Latest posts

•  Losar in Amdo ? Celebrating the Tibetan New Year
  To celebrate the Tibetan New Year, known as losar in Tibetan, I traveled to a remote farming village in Eastern Tibet. I stayed with a local family, which gave me the opportunity to observe and participate in all of the local rituals and festivities. In the days leading up to Losar, the family prepa...
  
•  Tibetan Nomads
  Tibetan nomads live scattered throughout Tibet on vast expanses of grassland. Nomads raise horses, yaks, and sheep, moving their animals according to the season. In the summer, nomads live in yak-hair tents, but in the winter they move to more permanent dwellings. Renowned for their toughness and ge...
  
•  Rebkong, Amdo (Tongren, Qinghai)
  Rebkong is the center of Tibetan arts in Amdo. The hundreds of artists that live in Amdo paint thangka, sculpt religious statues, embroider religious motifs on wall hangings, and design stupas. At the edge of town is Rongwu monastery, which has been beautifully decorated by monk artisans. From Xinin...
  
•  Princess Wencheng Temple
  The Princess Wencheng Temple, located in northern Kham, pays homage to the Chinese wife of the great Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. Tibetans also revere the site because a buddha is said to have walked through the narrow valley near the temple. Though the temple is small, it is worth visiting to see t...
  
•  Qinghai Lake (Tso Ngonbo)
  Qinghai Lake, known as “Kokonor” in Mongolian and “Tso Ngonbo” in Tibetan, is the largest lake in China. Tibetan nomads live around the lake, and in the summer, fields of rapeseed flowers bloom on the shores. Of the five small islands in the lake, Bird Island is the most well...