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FM AMCONSUL CHENGDU
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INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0012
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0163
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0145
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 0064
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 3179

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CHENGDU 000243 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM, DRL, INR, AND G 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  10/9/2032 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR ECON CH
SUBJECT: EVEREST AND BEYOND  -- A RARE GLIMPSE INTO WESTERN TIBET 
 
REF: A) CHENGDU 239     B) CHENGDU 236     C) CHENGDU 235 
 
CHENGDU 00000243  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: James A. Boughner, Consul General, U.S. Consulate 
General, Chengdu. 
REASON: 1.4 (b), (d) 
 
 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  The remote western areas of China's Tibetan 
Autonomous Region are a mixture of active military facilities, 
sensitive religious sites, and vulnerable archeological ruins. 
The Everest Base Camp, at which a People's Armed Police station 
was recently added, has become a rather squalid tent city 
serving tourists as well as mountaineers.  A project much 
reported on by the international press to pave the road to the 
Base Camp, however, has been put on hold until after the 
Olympics.  Numerous mountain passes apparently give access to 
Nepal and India for would-be refugees and those seeking 
religious education.  Central government political control seems 
firm in the region as it ramps up for extensive tourism 
development.  A mysterious disease has caused significant damage 
to local sheep herds.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Consul General, Congenoff, and Consulate's ethnic 
Tibetan Political Assistant visited the western areas of the 
Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) from September 10-19.  Other 
aspects of the visit have been reported reftels.  From what we 
were able to turn up in our research and based on the 
institutional memory of our long-term Congen personnel, this 
long (and very dusty) road trip was apparently the first visit 
to the area by U.S. diplomatic representatives since 1950 when 
then-Vice Consul Douglas Mackiernan made his ill-fated 
evacuation from Xinjiang's Urumqi (known then as Tihwa) in the 
wake of the Chinese Civil War.  He made it as far as the 
southern edge of the Chang Tang wilderness before being shot and 
killed by Tibetan border guards at a location roughly at 33 
degrees north latitude, 88 degrees east longitude. 
 
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BEYOND SHIGATSE - A RUINED MONASTERY AND THE EVEREST BASE CAMP 
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----------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Monasteries in the western TAR are almost exclusively 
affiliated with the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, 
traditionally linked to the Dalai and Panchen Lamas.  A few 
hours south of Shigatse we looked into conditions at the 730 
year-old Shelkar Choede Monastery, which was once home to 400 
monks (current population 35).  A relatively long climb at 
altitude to the site enabled us at times to (literally) leave 
our principal Lhasa Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) handler behind 
in the dust.  Heavily damaged during the Cultural Revolution, 
much of the monastery was in disrepair, and monks there told us 
they lacked the funds necessary to build a funeral stupa for 
their recently deceased abbot, Kyenrap Jampa, who died in 
January of 2007.  They also said they believe the numerous dogs 
inhabiting the temple are the reincarnated souls of those PLA 
soldiers and Red Guards who had attacked the monastery during 
the Cultural Revolution, but who had acted under duress. 
 
¶4. (C) Paved roads ended not long after the Tingri County seat 
(population 50,000, elevation 5000 meters or16,500 feet), where 
the road to Mount Everest Base Camp One began.  Local villagers 
there told us the question of paving the road from Tingri to the 
Base Camp was a subject of much controversy: some favored paving 
the road under the assumption it will raise local incomes due to 
increased visitors to the area, but added government officials 
had told them the project was postponed until at least after the 
Olympics due to "international opposition."  However, some local 
interlocutors suspected the real reason was opposition from 
local travel agencies (managed by Han Chinese and affiliated 
with the military) that make considerable profits from renting 
four wheel-drive vehicles to tourists and mountaineers. 
 
¶5. (C) Although unpaved, dusty, and under repair in some areas, 
the 110-kilometer (72 miles) road from Tingri to the Everest 
Base Camp was in generally good condition, with a fair number of 
tourists and a few trucks.  As we approached the camp area, we 
saw a large and apparently newly constructed hotel, which was 
not yet open for business.  The camp itself (altitude 5200 
meters or about 17,200 feet) was a particularly unprepossessing 
collection of about 20 identical black canvas tents reminiscent 
of pictures of the Alaska gold rush, and bearing names such as 
"Hotel California" and "Disneyland."  A few advertised mixed 
drinks.  Local interlocutors told us many female sex workers 
come to the area in the summer to meet the demand of mostly Han 
 
CHENGDU 00000243  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
Chinese tourists.  The interlocutors also told us the sex trade 
and other unsavory aspects of the camp had expanded greatly 
after the TAR Mountaineering Association assumed management of 
the area about two years ago.  Garbage and other waste littered 
the area.  Our initial plan to remain overnight was cancelled by 
our FAO handler who told us he could not "guarantee our safety" 
there. 
 
