The 90th anniversary of the creation of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and other anniversaries which were observed in Tibet during summer 2011, created a paradoxical situation. On the one hand, the authorities undertook a considerable facelift programme, particularly in respect to monasteries and other buildings of historical significance, presenting a lavish statement of their declared concern for Tibetan culture. On the other hand, tourists, in particular those from overseas, were effectively banned from Tibet for most of the season. The situation is reminiscent of the year of the Olympics, 2008, when security concerns prevented many visitors from, appreciating the outcome of the renovations that had taken place then. In 2011 as in 2008, works undertaken on Tibet's historic building were, at the very best, superficial, and way below international standards of conservation. This slick and sanitised version of Tibet's cultural heritage, with its gaudy, enhanced colours is more akin to a giant theme park than to showcasing a living culture. The 2011 ban on foreign tourists seems to have been partly eased by early August.
In the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), the preparation for the festivities was apparent on all sides. Since the end of winter, all major monuments, in particular monasteries, had their facades refurbished, and some structures were actually expanded. Brigades of workers could be seen on all major sites. This round of works is comparable only to that undertaken in the run up to the 2008 Olympics. International experts have questioned the quality of these renovation works on historical monuments and traditional buildings generally in Tibetan regions. While renovation works are often cited by officials as evidence of authorities' respect for religion, local observations confirm that all efforts have been focused on presenting unblemished, or rather colourfully enhanced architectural structures in which monks, if present at all, appear extraneous.
An inspection tour for TibetInfoNet during the period between the Tibetan New Year's festival (Tib: Losar), in early March to April 2011, documented major works, in particular painting in many monasteries. It also revealed the obvious lack of monks. Enquiries at different monasteries yielded that in many cases, monks had been asked to temporarily leave the monasteries in order not to "disturb the important renovation works". Pictures shot during the inspection show that a new trend seems to have emerged where, possibly due to the use of synthetic paint, old buildings appear in strongly saturated hues, thus presenting an appearance that owes little to traditional styles where the more matt aspect of natural dyes and the pattination of materials were the norm.
A striking example is Ganden monastery, near Lhasa, the traditional seat of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism to which the Dalai Lama belongs. A picture of the monastery shot in 2004 shows the monastery decorated in the customary way:
General view of Ganden monastery in summer 2004. |
In contrast, new pictures shot in spring 2011 show all important structures of the monastery freshly repainted in vivid colors:
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The following series shows a similar situation in Dorjedrag, an important monastery for the Nyingmapa school:
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Another series shows that the historical meditation caves of Drag Yerpa also underwent an intensive repainting:
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The Lukhang park behind the Potala palace, like other parks in traditional Lhasa, originally consisted of naturally spaced trees and lawns with little hint of human interference. It also features a lake said to have resulted from the excavation of construction materials for building the Potala palace, but which in the course of time had evolved into a very natural looking body of water. In the middle of the lake stands a pavilion that owes its fame to the pleasure-seeking 6th Dalai Lama, who is said to have preferred spending more time here than in the neighbouring palace.
Today, following several refurbishments, the last of which appears to have taken place in early spring 2011, many trees have been cleared while the remaining ones are painted white up to about the height of a child. Paved and straight paths cut across the land and the banks of the lake have been neatly straightened, while multi-coloured pedal-boats with plastic-canopies, to protect tourists from the harsh Tibetan sun, criss-cross the water. Most of the trees on the island have been cleared exposing the pavilion, which has been freshly and garishly repainted. Chinese city planners do not appear to have seen the point of what they perceived to be an unkempt landscape and so transformed it into a standardised city park, complete with a children's playground, and with as little charm as any other park in any other place in China. ‘Tibetan characteristics' have been preserved in the form of whitewashed stupas, now surrounded by a paved plaza, and rows of freshly painted prayer wheels. The following picture series show the park in its current state, followed by a photograph of the pavilion in original state, as shot in the late 1980s.
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The two following pictures show Samye monastery and the Ramoche temple in Lhasa. Ramoche, which houses a statue said to have been brought from China by the Tang princess Wengchen for her husband, Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo, received a lot of attention. Its interior underwent intensive Swiss-funded renovation work in recent years. The third image is of the ‘Serfs Emancipation Day' celebrations in front of Lhasa's main temple, the Jokhang.
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The 2008 campaign in Shigatse
Even more elaborate renovation works were undertaken in the run up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. One of the biggest projects was the reconstruction of the fort in Shigatse, once the landmark of the town, which had been razed to the ground by the PLA during the early 1960s. Taking historical pictures as a model, a rough replica of the fort was created in cast-concrete and painted in brash colours. Pictures shot in April 2011 show that the new structure already shows signs of poor build quality and the unsuitability of the materials used.
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Tourist restrictions
Informally, a ban on tourists during summer 2011 was initially revealed to specialised tour operators in China in early 2011. Formal announcements were only made immediately before the ban came into effect and it was not specified how long the ban would be in place, leaving tour operators unable to tell whether, for instance, tourists could attend the Tibetan festivals in August.
Foreign operators were not notified at all prior to the ban. In Kathmandu, which is the most important gateway to Tibetan regions, surpassed only by Sichuan's capital Chengdu within the PRC, the Chinese Embassy had suddenly stopped issuing permits from 20 June 2011 giving no advance warning. Nor was any information forthcoming as to the duration of the ban. This situation left operators with considerable losses and problems over whether to offer alternative packages or invite customers to reschedule their trips. Attempts by operators to get some clarity by asking the Nepali government to act as intermediary bore no results.
By early August 2011, the ban appeared to be partially lifted. However, even with some restrictions in place, tour operators complain about the insufficient reception capacities in the TAR, even though the number of arrivals failed to meet expectations.