Tibet and Shanghai

Tibet

Tibet is a province of china next to Nepal and India in the Himalayas. Lhasa is the capital of Tibet and shares Mt. Everest with Nepal. Tibet has a total population 13.5 million people with 6 million Tibetans and 7.5 million Chinese. The staple food in Tibet is Tsampa which is roasted barley flour and the national drink is salted butter tea. Tibet has five bordering countries which are India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and China. Tibet’s national leader is the 14th Dalai Lama who is in exile in India who used to live in this palace.

The most common type of housing is blockhouses which are built of stone and wood and are built using traditional methods. Another from of housing in Tibet is the tent. The Tibetans are often quite religious as they often follow Buddhism. The traditional housing is built around a system of courtyards, most of which are in urgent need of structural repairs. As you go more into the mountains you have settlements spaced out where there are springs and the Tibetans travel from one to the other.

Most Tibetans have stable jobs with a small income which is enough to feed their family. Some look for jobs in the Indian job markets and some try looking for jobs in Tibet even though there are not many job opportunities. The best jobs in Tibet are in the capital Lhasa the centre of trade where many Tibetans migrate to for jobs and pilgrimage.

The climate in Tibet follows along the lines of cold in the winter and cool in the summer. In one day in the summer the temperatures can drop from 29 degrees Celsius during the day to -4 degrees Celsius that night. The average annual temperature for Lhasa is -9 degrees Celsius which is very cold. In Tibet the sunlight is very intense because the air is very thin and can not radiate or absorb the heat so you can easily get burnt. In some places the winters last from October to April and can plummet to temperatures around -16 degrees Celsius. The best time to visit Tibet is from April to October avoiding the cold and harsh climate.

In Tibet for several thousand years cow dung was the main source of fuel but now modern fuels such as electricity and petrol are coming commonplace. Also cows which used to plough the farmers fields are gradually being swapped for tractors and other agricultural machines. There are now doctors whom you can get to quickly and televisions and telephones are also being installed in Tibet. These modern influences have changed some religious rituals such as if you were ill you would hurry to a temple and let the lamas chant religious scriptures for their illness while today the Tibetans just go straight to the doctors or the hospital. Other lifestyle changes have been changes in the clothing they wear and also the houses are changing from primitive shelters into two storey houses. Also the food is changing because the Tibetan herders usually just had beef and mutton and for a farmers diet potatoes and radishes were common. But now they have a wide variety of fruit, vegetables and some different meats.