¶6. (C) A few hundred meters south of the camp was a new post 
manned by People's Armed Police (PAP) officers, who required all 
travelers to identify themselves.  A little beyond that spot was 
a large stone mound, which marked the farthest spot allowed to 
non-mountaineering visitors, and was a popular spot for Han 
tourists to pose.  (Note: The mound was the site of the April 
2007 incident involving the unfurling of a banner by several 
American citizens calling for Tibetan independence.  End note.) 
Interestingly, on the ground not too far from the mound lay a 
large rock with a Tibetan inscription calling for "complete 
independence for Tibet." 
 
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DUST, DIRT, FLIES - AND HOLY LAKES AND MOUNTAINS 
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---------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Road conditions and accommodations deteriorated 
dramatically west of Tingri and the Everest Base Camp, as we 
crossed Saga County (population 10,000, elevation 4600 meters or 
about 15,200 feet) and Drong Pa County (Ch: Zhongba, population 
15,000, elevation 5000 meters or about 16,500 feet).  In the 
Drong Pa County seat, the three of us spent the night sharing a 
single room huddled around a yak dung stove; toilet facilities 
were an unlit dirt courtyard patrolled by Tibetan mastiffs that 
fortunately did not mind sharing their territory with Congen 
personnel.  We also encountered several hardy independent 
travelers, including Canadian bicyclists from Thailand and a 
neuro-surgeon from Denmark who said she had traveled by bus from 
Islamabad through western Xinjiang.  (Note: The presence of 
these independent foreign travelers would appear to contradict 
official announcements that such non-group travel would no 
longer be permitted following the Everest banner incident.  End 
note.) 
 
¶8. (C) In Saga and Drong Pa Counties, we passed several road 
crews consisting of PLA soldiers in uniform.  Some local 
interlocutors indicated that side roads in the area branched off 
toward mountain passes garrisoned by the PAP and PLA, where 
Tibetans make occasional attempts to cross into Nepal.  The 
interlocutors also noted that, while China recognized five 
official "ports" or border crossings between the TAR and India 
and Nepal, they believe more than 300 passes actually exist. 
Some of these passes are admittedly quite difficult and 
dangerous, but nevertheless serve as informal exit routes for 
refugees and those seeking religious education. 
 
¶9. (C) Leaving Shigatse Prefecture at its western border with 
Ngari (Ch: Ali) Prefecture on September 13, we left the Chengdu 
Military District and entered the Lanzhou Military District, the 
same district that includes Xinjiang.  This change was reflected 
in the license plates of military trucks that passed us on the 
dirt highway, many carrying soldiers and unmarked crates. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Lake Manasorva and Mount Kailash, lying not far from 
the Indian border in the southern part of Ngari Prefecture, are 
said to be sacred to four religions - Hinduism, Jainism, Tibetan 
Buddhism, and Bon (the pre-Buddhist native religion of Tibet). 
As such, they are extremely popular destinations for religious 
pilgrims, despite their remoteness.  Local residents and 
officials told us that each year, more and more Indian and 
Nepalese Hindus make the pilgrimage, some of the richest 
traveling by chartered helicopter to a border point, and then 
renting four-wheel drive vehicles for the Chinese portion of the 
trip.  Over 10,000 Indian tourists visited the area in 2007. 
As bathing in Lake Manasorva is considered sacrilegious by 
Tibetans, the ritual ablutions performed in it by an 
ever-growing number of Hindus has proved to be a source of some 
local tension (see paragraph 13). 
 
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FAR WESTERN TIBET - A POTENTIALLY WORLD-CLASS TOURIST SITE 
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---------------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (C) Western Ngari's Tsamda (Ch: Zhada) County (population 
 
CHENGDU 00000243  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
10,000, elevation 4000 meters or about 13,200 feet) is home to 
the spectacular ruins of the ancient Guge Kingdom, set in what 
can be described as a Tibetan version of Utah's Monument Valley. 
 Built into the side of a mountain, the main castle complex 
rises several hundred feet above the valley floor.  But even 
this remote site saw extensive damage during the Cultural 
Revolution.  Our guide (who was a local artist involved in 
restoring the palace's religious murals) showed us the shattered 
remains of several statues of the Buddha, as well as a pile of 
sacred texts still lying loose and unprotected on a dirt floor. 
When asked about government efforts to protect the site, he made 
a cynical expression and said the government had "announced" 
that 80 million RMB (USD 10.5 million) was already spent on 
restoration.  One of our ethnic Tibetan FAO handlers noted to 
our FSN that the money may have "disappeared." 
 
