Oh Litang, one of our favourite places in China!
The drive there was amazing. Again we crossed over very high mountain ridges, some over 5000 m above sea level and drove through high plateaus with small villages and lots of yaks and were able to enjoy a view onto snow covered mountains. This is the closest we were able to get to Tibet and although we’ve never actually been to Tibet itself, this place felt remarkably what we’d imagine a town in Tibet proper to feel like. It’s located at 4014 m and since we’d been working our way up slowly we had not problems with the altitude.
The houses along the main street are quite unremarkable as was our hotel, but it’s the people and the scenery that make this place so wonderful. Just about everybody here speaks Tibetan, not Mandarin, and very little English. The women dress like we had described in Shangri-La, with long skirts in many layers and turban-like headdresses. The men also wear layers and the most important item of clothing for them is a long flowing coat that is either worn around the shoulders or wrapped around the waist in a particular way using a red belt. Most men have very long hair, which is sometimes tied up around the head using a red band. Occasionally a small prayer wheel is wrapped into the band. Overall the men look quite “wild” and we don’t mean than in a negative sense. They are used to the cold temperatures, the harsh wind and life on the farm. When they work, they work very hard, but they also enjoy socializing in their free time. Many of them drive really old motorcycles that look like they are made of solid steal and would be impossible to lift (not sure how they survive the cold temperatures while driving them without helmets or proper gear).
When we were there, it was between harvest and planting season and the main income was from a very special Tibetan medicine that is collected out in the fields. Every morning the main street is packed with men and women sitting in groups on the ground around a large round straw tray filled with brown things. We went closer to explore what was occupying their attention and we saw little caterpillars that had formed a cocoon around them and the people were brushing off the cocoon to sell the caterpillars. Apparently they heal just about anything, from eye diseases to infertility and they are accordingly expensive.
The next day we walked around town to explore it a little more and we ran into a Tibetan monk who waved us over. We weren’t able to communicate at all, but we followed him nonetheless and he showed us the birthplace of the 7th Dalai Lama. It was a little house in a back alley. We walked around it in a clockwise direction and ended up at a small temple with four large prayer wheels. Again he asked us to walk around each of them in a clockwise direction, which was not only interesting to us, but also to the locals that were watching us 
. After that he lead us down the street to a large stupa that was surrounded by more prayer wheels and again we circled it while turning the wheels. Apparently you are supposed to do it 8 times, but we stopped after one to people-watch. Everybody was dressed in traditional clothing, young and old, and many of them were carrying prayer beads (similar to the rosary) or small prayer wheels that look a little bit like mazes (without the thorns). It was a very unique experience and although we are not Buddhist, we felt deeply touched by these people’s devotion and welcoming openness to wards us. We got many curious looks but they were all accompanied by a smile and a “tashi dele” (Tibetan for hello). This is one of those places that people could truly find their inner peace if they chose to.
After this we decided to learn a few words of Tibetan and wrote them down in a little booklet so we wouldn’t forget. From that point on we were able to greet people back and everybody was delighted to see that we were trying to make an effort to communicate.
The next day we explored the towns surrounding the main street, which were not built of concrete but rather of mud, brick and wood. We walked up to a monastery, did another circle around a stupa with prayer flags and prayer tablets and then entered the temple. It was being reconstructed and we got to see the craftsmanship that goes into these impressive carvings and paintings.
From there we continued up the hill and ended up hiking to the highest point of a hill just outside of town. Thankfully we had already adapted to the high altitude and the hike was quite easy. We were the only ones out for miles and made it all the way to about 4800 m. We stopped at a little peak that was full with prayer wheels. On the way David even got to throw a snowball, which he had been looking forward to for days . After making a small offering ourselves, we had a most delicious snack of cold fried rice, cookies and juice. It’s amazing how good things taste after a little work-out. Then we played the highest game of cards (for us anyways) and descended rapidly back to town as a huge thunderstorm was coming closer and closer. We got a bit wet, but made it back to the hotel safely.
For dinner we had another amazing BBQ. We ate for over an hour and almost finished off the girl’s potatoes and meat sticks.
We were very sad to leave the town the next day, because it was so peaceful, people were so friendly and it was just a beautiful place to be. Hopefully we get to come back and actually go into Tibet itself.
From Litang we caught yet another bus to a town called Kangding to the east. The bus rides were long and bumpy, but the scenery was worth the sore bums and backs.
