The opening of Ngari Gunsa Airport on 02 July 2010 is the culmination of substantial infrastructure development efforts by the Chinese authorities over the last few years. Their aim is to transform the region around Mount Kailash and the nearby Lake Manasarovar in the far west of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) into a lucrative tourism destination. Pilgrims from India who venerate Kailash and its environs have for years constituted the majority of the visitors to the region. The treatment many of them experience at the hands of state-sanctioned travel agencies suggests that there is a long way to go before the advent of a serious and professional tourism sector in this remote region. Regardless of this, the Chinese authorities seem keen to engage India in a part of Tibet that has for centuries been more oriented towards South Asia than towards China.
Situated at an altitude of 4,272m above sea level, the new airport will be able to accommodate four commercial aircraft and it is planned to handle 120,000 passengers and 350 tons of cargo per year by 2020. Construction of the airport began in May 2007 and cost in the region of 1.7 billion yuan (UK£162.4million; US$250.7m; EUR€194.2m). The opening of the airport coincides with the finalisation of quality metalled roads that ensure all-year connectivity of the area around Mount Kailash (6,638m) and Lake Manasarovar (4,556m), both within the desolate Ngari (Chin: Ali) prefecture and to Central Tibet (Lhasa is 1,600 km away by road), as well as Mainland China (via Ngari prefecture town, the Changtang plateau and Qinghai/Amdo province).
While the new connectivity is likely to substantially increase the number of those western and few Chinese travellers in search of wilderness, the area is likely to remain out of the way for the majority of tourists whose typical circuits focus on regions with a higher density of cultural hotspots at lower altitudes(1). It is far more likely to give a tremendous boost to trips in the region by Indian visitors who, apart from Tibetan pilgrims, were already the largest group travelling to the area. Both Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar are held sacred not only by Tibetan Buddhists and Bonpo(2), but by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs from across the Indian subcontinent. For these people, a pilgrimage to Kailash once in one's life is a must if it is at all possible.
The official Chinese claim that development of tourism was long impossible here due to the inaccessibility of the region does not withstand much scrutiny. The region has been a zone of penetration for Indian and Persian culture across the Himalayas since prehistoric times, and it was from here that a renewed spread of Buddhism in Tibet began, from the 10th and 11th centuries onwards. Despite the advent of progressive desertification in more recent centuries, it has remained an important corridor for trade. The routes leading from Lhasa to Central Asia went through here and the Tibetan town of Purang (Chin: Burang) figured prominently until recently on regional maps under the Nepali/Pahari name of Taklakot, as it was a vibrant trade hub between Tibet and South Asia. Until the 1950s, a chunk of the region even remained an Indian exterritorial enclave(3).
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It is only the advent of Chinese power in Tibet in the 1950 and 60s that has made the region inaccessible. In fact, as the bird flies, the Kailash-Manasarovar area lays only 50km away from the point where the borders of Nepal, India and Tibet/PRC meet, and it is just 15km away from Nepal's northern border(4). It was hence a deliberate political decision by China to constrict the passes which permitted, in principle, a much easier to access to the region from South Asia than from Central Tibet. Tourism could have been given a boost earlier by re-opening the ancient route from Ladakh via Demchok which follows the Indus Valley, as has been proposed by the Indian side. With that, the region could have taken advantage of the experiences and infrastructure development for tourism that has taken place in Ladakh since 1974. As late as in 2007, China and India signed an agreement of principle to this effect, but that has so far remained unfulfilled. Strategic reasons are often advanced for the late development of tourism in the region, but a more likely explanation is that the Chinese authorities could only envisage an opening of the region once they were in the position of making maximum profit from its assets. The religious attraction exerted by the Kailash-Manasarovar region in India has been well understood in Beijing, though, and has been the focus of goodwill diplomacy, while at the same efforts have been made to ensure maximum profit for Chinese tourism operators.