¶12. (C) Approaching Ngari Prefecture's capital city of Gar 
(Chinese also Ali) (population 70,000, elevation 4500 meters or 
about 15,000 feet) on September 15, we passed the site of the 
city's future airport, where the tarmac had already been laid. 
Local officials told us that following completion of the airport 
in 2010 and asphalting of the area's major highways (to be 
completed in 2008), the area expects to receive 570,000 tourists 
by 2020, up from 60,000 in 2006.  According to the officials, 
Boeing representatives have recently visited Gar to examine how 
best to retool aircraft engines to handle the high altitude take 
offs and landings that will be necessary. 
 
¶13. (C) In Gar, we were received by a Prefecture Vice Governor 
Wang Jun, a "Help Tibet Cadre" (yuanzang ganbu) who said she had 
served in Ngari since 1982.  Over a long and surprisingly 
sumptuous banquet, she was not shy about emphasizing her 
pioneering spirit and dedication to the people of the area. 
However, we were told later by local contacts she and her family 
have profited greatly from her work in the region.  She 
reportedly drives a high-end  (and very impractical for Gar) 
convertible BMW, and has substantial interests in several local 
businesses.  (Note: During the same banquet, our FAO handlers 
(both ethnic Tibetan and Han) and Vice Governor Wang took turns 
complaining about the personal habits of Indians, as well as 
their concern at what they termed the "disgusting" custom of 
Hindu pilgrims washing their bodies in Lake Manasorva.  They 
bruited the idea of building something like a "giant fishbowl" 
along the side of the lake in order to accommodate the Hindus. 
End note.) 
 
¶14. (C) The next two days of travel took us over Routes S301 and 
S206, two heavily potholed, unpaved high-altitude highways 
through Getse (Ch: Gaize), Ngamring (Ch: Anran), and Tsochen 
(Ch: Cuoqing) Counties.  There was little evident military 
activity along these routes, and road maintenance crews 
consisted of local Tibetan men and women.  Towns were squalid 
and dirty, and foreign travelers almost nonexistent.  Despite 
the miserable conditions and grinding poverty, Tsochen County 
Governor Xiong Wenzhi claimed that local per capita government 
assistance exceeded 6000 RMB (USD 789) in 2006, an astronomical 
sum by rural Tibetan standards.  Asked about family sizes in the 
county, Xiong went on for some length about the proclivity of 
Tibetans to have multiple children, claiming that some families 
have as many as 15. 
 
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A MYSTERIOUS SHEEP DISEASE, AND EMPTY BUILDINGS 
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---------------------- 
 
¶15. (C) When we first entered the TAR, local contacts told us a 
disease they referred to as "Mystery Sheep Disease" (Yang X 
Bing) had recently attacked herds on the plateau, resulting in 
the death of over 200,000 animals.  Beginning in Ngari 
Prefecture, our cars were regularly stopped by roadside 
checkpoints, where our vehicles' tires and undercarriages were 
sprayed with a disinfectant.  Although our FAO handler at first 
refused to tie the disinfection stations to the sheep disease, 
in Tsamda County we later noticed a poster in Mandarin warning 
residents about a serious bovine disease called "sheep 
cud-chewing animal epidemic" (Chinese yang xiao fanchushou 
jiqing) and officials there confirmed that 200,000 sheep had 
either been culled or had died from the disease.  Although they 
were unable to describe the symptoms of the disease, they 
claimed it had come into the TAR from Nepal within the last few 
months. 
 
¶16. (C) An obvious feature of the Tibetan landscape was the 
number of newly constructed buildings - schools, government and 
 
CHENGDU 00000243  004.2 OF 004 
 
 
police facilities, and hotels - along the highways.  However, 
most of those buildings appeared to be only partly occupied, or 
even completely empty.  A few hotels looked as if they had been 
used for a brief period and then abandoned.  One rooming house 
we stayed in bore a plaque stating it had been constructed in 
2000, but it was shockingly dilapidated (quite literally): light 
switches consisted of bare wires; guests were expected to turn 
the lights on and off by twisting the bare wires together with 
their fingers. 
 
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COMMENT 
--------------- 
 
¶17. (C) Although we were able to have brief conversations with 
ethnic Tibetans, close monitoring by our FAO handler and other 
security officials was aimed at keeping such discussions to a 
minimum.  Having an ethnic Tibetan FSN with a broad range of 
local contacts, however, certainly helped us expand beyond 
officially approved and prepped local interlocutors.  At one 
banquet we attended in a local restaurant near Guge, an ethnic 
Tibetan officer in a military delegation actually broke away 
from his group in a neighboring function room to greet briefly a 
former classmate sitting at our table - our FSN.  The strategic 
and economic potential of the area is obvious, as is the 
potential for ethnic tension as improvements in the 
transportation infrastructure of the region bring greater 
numbers of non-Tibetan migrants.  We also came away with an 
overall impression of great environmental and cultural 
fragility.  We were fortunate to see the area at a time when its 
remoteness ensures it still receives relatively few visitors. 
Rapid expansion of paved roads and airports is likely to change 
that situation very soon. 
BOUGHNER