a Tibet
trip is higher than traveling in other areas in China.
But according to Wang Wenpei, transportation costs will be cut by two thirds
after the completion of the 1,142-kilometer Qinghai- Tibet Railway, the highest
railway line in the world which is expected to be open to traffic in 2007.
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