The Tragedy of the Himalayas: Our Disappearing Glaciers and Silent Witnesses

28 years after the smoke of the "Red River Valley" battle cleared, the wound of the Karola Glacier is still bleeding. The triangular gap blasted out, like a sharp sword piercing the sky, questions every passerby: where exactly is the boundary between art and nature?

🗺️ Environmental Awakening Route

🧊 Glacier Warning Line (4-hour contemplative journey)
Morning: Shigatse → Karola Glacier Viewing Platform (silent gaze at the wound) → Hiking on Naitin Kangzang Peak (collecting trash along the way)
Afternoon: Manla Reservoir ecological survey → Smila Pass hanging environmental prayer flags → Return to Shigatse

🌱 Sustainable Travel Route (2-day action version)
DAY 1: Gyantse Ancient Town → Zongshan Ancient Fortress → Participate in glacier protection station cleaning action
DAY 2: Baiyu Monastery meditation → Learn Tibetan environmental skills (making barley straw tableware)

💔 Scar Memory Museum

▎ Karola Wound
• Permanent ice cap disappeared at 5,020 meters altitude, black rock walls like the earth’s scab
• Recommended to bring binoculars to observe the geological rings left by glacier retreat

▎ The Lament of the Pika

• Plateau spirits dying from ingesting plastic, oxygen bottles and self-heating packs scattered near caves
• If you encounter wildlife, please record but do not feed, keep distance and do not disturb

▎ Hidden Dangers
✅ Melting riverbed: new lakes formed by accelerated glacier retreat may cause dam breaches
✅ Prayer flag debris: synthetic fabrics do not decompose for centuries on the plateau

🍵 Eco-friendly Menu

▎ Zero-waste Picnic
• Barley tsampa (wrapped in cloth to avoid plastic containers)
• Butter tea (served in thermos, refuse disposable cups)

▎ Eco-friendly Restaurants
✅ Shigatse Tibetan Restaurant: traditional clay pot stewed yak meat (recyclable containers)
✅ Gyantse Vegetarian Canteen: stone-baked potatoes (with locally grown vegetables)
✅ Nomad Family Feast: hand-ground barley noodles (experience primitive processing methods)

▎ Responsible Consumption
• Refuse bottled water (bring a filtered water bottle to collect stream water)
• Buy nomads’ homemade dried beef (paper packaging)

💡 Traveler Action Guide

🚗 Transportation
Choose new energy charter cars (Shigatse has charging stations)
Prepare reusable trash bags for hiking sections

📸 Documentation
Record ecological scars with your camera (mark latitude and longitude for scientific reference)
Turn off flash when photographing to reduce disturbance to wildlife

🎒 Gear
Biodegradable toiletries + metal water bottle
Bamboo fiber towel (more eco-friendly than synthetic towels)

🙏 Restoration Actions
Participate in glacier guardian volunteer projects (every June to August)
Fund nomad area trash exchange stations (exchange waste for daily necessities)

When the glacier’s tears flow into rivers
When the pika’s caves become graves
Only then do we realize every “careless” discard
Is a verdict for the Earth