Live Your Best Lives
When you think of Tibet in winter, the first thing that comes to mind is a vast expanse of ice and snow. But deep within the snowy plateau, there are always unexpected surprises: a group of winter elves singing in the bright sunshine.
Winter in Tibet is cold, but that refers to the sunless nights. Blessed by the Sun God, the daytime is the perfect time for sunbathing in this city. Lhasa, known as the Sun City, averages over 3,000 hours of sunshine annually, with midday temperatures reaching 13 to 20 degrees Celsius in winter. This, coupled with a relatively dry climate, makes it even more comfortable. One of my favorite things to do is sit in the Jokhang Temple Square in Lhasa, soaking up the sun and daydreaming.
(@Picture from Photo Network)
Tourists coming to Tibet are mainly concentrated from May to September, but many local festivals in Tibet are concentrated in winter. Many locals like to circumambulate, sunbathe, drink tea and chat on the streets. Traveling here can bring you closer to the Tibetan people.
Moreover, the conditions in most areas of Tibet are already quite good. 4G network and mobile payment are available in cities. Various facilities in cities are also very complete, so there is no need to worry at all.
Traveling to Lhasa in winter offers the most economical and affordable travel expenses, including transportation, food, lodging, and sightseeing. Furthermore, thanks to the "Winter Tibet" promotion, travel to Tibet is typically one-third cheaper than normal. The key point is that winter airfares to Tibet are truly attractive.
Tips:
Preferential policies for "Winter Tour in Tibet":
Time: November 1, 2018 - March 15, 2019.
Discounted tickets: Except for temple scenic spots, all state-owned 3A-level (including 3A) and above scenic spots in the region are free to visit, and tickets for state-owned 3A and below and non-state-owned A-level scenic spots are halved based on the off-season price.
Note: This winter tour policy does not include all temples in Tibet! This means that temples such as the Jokhang Temple, Drepung Monastery, and Sera Monastery are not included. However, popular attractions such as the Potala Palace and Norbulingka are definitely included.
Tibet in winter is purer, with higher visibility and more magnificent scenery. At night, the stars in the sky are clearer and the Milky Way can be seen with the naked eye.
The snow-capped mountains revealed their mysterious faces, magnificent and sacred.
Against the backdrop of the blue sky, the color of the lake is even purer, and part of the lake surface is covered with a thick layer of ice, and blue ice and ice bubbles can be seen.
There's a place in Tibet that was previously unknown, largely unknown due to its lack of access. But since its discovery by veteran Tibetan pilgrims and travel experts, it's become a household name, earning the nickname "China's Lake Baikal." It's Pumo Yumtso, located in southern Tibet.
Located at an altitude of 5,010 meters, Pumoyongcuo Lake lies on the border of Lhozhag and Nagarze counties in Shannan Prefecture. Known in Tibetan as "the girl's tears," Pumoyongcuo is surrounded by snow-capped mountains, with the majestic Kulagangri Mountain nestling beside it. The lake's waters are azure blue, and a small island within it, like a giant turtle, quietly guards this "girl." Legend has it that Pumoyongcuo was blessed by Guru Padmasambhava, imbuing it with a sacred aura.
Previously, this was a sacred lake that few people visited. Like Yamdrok Lake, it was ethereal and beautiful. In winter, it turned into a blue ice lake, and the waves froze into layers of light blue ice flowers. Walking into the lake, you can see the true mirror of the sky...
In winter, Pumoyongcuo is covered in thick ice, resembling a giant sapphire abandoned on Earth, its cracked texture radiating a unique beauty. At the highest point on the lakeshore lives a group of residents in Tui Village (Tuiwa Village). At an altitude of 5,070 meters, Tui Village is the highest administrative village in the world.
To survive the dry grass season, during the coldest month of February, the villagers of Tui Village gather their sheep and bring them to the island in the middle of Pum Yumtso Lake to enjoy a month of lush, tender grass. After a month, before the ice melts, the villagers cross the thick ice and bring the sheep back to the village. This tradition has been passed down for thousands of years.
Tips:
Pumyomtso Lake freezes over from mid-January to mid-February
Recommended one-day itinerary: Lhasa - Yamdrok Lake - Pumo Yumco - Lhasa
Why is ice blue?
