REPORT ON CONSTRUCTION OF THE ECO-FRIENDLY LHASA-SHIGATSE RAILWAY

<正>Tibet is not only the origin of rivers,the source of ecology in South and Southeast Asia,but also an initiator and a conditioning zone for the Chinese and even the climate of the Eastern Hemisphere,thus honored as the last pure land in the world.Tibet is known as grand,magnificent,pure and mysterious,     

The Tangut Xixia Collection of Buddhist Paintings——A preliminary survey of the current status of scholarship

Buddhism is central to understanding the globalized historical processes taking place in the Hexi Corridor,a region running northwest from the bank of the Yellow River up till the nowadays Xinjiang-Gansu border and being flanked by the Tibetan Plateau and the Gobi Desert to the south and north respectively.As part of the trade route networks conventionally designated as the Silk Road,the area has functioned as an important nexus linking China proper,China's Tibet and Central Asia in pre-modern times.Buddhism,as the region's backbone of pan-Asian importance,intermingled with the ups and downs of cultures and historical entities until the Islamic takeover.     

The opening of achievement report

Applying for alien's travel permit:Before start your trip to Tibet,you need to contact with travel agency inTibet through local counterpart,providing them with your traveling date,travel route,purpose of travel,name,passport number,vocation,the name of your working place and your address.You will receive answer from Tibetside quickly.Issuing alien's travel permit:For overseas tourists traveling in Tibet in a group,the travel agencies in T.A.Rare representative to apply for this permit.The Tourism Bureau of T.A.R opens its representative offices inBeijing,Chengdu,Si'an,Shanghai,Xining,Hongkong as well as in Nepal,U.S.A,Japan etc,which are in charge ofarranging independent tourist into organized group and providing information for traveling in Tibet.     

Taking a Taxi IN LHASA

Downtown Lhasa covers an area of 52 square km, and has a resident population of 180,000. In the early 1980s, roads were paved with dirt and the citizens relied on bicycles for intra-city travel. Two bus routes emerged in the mid-1980s, and city roads were widened and asphalted in the 1990s.With Tibet's door opening wider to the outside world, more visitors are coming to Lhasa. Cashing in on the opportunity, a taxi service appeared in the 1980s.Nowadays, there are some 1,100 cabs plying city streets. A considerable number are the Volkswagen Santana model. Although distance meters have been installed, taxi drivers love to charge customers at the fixed rate of 10 Yuan for inner-city travel.     

Lies Do Not Hold Water

Premier Wen Jiabao paid a visit to the four countries of South Asia, including India,in April. The visit was a success and received a widespread warm response.One result was that China and India established “relations of strategic partnership for peace and prosperity”, and established the political guidelines to be used on presently unresolved border issues. All people harboring good intentions and who love peace are happy to see the progress made by the two most populous countries in the world and believe it will help promote peace not only in Asia but in the world at large.     

蕃尼古道及其宋元明清时期的主要遗迹（英文）

<正>Ancient Tubo-Nepal Road, namely, the ancient road from Lhasa in Tibet to Kathmandu in Nepal, is one of the crucial main roads connecting Tibet and inner China with Nepal, India and Central Asia and it is also a pivotal part of the Silk Road. Since its initiation, it not only has generated huge political, economic, social and cultural impact on Tibet but also has greatly influenced the communication between     

Rural Management——The Way Out for Tibetan Rural Areas

Tibetan towns and villages are the remotest areas in China regional society. The remoteness is evident in two aspects： （i） the natural environment; located in the southwestern frontier of China, as the core of the ＂the Third Extreme＂, Tibet claims to be the farthest area in terms of space, altitude and distance -- and com- pared with towns, this is really true of the villages, （z） the social environment; with the rapid development of Tibet＇s tourist industry in recent years, people tend to focus more on Tibet, but mainly on such cities as Lhasa, Shigatse and Tsetang. Beyond people＇s attention, towns and villages stay far away not only from those socio-economically and culturally developed areas but also from the focus of intensive social development.     

STORIES FROM CHAMDO

正In June 2018, China's Tibet organized a group of journalists to travel to several counties within Chamdo,including such places as the city of Chamdo itself and the counties of Jomda, Gonjo, and Markham, and it was in these places that they were to conduct interviews with the local people.Despite advanced technology and convenient transportation becoming introduced to the region, Tibet is still an unknown land of mystery to many around the world.The geography of Tibet certainly does a lot to     

Tibet:The Westernmost Part of China

This is a book written by Xu Ping, with the China National Center for Tibetan Studies. Published by the Knowledge Publishing House in March 2001 as the leadingbook of a series entitled Books on the Journey Into the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it has been given high value for knowledgeand apprecistion.The book, written in the form of travel notes, records themySterious and unsophisticated aspects of Tibet, natural beauty, unique folklore, and the hardy working people sent to Tibetfor economi…     

宗须村乡村教师索朗多吉

Overlooking the township of Chudogyang in Chusum County of Lhoka City,the snow on top of Mt.Rensum Gonpo was hanging on.It was April 14.A new week was about to start.Sonam Dorje,a primary school teacher in Dzongxu Village of Chudogyang,was riding his motorcycle on a country road.Thinking of the many things to attend to at the school,he hit the throttle.Every weekend,Sonam Dorje has to travel between his home in Jiangtang Village and the small learning center in Dzongxu Village at least once.     

THE LHASA - SHIGATSE RAILWAY LINE OPENS

The Lhasa-Shigatse Railway, the second railway in Tibet Autonomous Region and also an extension of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, was officially put into use on August 15, 2014, The 251 kilometers railway links the regional capital Lhasa and Shigatse, the second-largest city in the region. It has a total of 14 stops including Lhasa, Xicrong, Chushur, Nyemo, Rinbtmg and Shigatse and reduces the travel time from the current six hours by highway to around three hours. The first passenger train left Lhasa for Shigatse at 9 a.m. August 16, 2014.     

