Lhasa in April

Just came back from Lhasa. It was a sight-seeing trip I had planned for many years but I was never able to get to it - due to issues related to travel permit, holiday constraint, plane schedule, hotel booking, etc. Now, everything is easy to book and i know I won't have to fight for the Potala ticket.

I will upload some more photos, plus sharing some anecdotes.

A few quick facts

• City is calm and normal, daily business seems thriving (but I should add "sans tourism"), so it looks well on-track to the re-open in May


• Potala is quiet, no need for reservation nor even guided tour. Paid 100 Yuan and wandered around freely


• Outside Potala is full of Tibetans, almost like a Causeway Bay weekend in HK. Perhaps the closing of the major monasteries have also contributed to driving the people there


• The Jokhang and Ramoche Monasteries are still blocked. PAP (or perhaps soldiers) guard every single alley around the block to check IDs. Only local residents are allowed in (but it is not difficult to get into these alleys, and even into Bakhorn street -- will elaborate). The gates of these 2 monasteries are guarded. However, the smaller monasteries around (there are 2 small temples just outside Johkang) are open


• PAP are still on major intersections in the city and a few key check points (eg the 2bridge+1tunnel to the airport). Local told me the number of guards per intersection was double what I saw a week or so ago (I saw 6 in that intersection, just enough to stop the people)


• "PAP" (they look like younger soldiers) are very courteous and salute to us every time they checked our ID. Seems they had been trained for this and told explicitly to appear polite


• Photos are forbidden in guarded areas as a general rule. I had been stopped many time for taking photo with my handphone (mainly around the guard points) but they are satisfied when I obeyed


• Gas stations inside Lhasa city are also regulated (but no PAP), only drivers are allowed in, passengers need to wait outside

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Note: personal bloggers are welcome to use these pictures, as long as you do not crop the picture (the pictures here are the original ones without cropping), do not distort through captioning, and provide a courtesy link/acknowledgement.
They should not be used by any organization (profit or non-profit) without seeking permission.
This is the first time I put up such note. But I do not want my pictures be distorted as Kadfly's shield formation picture was.

Yi Hion Fashion Store, where 5 girls were killed by arson during the riot. On Beijing Road East, about 1 km west of Ramoche Street. There are flowers on the doorsteps, to mourn the victims


The South end of Ramoche Street, guarded - same location as Kadfly's PAP shield pictures, 3 weeks afterward, a new banner was put up in front of the old one.

South of Beijing Road East, opposite to the Ramoche Street picture above, guarded - should be where Kadfly stood while he was taking the photo - the shops behind were burnt (perhaps a few hours after he left).
This alley leads to Bakhorn Street. I tried to enter. They checked my ID and turned me away.

Bakhorn Street, as empty as it could be

It took me some convoluted detour to get to this street

-- more later