Due to the severe winter cold, the ice becomes increasingly dense and hard, squeezing out the air inside. The pores within the ice shrink until they disappear, gradually becoming crystal clear. At this point, the longer-wavelength, more diffracting red and orange sunlight can penetrate the ice, while the shorter-wavelength blue light is scattered by the dense, thick ice. This gives the ice a beautiful, crystal-like blue color, similar to the blue color of the sky (atmospheric scattering) and the sea (water scattering).
Temperature: The temperature must be below -10 degrees Celsius and remain low, especially under the sun at noon, to keep it cool enough to prevent it from melting. If a cold wave hits and the temperature drops sharply, ice bubbles are likely to form. Sayram Lake is a classic example. In January, the temperature dropped sharply, resulting in large areas of ice bubbles.
Water Quality: Blue ice is pure ice in the form of large, single ice crystals. The purer the ice, the bluer it is. (In nature, blue ice generally becomes bluer the less salt it contains, so the blue ice lakes we see are all freshwater lakes.)
Weather: A pure sky is required. The best state is blue sky and white clouds. When the sunlight shines down, the lake surface becomes even bluer and dotted with clouds, making it even more colorful.
If you want to shoot the sunset or sunrise, you need to use the ice bubble as the foreground, shoot from a low angle, and shoot against the light. If you arrive at noon or in the afternoon, it is recommended to shoot from a front-lit angle, as the ice surface will appear bluer. Backlighting will overexpose the picture.
When it comes to glaciers, many people may have only seen a brief glimpse of them in movies. But if you can walk to the foot of a glacier and experience its loneliness and grandeur firsthand, you will be shocked by its tranquility and depth.
(Antarctic glacier @ picture from photo network)
Tibet's Glacier No. 40, a frozen throne on the plateau, sits at an altitude of 5,300 meters, almost as high as Mount Everest Base Camp. It is located near the border between Nagarze County in Shannan Prefecture, Tibet, and Bhutan. It is named after Boundary Marker No. 40, which stands adjacent to the border between China and Bhutan.
Currently, Glacier 40 is still relatively unexplored and relatively undiscovered, so few people know about it or have visited it. It retains its relatively intact, pristine appearance. Glacier 40 is the most accessible land mountain glacier discovered to date, allowing visitors to experience it up close without the need for special equipment.
(@Picture from Photo Network)
Glacier 40 is a well-developed, richly landscaped area with all the hallmarks of a mountain glacier, offering breathtaking spectacle. Despite its small size, it boasts moraines, moraine lakes, glacial tongues, seracs, ice stalactites, crevasses, ice lakes, and ice caves. Walking through it feels like walking in a maze of seracs.
When you reach the foot of the glacier, you realize how insignificant you are compared to nature. Slowly climb up the glacier, immerse yourself in it, and listen to the ancient sounds that recount the memories of the glacier from ages past. The ice ridges in the cracks are like drops of time, frozen and sealed, becoming a permanent witness.
Snow that does not melt during the year will accumulate until the next winter. Year after year, the snow will eventually freeze and begin to slowly move down the mountain, and glaciers are formed.
In old snow, snow crystals have already transformed into ice grains. Now, the ice grains must pass through the old snow to become glacier ice. When the air gaps between the ice grains are sealed, making the snow dense, old snow becomes glacier ice.
Snow water seeps into the lower snow layers every spring, where the temperature is below zero, so the meltwater freezes again and forms ice layers in the old snow. So when the entire old snow area has undergone densification and metamorphism and is ready to become glacial ice, it may already contain irregular ice blocks.
Metamorphism continues after glacial ice forms. Ice grains continue to grow by "engulfing" their neighbors, so the size of ice crystals increases over time. Ice from large glaciers takes hundreds of years to reach its terminus, so tiny snow molecules may eventually crystallize to diameters greater than 30 mm. (Snow crystals continue to grow in size as they transform into aged snow crystals and then back into glacial ice crystals.)
(@Picture from Photo Network)
While glaciers may seem indestructible, they are not permanent. How could global warming spare Glacier 40? If you visit the same glacier several times, you'll notice a dramatic shift in the landscape, with seracs melting rapidly. Rising temperatures caused by global warming are a significant threat to glaciers. In the past 50 years, approximately 18% of glaciers in China alone have disappeared.
