Story of Tomb Keeper in Tibet

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Story of Tomb Keeper in Tibet

 

Samdrup, the only tomb keeper in Lhasa Martyrs Cemetery, has devoted his life to grave keeping. Dated back to 24 years ago, twenty-year-old Samdrup began his career after serving the army.

Samdrup looks after the graves every day by cleaning the cemetery and telling the heroic stories of martyrs to tomb sweepers.

“I am an ordinary Tibetan. But I know the happy life we are living is gained by the sacrifice of the martyrs. Only by taking good care of the cemetery will I let the martyrs rest in peace,” said Samdrup.

Lhasa Martyrs Cemetery buries near 1,500 martyrs who have lost their lives in big events of Tibet, including the construction of Sichuan-Tibet and Qinghai-Tibet railways, the brief border war between China and India in 1962 and the social constructions in Tibet.

The Tomb-sweeping Day, or Qingming festival,which fell on Apr.5 this year, is the most important period for Chinese to remember the deceased.

Azerbaijani Mountaineers to Conquer Shishapangma Peak of Himalayas

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Azerbaijani Mountaineers to Conquer Shishapangma Peak of Himalayas

 

Azerbaijani climbers Israfil Ashurlu and Firuz Dadashov will leave for Tibet Autonomous Region of China to scale 8,027-meter high Shishapangma peak of Himalayas, the Azerbaijan Mountaineering Federation said on Thursday.

The expedition will run more than a month.

Shishapangma is the fourteenth-highest mountain in the world and, at 8,013 m, the lowest of the eight thousands meters.

Shishapangma is located in south-central Tibet of China, five kilometers from the Chinese border with Nepal. It is the highest peak in the Jugal Himal which is contiguous with and often considered part of Langtang Himal.

Ashurlu is the first representative of Azerbaijan who has conquered the most northern mountain over 7,000 meters high. He is the first among Azerbaijani sportsmen who has a title ‘Snow Leopard.’ In 2007 Ashurlu conquered the highest point of the planet.

New Air Route Links Tibet and Qinghai

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New Air Route Links Tibet and Qinghai

 

Tibet Airlines has launched regular flights between Tibet and Qinghai Province in the northwest.

The new route, which links the regional capital Lhasa and Qinghai’s Gelmud City, went into service on Monday, according to Lin Mingjing, deputy manager of the marketing department with Tibet Airlines.

Using Airbus A319, there will be three round trips each week, with each single trip lasting one hour and 20 minutes.

“I believe that the new route will give a big boost to regional tourism,” Lin said.

Tibet opened 13 new air routes in 2013, bringing the total number in the region to 48 and the number of cities linked with Tibet to 29.

The region received a record 2.76 million air passengers in 2013, up 24.4 percent from the previous year, according to the regional civil aviation authorities.

First Woman Qomolangma Mountaineer Passes Away

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First Woman Qomolangma Mountaineer Passes Away

 

At 7:00 am on March 31, 2014, as complications of diabetes set in, the heart of China’s first woman mountaineer reaching the summit of Mt. Qomolangma stopped beating at Wuxi Hospital in Jiangsu Province of China.

Her name was Pan Duo, 75 years old. She was also world’s first woman ever reached the summit from the north slope of Mt. Qomolangma.

Her loss was felt not only across China but also throughout the international mountaineering circle. Her glory remains, on the page of Chinese and global mountaineering history.

On May 27, 1975, Pan Duo and eight male mountaineers from China Mountaineering Team reached the summit of Mt. Qomolangma by way of its north slope, leaving world’s first women mountaineers’ footprint on that summit.

Living Fossil Traditional Dwellings of Kongpo Tibetans

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Living Fossil Traditional Dwellings of Kongpo Tibetans

 

There are three 100-year-old dwellings in the Conggo Village of Gongbo gyamda County of Nyingchi Prefecture, southeast Tibet Autonomous Region. The village is the only place in the Gongbo district that completely preserved traditional Tibetan village layout, residential architectural style, custom, culture and faith. The old buildings are living fossils, providing outsiders a window to understand Gongbo Tibetans.

Drolma Lhamo, hostess of one of the old houses, introduced: “Our house has over two hundred years history, and our elders have been living in this house from generation to generation. Now my family and I are also living in the house. We have a deep feeling with it.”

The house has two floors with the first floor stacked forage and sundry. It was mainly built of wood.