A photo that I took from my father’s car when we are on the road to Dao City
The Chinese have an old saying that experiencing something is better than just reading about it; in other words, we learn from our experiences. This saying is the reason I love to travel. Almost every year since I was five years old, my family has planned a road trip during a school break. In 2015, when I got my first camera, our family traveled by cars to Tibet for a seven-day holiday.Tibet covers an area of over 1.2 million square kilometers ( 470,000 square miles)—an area about twice the size of Texas or twice the size of France, and it is a holy place for religious people of buddhism（Jeffrey,2015).This trip included my parents, my aunt, uncle, their son, my grandparents, and me. For most people, the road to Tibet is used as a religious pilgrimage while they are on their way to Lhasa, which was not the case for us.
We spent one night on the road due to the traffic
During our journey to Tibet, we met many challenges and had many positive experiences. On the first day, we met our first challenge. We decided to take a shorter road, but that turned out to be a bad decision. The road was in bad condition and very dangerous for cars, especially for small cars, because there were sharp rocks everywhere on the road. Luckily, my family had two SUVs, so we did not have to turn back. However, we spent the long night traveling in the SUVs. My father drove all night without stopping because he didn’t want to let us down. However, as soon as we arrived at the hotel, my father went to sleep.
Local sellers are selling their fruits under the heat of the desert sun
On our trip, although a major new scientific assessment report released by the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) said that the solar heat and water erosion cut a large swath of precious grasslands and wetlands into the desert (Choy, 2015), we saw a lot of beautiful sights. For example, the blue sky was as clear as a large piece of glass, but the sun was strong and the air was dry. We also saw the local people who sold their apples and kiwis on the sides of the road. The people have to get up very early in the morning to travel the long distance to set up their fruit stands before the heat of the desert sun becomes too hot. We also saw people who rode their bikes to climb the mountains which were thousands of meters high.
The house of Tibetan
The room of the “Living Buddha”
We stayed in one local family’s house for one night. They were so nice and lived simply. They earned comparatively less money than people who live in the city, but they loved their life and believed what they had come from their Buddha. As a matter of a fact, the family was so proud because their little brother was selected as a “Living Buddha”. Tibetans believe that the Dalai Lama is reincarnated when he dies. A committee of senior monks looks for boy babies born around the time of the Lama’s death. Possible candidates are picked and family background checks are done over several years to decide which child shows the “closest spiritual characteristics to the deceased Lama” (Watts, 2007).
The Sunrise in Tibet
While in Tibet, the toughest part for me was the altitude. The high altitude gave me altitude sickness. This is because when we are at higher altitudes, the pressure of the air around us (barometric pressure) decreases, so there is less oxygen in surrounding air. We can live comfortably at moderately high altitudes, but the body must make some adjustments, and this takes time. If we ascend to altitudes above 8,000 feet, we will be in danger of developing uncomfortable like sickness from the change in altitude.（Harvard Health Publishing, 2013) As a result, I had a bad fever during the day when we lived in the house of the local people and had trouble breathing and I could not sleep, so I woke up early before the sun came up. While I was up, I saw the most beautiful sight that I had ever seen…a sunrise. I immediately recorded it with my camera. At that point, I felt comfortable and that I could overcome any difficulties that came my way. What a wonderful gift I had been given.
A man is driving his bike on the road to Tibet
When our vacation came to an end, although our journey was tough, it was a really good experience for all of us. We saw the changing colorful sky; we felt the chilled air across our fingertips, and we were shocked by the magnificent of Tibet. Every corner of the road to Lhasa was built by the sweat of our people. This experience made me appreciate the life that my parents have provided for me and made me believe that after every difficulty, there would be a desirable reward for me. How about you? Would you like to go on a journey to overcome your difficulties and earn your rewards?
Breathtaking sights in Yading and Hailuogou-Gletscher
References
Hays, J. (2015, July). Geography and Weather of Tibet. Retrieved March 24, 2018, from http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat6/sub38/item198.html
Watts, J. (2007, November 28). Finding a ‘Living Buddha’. Retrieved March 22, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/nov/28/china.religion1
Harvard Health Publishing. (2013, January). Altitude sickness. Retrieved March 24, 2018, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/altitude-sickness
Choy, A., & The third pole. (2015, December 10). Tibetan plateau turning to desert, says Chinese Academy of Science. Retrieved March 24, 2018, from https://www.thethirdpole.net/2015/12/07/tibetan-plateau-turning-to-desert-says-chinese-academy-of-science/