Pilgrims, politics and profit
Following an agreement dating from the 1980s between India and China, the Indian government operates an annual subsidised tour for pilgrims from June to September, but seats are restricted and allocated by lottery. In 2009, applications were invited for a total of 16 groups made up of 60 pilgrims each. These groups are generally well looked after by the Indian authorities and serious problems rarely occur. Because of the importance of the scheme in the diplomatic relations between the two countries, they also receive VIP treatment from the Chinese authorities. The pilgrims are met at Lipulekh Pass crossing and driven in convoy, escorted by People's Armed Police (PAP) personnel, and put up in Purang Guest house. Their arrival is marked by firework displays. They are taken for medical tests and then escorted in bus and land cruisers to Kailash-Manasarovar where they stay in a designated accommodation. Porters, yaks and horses, medical care, oxygen cylinders and decompression chambers etc are all provided.
However, these official tours with limited numbers are not sufficient to accommodate the ever greater number of Indians pilgrims, who are some of the fastest growing outbound tourists in the world. Many affluent pilgrims are now prepared to travel on expensive and poorly equipped trips organised by private operators, often without any preparation or medical tests for what is a very rigorous journey for even the fittest of people. Most of these private tours go via Nepal, either crossing the border in the extreme west of Nepal(5), a short, but very difficult trip, or through the gateway of Tatopani/Dram (Chin: Zhangmu), east of Kathmandu and then follow the western route from South Tibet(6), a far easier but much longer option. The trip typically costs around Indian Rs150,000 to 200,000 (UK£2,100 - £2,750; US$3,200 - $4,200; EUR€2,450 - €3,270) per person all inclusive.
In 2009, one of these unofficial pilgrimages turned into a nightmare for a large number of Indians who had bought tours advertised in brochures that bore no resemblance to what they encountered once they were in the TAR. Arrangements were non-existent; there were no doctors and no medicine; there was also a lack of food, water and oxygen cylinders. The Indian government was forced to issue a travel warning for those intending to undertake the pilgrimage, after nearly 100 pilgrims were stranded in Purang in the second week of June 2009 and ten deaths were reported. Many more were forced to cut short their trip due to medical emergencies. Some of those who completed the pilgrimage had harrowing experiences, and reported seeing pilgrims sleeping in the open in streets in very cold conditions in Darchen and Purang as there were no rooms available. And as priority was given to the official tours, the unofficial pilgrims were forced to vacate their rooms, even if they had paid for them. One of them died on 12 June 2009 on the way back to the Tibet-Nepal border after being discharged from a medical clinic in Khasa (Dram) on the grounds that he was beyond recovery. Chinese officials at the border point stopped the vehicle carrying his body and demanded a fee equivalent to Indian Rs.5,000 in order to release his body.
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Although Indian and Nepali tour operators must take some share of the blame, it is Chinese tour organisers on the Tibetan side of the border who are in control over what happens during the pilgrimage. They charge exorbitant sums for non-existent facilities and change the schedule midway for the slightest reasons and show scant regard for the pilgrims, who are regularly left in the lurch. They also charge more money for providing the same basic facilities, such as medical care, shelter and transportation that the pilgrims had been promised and had already paid for in advance.
In 2009 alone, it was estimated that around 12,000 Indian pilgrims were present in Darchen, the small town at the foot of the Kailash, during the Sagadawa festival, which marks the Buddha's enlightenment in the Tibetan calendar. It is also an important event in the Hindu calendar, as it is believed to be the day that the gods Shiva and Parvati descended from heaven. Chinese authorities must have anticipated such large numbers of Indian pilgrims as special visas were being issued in New Delhi and Kathmandu in their thousands. The large number of pilgrims arrived in a small town with temperatures dropping to minus five degrees Celsius There were also only four or five guest houses and local households that could offer no more than 100 rooms at most.
The Chinese tour operators also appear to have little understanding of the pilgrims' sensibilities. Although it should have been known that most are vegetarians and that even non-vegetarians shun meat during their pilgrimage, appropriate food was not available for them.
An entity called the China Indian Pilgrims' Service Centre (CIPSC) has a monopoly over the rights to handle travel arrangements for the Indian pilgrims. CIPSC comprises of the Tibet Tourist Corporation (TTC), which is affiliated to the China International Travel Services (CITS), Ngari Tourism and Tibet International Sports Travel (TIST). Its creation was the brainchild of Tenzin Norbu who heads Ngari Tourism. The TTC is headed by Huang Li and TIST (Lhasa) is headed by a Tibetan called Jigme.