Standing at the heart of the glacier, I marvel at its beauty while worrying about its passing. My emotions are so overwhelming, yet they can only be reduced to a sigh. Faced with the alarming rate of glacier change and the severe challenges of global warming, all we can do is not disturb its pristine state. Don't take anything away except photos, and don't leave anything behind. And don't strike the glaciers with rocks or other hard objects.
Gazing at Glacier 40 again, I finally understood why some call it the "blue planet on the border." It's truly beautiful. Beneath the azure sky, the ice shimmers. Standing on the mountainside by the river, gazing up at the heavens, the air feels refreshing.
Tips:
Border Pass: You can apply for it in Lhasa. Usually, you can go to a local travel agency to apply for it at the border defense detachment. (Lhozha County, Langkazi County, Shannan Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region)
Vehicle: Off-road vehicle, 15-seat commercial vehicle available in winter.
Recommended 2-day itinerary:
D1: Lhasa - Yamdrok Lake - Langkazi
Day 2: Langkazi - Pumoyongcuo - Glacier 40 - Lhasa
ID card
The entire itinerary must be within the validity period.
Border Pass
Shannan Prefecture includes border areas. Traveling to Pumoyongcuo and the 40th Glacier requires a border pass. You can apply for one free at the local police station where your household registration is located. You can also go to Lhasa in advance and find a local travel agency to apply for one at the border detachment. Information to be filled in on the border pass: Lhozhag County, Shannan Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, Langkazi County (some areas cannot be specified at the county level, so you can specify the region, such as: Shannan Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region)
bank card
Although you can pay with your mobile phone in many places, you should still bring your bank card and have some cash on you.
Windproof, sun-proof and dry-proof
The bright sunshine brings warmth and comfort, but also brings ultraviolet rays. Moreover, the climate in the plateau area is dry and the wind and sand are strong, so sunglasses, headscarves, sunscreen, lipstick, hats, shawls, thermos cups and other windproof, sun-proof and dryness-proof measures are necessary.
head
Wool hat, Lei Feng hat, cotton hat, scarf, earmuffs... (In short, keeping your head warm is very, very, very important)
face
Sunglasses (to prevent snow blindness), masks, face shields...
Upper body
Quick-drying underwear, thermal underwear, fleece vest
Warm cashmere sweaters, thick sweaters, fleece jackets
Down jackets, ski suits, and jackets with good windproof outer layer
lower body
Close-fitting warm autumn trousers, fleece leggings
Warm fleece pants
Outer layer of windproof trousers, ski pants, thick jeans
The use of warm baby stickers depends on personal circumstances
Foot
Long socks (preferably cashmere) and waterproof, warm, outdoor boots!
The importance of keeping warm is self-evident. As the saying goes: Warm feet warm the whole body, cold feet cold the whole body! As for waterproofing, although the local area is covered with ice and snow, once you enter the room, the snow stuck to your shoes will turn into water and soak your shoes. (It is recommended not to wear snow boots, as they are not waterproof.)
Gloves
It is recommended to prepare two pairs of gloves, one thin and one thick. The thin gloves are best used for touch screen phones, so you can use them directly. The thick gloves can be put on over the thin gloves to keep warm.
Crampons
Carry with caution. There are not many actual test scenarios. It will destroy the smoothness of the ice surface. If the ice surface is not thick enough, it will cause ice cracks.
Pay attention to the temperature difference between hot and cold to avoid water fog on the lens, which will affect the shooting.
1. In northern China, the temperature difference between indoors and outdoors is significant. Before leaving the outdoors or driving a car, and before returning to the indoors or driving a car, be sure to put your camera in a bag and avoid holding it in your hands.
2. After going outside in the morning, do not take out your camera immediately. Allow it to adapt to the outdoor temperature for half an hour or longer before taking out the camera to take pictures.
3. Once you're back indoors, don't remove your camera from your bag immediately. Leave it indoors for 2-3 hours before opening it. Remember to remove batteries and memory cards that need charging before you leave. You can also use a plastic bag to seal your equipment.
4. When getting on and off the vehicle frequently for short periods of time, the lens cap must be kept on at all times.
Everyone has a Tibetan dream in their heart. Don’t be afraid. Make a plan and go out to feel the purity and shock in the mystery. Let’s hum folk songs together, listen to the stories of the snow-capped mountains, and find our true selves.
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