Modern Life in Tibet

　　Lhasa is 3, 600 meters above sea level and visitors often suffer from altitude sickness causing headache and fatigue. Just walking can be as tiring as hiking with 30 kilograms on your back at a lower altitude. The thin air, brilliant sunshine and glorious lamaseries give visitors an experience out of the ordinary, and altitude sickness in no way detracts from the attractions of the holy city. People will always come from all over the world to visit Potala Palace and walk through its maze-like corridors and halls.

　　The altitude has not in the slightest degree affected the life of locals. Most of them are swarthy-skinned and sturdy, probably due to the intense sunshine. Tibetans are devout Buddhists and usually straight-faced. Yet with flirther contact one finds them to be humorous and to love singing, dancing and life in general. In Lhasa, Xigaze and other towns, the most popular place for recreation is the disco. People may equate Tibet with Shangri-La, given its irresistibly natural beauty and cultural wonders, but a part does not represent the whole, and life today in Tibet is different from that of the leg-endary Shangri-La.

　　Today city and countryside alike show signs of modernization a network of highways, automobiles, convenient communications facilities, TVs, refrigerators, a bewildering array of shops in Lhasa and all kinds of fashionable gadgets such as an electric beater to make the typical buttered tea. "Except for oxygen, Lhasa lacks nothing," as the locals pro-udly say. The speed of urbanization is startling: you would never expect to find a thriving city on the bleak Tibetan pla-teau until you see Lhasa with your own eyes. And people's at-titudes toward life are changing, too.

The Young
　　Everywhere young people are the most adaptable to change and Tibet is no exception. Take Puncog, a 23-year-old tour guide. Like others, as a child he studied for a few years in the monastery. He did so out of his own will and was not forced to go by his parents. Puncog speaks fluent English plus a little French, German and Spanish. He says he has no formal education and has learned on his own. Most likely he taught himself in the monastery. Many young lamas study English so that they can talk with foreigners. In Potala Palace, English materials are often seen beside the lamas' cushions. However, most tour guides have received professional training. Some go to school here, some in other provinces, and yet others re-ceive short-term English training in India.

　　Generally speaking, to be a tour guide is to have a promising career in Tibet and Puncog is quite content with his job. Most of his spare time is spent with friends, drinking, chatting and sharing experiences. Now that he has a girlfriend, he puts her first and has given up smoking and drinking. This is not, according to him, just for his girlfriend. Perhaps one day he will return to the monastery and lamas are not allowed to drink or smoke.

　　Puncog has another hobby taking cold baths which he pursues even in winter. He also likes to go swimming with friends in the Lhasa River. This may be puzzling to those self-proclaimed Tibet experts who think Tibetans seldom bathe. In fact, Tibetans are not repulsed by bathing. Every summer there is the Bathing Festival, when men and women, old and young, bathe in holy rivers. Since the weather in Tibet is often inimical and heating not available, a minor cold can turn into a fatal one. For this reason, hot springs have often been the only safe place for bathing and are especially popular. Today public bathhouses have been built in cities and bathing facilities installed in more and more apartments. Among them the most popular have solar-powered heating, making use of the sun's energy to provide convenience.

　　In summer, Puncog and his friends like to meet in Norbu Linkha, Lhasa's beautiful park. At this time of year, the park teems with families, groups of friends and lovers. They sit on the grass eating, drinking and passing the day. Karaoke and disco have also become popular, and billiards, computer games and anything new are attractive to the young.

　　Compared to their parents' generation, young Tibetans today are better educated, and families want to send their children to college. Although the University of Tibet is a good one, universities elsewhere in China still attract students. Tibetans believe universities in Shanghai are the best, but they are willing to send their children to Beijing, Cheng-du or Kunming if the opportunity arises. In many places mid-dle schools and special programs have been established for students from Tibet in line with government policy aimed at improving the educational level of Tibet as quickly as p055-ible. Many children in remote areas can thus receive a better education. Unlike the Han Chinese, Tibetans do not mind if their children leave home at an early age. They consider it an advantage for their children to study elsewhere as it improves their chances of going to college. Wherever their studies may take them, however, they will almost always return to Tibet, providing the region with technicians and specialists in all fields.

Fusing Traditional and Modern
　　Adapting to new ways in no way means discarding the old ones, just as Tibetans have taken to beer without losing their taste for barley wine.

　　And talking of drink, wine and champagne have also gained in popularity, but at a banquet it is still considered correct to toast with barley wine and serve buttered tea. Lamas abstain from drinking they would otherwise be disgraced and even risk being expelled from the monastery.

　　The latest fashions reach Tibet quickly. Sometimes Ti-betans are amazingly audacious in donning stylish clothes. Yet when it comes to Buddhist discipline, almost nobody dares to challenge tradition. For example, it is all right to wear shortsleeved shirts but pants and skirts are absolutely forbid-den.

　　The elderly prefer traditional dress while the young, as usual, think otherwise, because they feel the old vestments take too much time and bother to care for and put on. Thus the different habits of two generations are reflected.

　　Differences between city and country life also exist. Generally speaking, city dwellers have more access to new things and adapt to them more quickly, while country people are likely to adhere to tradition. In Lhasa, Xigaze and other cities, traditional Tibetan houses are seldom seen except in the older districts. They are time-consuming and laborious to build and thus not economical, and they are comparatively less functional. But in the countryside people seem to regard the traditional house as the only real one.

　　Life in remote grazing areas is still very backward, especially for herdsmen who live with their animals without electricity. Battery-run radios and tape decks are popular and nearly every family has one or two. And festivals are more important to them than to townspeople who work a set sched-ule and do not have much free time except at major holidays.

With the passing of time and urbanization, the tempo of city life has accelerated. Those accustomed to a relaxed, unregimented lifestyle sometimes have trouble adapting. They may wish to sit in the teahouse chatting with friends, but there isn't so much leisure time any more. Many people now even take a second job. Driving a taxi used to be considered unde-sirable and was usually done by non-Tibetans, but now it is seen as profitable and is done by locals. In the past Tibetans also considered business rather contemptible, but now there is a bustling bazaar on Barkor Street near Jokhang Temple, and many shops on the main streets of Lhasa, and nobody seems to mind.

　　Religion has not and will never disappear from Tibetan life. The small number of people who are not Buddhists and never go to temples or donate money to them have no hostility towards religion. The enthusiasm of Tibetans for their re-ligion is incomparable. However modest their income, a part is contributed to a temple. The fervent wish of the devout Buddhist is to visit all the famous temples, holy mountains, holy lakes and holy rivers.