THE MOUNTAINS

The Chinese government says that Tibet has always been a part of China.  From what I saw I'd have to speculate that it was actually the other way around.  In many parts of the Qinghai province there were Tibetan Buddhist monasteries popping up out of nowhere, and people that spoke Tibetan as their first and only language.

In the areas where there was enough water there were large areas of wheat and rapeseed fields which always made for a pretty landscape.

The seeds from the rapeseed plants, where the yellow flowers are, were used for making cooking oil.

The highest point in the trip was through the mountains between Xining and Qinghai Lake.  The highest point the road reached was over 4100 meters.

With mountains come mountain people.  These people lived in tents and tended large herds of yaks, goats, sheep, and what can only be described as some kind of pygmy cattle.  These people moved from place to place following the good weather throughout the year.

DIRECT LINKS TO PAGES:
ENTER THE DRAGON
WHEN IN BEIJING
THE REALLY BIG WALL OF CHINA
THIS AIN'T NO WINTER PALACE
TIAN'ANMEN SQUARE
MOVING WEST AND THE KUMBUM MONASTERY
OH YEAH.  WORK.
WHAT WE DID
IF THE ROADS DON'T KILL YOU...
THE MOUNTAINS
A STOP ALONG THE SILK ROAD
THE PLAINS AND DESERTS
THE PEOPLE
TIME TO GO HOME

2006-Jul-31