It is mandatory for all foreign travel agencies to make travel arrangements for Indians on the Kailash-Manasarovar pilgrimage through the CIPSC. This is also responsible for fixing the prices for services such as accommodation, transportation etc which the pilgrims must purchase in order to be issued a visa from the Chinese embassy. Problems faced by pilgrims on the ground and concerns of the travel operators were discussed on a meeting between representatives from Nepalese companies that operate trips to Kailash and the CIPSC on the 11 March 2007 at Hotel Annapurna, Kathmandu, Nepal. As a result, the minimum number of people per group was reduced from 47 to 25. The TTB and the CIPSC also pledged to improve health facilities in Darchen, Paryang and Sakya. It appears from the experience of Indian pilgrims in 2009, however, that the CIPSC have yet to implement any of these undertakings.
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The monopoly trade practices of the CIPSC and the group permit system is at the root of the pilgrims' problems. Currently the minimum number of people per group is 25 and each group is charged US$7,000 (UK£4,500; EUR€5,400). The charges have to be paid fully in advance with no refunds in the event of cancellation or postponement. Thus to economise and offer a competitive tariff, it is imperative for travel operators in India and Nepal to have a group of more than 25. After that, the fee for larger groups works out less per person, meaning that the more pilgrims in a group, the more the travel agents save on charges payable to the CIPSC. It is evident that CIPSC rules are designed to encourage greater numbers of bookings per group, which result in higher income from facilities offered to the individual pilgrims. Meanwhile, once in Tibet, the facilities on offer, and for which the pilgrims are being overcharged, are insufficient to sustain that number of people. The CIPSC's terms and conditions specify the amount of the booking that is refundable and the time frame required to claim it, but in practice refunds are unheard of. The CIPSC's monopoly allows it to make a profit even in the event that transportation provided by them breaks down or is involved in an accident. Where this has happened, the pilgrims were charged for alternative transport. Even if a pilgrim dies, the CIPSC offers no compensation to the family. Instead, they are charged for the cost of the yak, which is 12,000 yuan (UK£1,140; US$1,770; EUR€1,360), or the horse, at 7,000 yuan (UK£666; US$1,030; EUR€800), that is used to carry the dead body. Relatives are also expected to pay any onward transportation fees.
Future prospects
Whether the new airport and infrastructure will also bring better business practice to the area remains to be seen. What is certain is that, with a better inland infrastructure now in place, the authorities in Tibet are already in a position to maximise the potential presented by Indian pilgrims. In spring 2010, the Chinese authorities announced that new direct flights between the TAR and South Asia will be operated soon. The new airport in Ngari is likely to be one of the new destinations. Meanwhile, a new road is being planned under Chinese leadership in Nepal's western districts of Bajhang, Humla and Darchula to connect to the already existing road to Kailash on the Tibetan side of the border. This road will allow for pilgrims with more average incomes, and who hence cannot afford to fly, to access the Kailash area overland without having to endure the current hardships of a long march or the costs of air-lifting by helicopter to reach the border.
While working towards optimising resources from tourism in the region, China seems to be keen to show an eco-friendly face and to continue to demonstrate friendly relations with India. Since 2006, the two countries have agreed to jointly measure the impact of global warming in the Kailash region where three south Asian rivers originate - the Indus, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra - and which also feeds the Ganges. More recently, in April 2010, Nepal, India and China agreed on a common framework to develop a conservation strategy and environmental monitoring plan for protecting the fragile ecosystem of the Kailash region. While still rather vague and non-committal, these endeavours indicate China's will to acknowledge some kind of stake of India in that part of Tibet.
Notes:
1:
Apart from the Kailash itself, the two other attractions of the region are the ruins of Tsaparang, the capital of the extinct Tibetan kingdom of Guge, and the monastery of Tholing.
2:
The indigenous, pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet..
3:
The Minsar enclave was actually under the jurisdiction of the kings of Ladakh until Ladakh lost its independence in the mid-19th century, and came under the rule of the Maharaja of Jammu and ultimately the control of British India. Independent India's claim over Minsar was in effect quietly given up in the 1950s in order to placate China.
4:
In comparison, it is 1,000 km away from Lhasa as the bird flies and 750 km from the nearest major Tibetan town of Shigatse.
5:
Nepalgunj - Simikot - Hilsa - Purang.
6:
indhupalchowk - Kodari - Khasa - Sakya - Darchen.