Litang to Ganzi

I decide to travel north, along the Tibetan border to Ganzi with Gregor, a German fellow I’d met in the inn at Litang.

We hitch a lift in a ute and have to sit in the tray at the rear of the vehicle, where we feel each and every bump and hold on for dear life to ensure we don’t fall off the back.

As we’re driving out of Litang, we pass close to fifteen military trucks driving in the direction of Litang. Seeing this, combined with the amount of soldiers we saw at the sight of the fire and the fact that Litang was very recently closed to foreigners due to Tibetan protests gave us the feeling that something serious was about to happen in the city and we are glad to be leaving.

The second lift we get is with a Tibetan guy heading all the way to Ganzi, incredibly lucky given that there is one car on the road every hour or so.

As we arrive at the top of one of the mountains en route to Ganzi, the driver stops the vehicle and takes a small bundle of Tibetan prayer papers, throws them in the air and says a phrase in Tibet. He tells us that this action will allow his wishes to come true.

Along the trip, with Gregor’s intimate knowledge of Putonhua (Mandarin) we talk with the Tibetan driver and learn of the difficulties faced by Tibetans in regards to religious freedoms, operating businesses that compete with those of Han Chinese, the inequality between Tibetans and Han Chinese and also how many Han Chinese look down on Tibetans, calling them dirty and primitive.

Buddhist stupa along the way to Ganzi.

We stop for lunch of yak meat, baba bread, peanuts and fruit along the way. A Tibetan guy on his motorbike stops by and says hi. We offer him some peanuts, he declines. We offer them again, he takes the whole packet and rides off. We decide to not offer any more of our food.

We arrive in Litang after seven hours and two police checkpoints.