OUR GRANDPA GEORGE SCHALLAR RETURNS TO TIBET AFTER TEN YEARS

正Dr. George Beals Schallar, born in 1933, is a senior scientist within the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Since the 1950s, his efforts have been bent toward finding and conserving the wildlife of Asia, Africa, and South America. Needless to say, he is recognized around the world for being one of the most outstanding wild biologists of the 20th century, something even Time acknowledged in one of its publications.     

Of Palaces and Pagodas: Palatial Symbolism in the Buddhist Architecture of Early Medieval China

This paper is an inquiry into possible motivations for representing timber-frame architecture in the Buddhist context. By comparing the architectural language of early Buddhist narrative panels and cave temples rendered in stone, I suggest that architectural representation was employed in both masonry and timber to create symbolically charged worship spaces. The replication and multiplication of palace forms on cave walls, in “pagodas” (futu 浮圖, fotu 佛圖, or ta 塔), and as the crowning element of free-standing pillars reflect a common desire to express and harness divine power, a desire that resulted in a wide variety of mountainous monuments in China. Finally, I provide evidence to suggest that the towering Buddhist monuments of early medieval China are linked morphologically and symbolically to the towering temples of South Asia through the use of both palace forms and sacred ma alas as a means to express the divine power and expansive presence of the Buddha.     

A Lone Islet or A Center of Communications? Shanghai in the Indian National Army Movement

Students of modem Chinese history,and modern Shanghai history in particular,tend to view Shanghai as having been a lone islet during the Pacific War,when it was cut off from other parts of the world.This article,however,argues that Shanghai was still well connected to areas under the control of the Japanese throughout the war.Using the Sikh community in Shanghai as a case,it demonstrates how the Indian National Army used both a Japanese-initiated military highway and the long-existing Indian diasporic network in Southeast and East Asia to facilitate a certain kind of mobilization.It further sheds light on how the Sikhs in Shanghai were influenced by and responded to the Indian National Army's endeavors.     

Inheritance and Vicissitude of the Tibetan Diet——A Case of A Tibetan Rural Community

The dietary structure and customs of the Tibetans1 include both simple and complex elements.The transition from a diet composed mainly of tsampa and butter tea to the integration of alien and industrialized foodstuffs into the Tibetan dietary culture reflects,in a way,the processes of adaptation,integration and vicissitude of the Tibetan rural community during modernization.This article attempts to discuss the relationship between the traditional culture and modernization in Tibetan rural communities during the process of cultural interaction and modernization by studying the dietary structure and customs of Tibetan farmers in Nyang-re Township located in the north outskirts of Lhasa,Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).     

Ellis Gene Smith and His Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center

Ellis Gene Smith was born in Ogden in the American state of Utah on August 10th 1936 to a Mormon family. He graduated from Adelphi College, Hobart College, and the University of Utah. In 1959, he obtained a BA on Regional Research in Asia from the University of Washington in Seattle. From 1960 to 1964, he studied for his Masters Degree in the Mongolian and Tibetan languages at the same university. During that period, he also took up a position as a teaching assistant. In 1964,     

GYIRONG PORT BEING BUILT THE BIGGEST TRADE ROUTE

<正>Gyirong Port is located at Rasog Village,Gyirong County of Shigatse Prefecture. Gyirong is historically an important hub for commercial and cultural exchanges between Tibet and Nepal.In 1961,the State opened Gyirong Port to the outside world.In 1987,it was designated as the country's Class-A port of entry.At present, it is to be built the biggest landway trade route to Southern Asia in Tibet.     

History,Culture, and Politics： On Historical Formation and Identity Dilemmas of ＂China＂

This lecture is concerned with some historical issues of ＂China,＂ ＂territory, culture＂ and ＂identity＂ that are placed against the background of politics, culture and scholarship in contemporary China. I want to draw attention to the question of how historians understand and interpret ＂China.＂ It addresses the following questions. First, where did the idea of ＂China＂ come from？ and how did it become a topic of scholarly research？ What kind of dilemmas does ＂China＂ confront in its current condition and historical interpretation？ Second, how do various new historical theories and methods in international academic circles enrich our understanding of ＂China＂？ Third, how does China＇s history and reality challenge the theories of ＂empire＂ and ＂nation-state＂？ Fourth, is it possible to write ＂East Asian history＂？ Does ＂national history＂ prove still effective in describing China or East Asia？     

THE ELEVENTH PANCHEN LAMA ATTENDED BOAO FORUM FOR ASIA

正On March 25th,2016,the sub-forum"religious leaders dialogue"of Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2016 was successfully held in Boao,Hainan Province.The Eleventh Panchen Lama,member of the standing committee of the twelfth CPPCC National Committee,Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China,attended the forum and delivered a speech as the honored speaker.     

An Encounter between the Qing Dynasty and Khoqand in 1759-1760： Central Asia in the Mid-Eighteenth Century

This paper examines negotiations involving the exchange of envoys between the Qing dynasty and Khoqand in 1759-60. The Qing made contact with Khoqand in order to bring rapid stabilization to the newly acquired western territories. Khoqand, on the other hand, established a relationship with the Qing in order to expand their authority over the Kirghiz, and to advance toward Bukhara. Irdana tried to take advantage of Qing authority for the purpose of expanding his territories, but at the same time, he appealed to the other Central Asian Muslims to engage with him in a ＂holy war＂ against the Qing. It is true that each power in Central Asia shared a sense of crisis in reaction to the Qing＇s sudden expansion to the west. However, we also need to examine the competition for hegemony among the powers under the pretext of opposition to the Qing＇s advance.