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Tibet

By Jay Goldman October 5, 2013 Tibet

A white minivan and a silver car drive down a paved road tunneled by overhanging willow trees.

A weathered Tibetan prayer flag printed with Buddhist scriptures hangs by a calm river lined with bare autumn trees.

Tibetan scripture printed in dark ink on a pale prayer flag, with bare branches blurred behind.

Storm clouds hang low over tan Tibetan mountains above a row of golden autumn trees and a wide river.

Jeweled gold and crystal Tibetan stupa ornament on a car dashboard, a vehicle ahead on the road beyond the windshield

Colorful silk scarves braided through a black iron ring handle on a weathered red Tibetan door.

Smoke drifts past a Tibetan monastery's ornate wooden eaves, with a woodpile below and pine trees behind.

Weathered middle-aged man in a beige sweater and scarf with a backpack, standing outdoors before a building.

Barley heaped in a weathered stone offering bowl before a Tibetan monastery with prayer flags on a tall pole.

Three children play in a stone courtyard outside a Tibetan monastery with a wooden cart and painted walls.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags wound around a tall weathered wooden pole against an overcast sky.

Weathered stone lion sculpture in close-up, with red-painted mouth and green-tinted whiskers.

Braided colorful silk khata scarves hanging from an engraved bell inside a Tibetan Buddhist temple.

Close-up of a gilded Buddha statue's face with blue hair, painted eyes, and red lips.

Multiple lit wicks flickering in a large bowl of golden yak butter, glowing against darkness in a Tibetan temple.

A row of polished silver offering bowls lined up against an ornate gilded temple wall.

Ornate gilded Tibetan Buddhist statue with turquoise-and-coral jeweled crown and collar, holding a ritual scepter.

A row of golden Tibetan prayer wheels topped with red and green cloth along a stone path.

A black dog curled up asleep on a sand pile as a dark yak grazes near a stone wall behind.

A discarded purple Teletubby toy lying face-up in dirt among scattered pebbles and dry leaves.

A large whitewashed Tibetan Buddhist stupa with gold spires, flanked by smaller gilded chortens under a hazy sky.

Smiling young boy in a yellow cap and red jacket poses against a stone wall.

Traditional Tibetan stone house with a rooftop prayer-flag pole and a white Buddhist swastika symbol under a grey sky.

Weathered white khata scarves tied to a brass ring door handle on an old Tibetan door.

Close-up of Tibetan script carved into a weathered grey stone mani slab

Hands reaching toward a pile of small white pebbles on stone, one wrist wrapped in amber prayer beads.

An older man in a tan sweater and scarf, glasses hanging from his neck, before a colorful Tibetan building.

Row of gilded, jewel-crowned bodhisattva statues beneath a painted ceiling in a Tibetan monastery.

A colorful wrathful Tibetan deity statue with fanged open mouth, draped in white and gold silk offering scarves.

Large white Tibetan stupa with a gold spire and stepped base against a cloudy sky.

A snow-capped Himalayan peak glimpsed through a close-up flutter of colorful Tibetan prayer flags.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags framing a distant snow-capped mountain and valley below.

A cairn of stacked rocks on a red ledge with Tibetan prayer flags, a lake, and mountains behind.

The upswept eaves and painted dharma-wheel of a Tibetan temple gateway silhouetted against a brooding grey sky.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags strung along a shimmering river with vans, cars, and people parked below dark mountains.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags strung against dark mountains under a dramatic, cloud-filled sky.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags strung across a rooftop against a dark mountain ridge and cloudy sky.

Car rear window with garbled gold text: "Your Free Style, we're trying to make your dignity more LUXURJOUS.

Piles of chhurpi, traditional dried yak-milk cheese, threaded on strings at a Tibetan market.

Street vendor stand selling knockoff Beats by Dr. Dre earphones and cables clipped to a rack beside a bus.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags strung in rows against a blue sky, backlit by the sun

Prayer flags crown a shadowed ridge above a broad Tibetan river valley with braided water and distant snow-dusted peaks.

Rows of colorful Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags strung across a clear blue sky.

Weathered man in a leather jacket and floral scarf gazes into the distance across a sunlit Tibetan plateau.

Sunlit Tibetan prayer flags printed with scripture and Buddha figures against a deep blue sky.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags printed with scripture and stupa imagery against a deep blue sky.

Strings of colorful Tibetan prayer flags printed with mantras and stupas against a deep blue sky.

Colorful Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags strung in crisscrossing lines against a clear blue sky.

Sculpted sand dunes in a broad valley below snow-capped Himalayan mountains and scattered clouds

A herd of horned sheep and goats, their fleece dyed orange, blue, and red, huddled on rocky ground.

A herd of black, brown, and white goats being driven along a paved road with mountains behind.

Rows of colorful Tibetan prayer flags strung from a high point against a deep blue sky, mountains beyond.

Butter lamps glow along a dim monastery wall as monks in maroon robes sit beside an ornate altar table.

A winding dirt road descends through green Tibetan mountain valleys toward a small village and broad river plain.

Mountains and clouds seen through a dim latticed window with red curtains

Golden Buddhist stupa ornament atop a monastery roof overlooking a broad Tibetan valley and mountains under drifting clouds.

Ornate golden Tibetan rooftop finial with dragon heads, overlooking a valley and distant mountains.

A golden Tibetan Buddhist rooftop finial with tiered lotus and orb shapes against a bright cloudy blue sky.

A tall Tibetan prayer pole wrapped in layers of colorful weathered prayer flags against a cloudy blue sky.

A thick-fleeced sheep stands on a stony courtyard before a pink Tibetan monastery wall.

Samye Monastery's golden-roofed main temple with red and white walls under a dramatic cloudy sky, Tibet.

Weathered Tibetan prayer flags strung across a barren mountain valley, backlit by low sun.

Sunlit Tibetan prayer flags printed with scripture and a wind horse, strung above a hazy mountain valley.

Sunlit corner of a Tibetan stone building with yellow-ochre walls and a red-painted upper band, against a deep blue sky and barren mountain.

Sunlit Tibetan stone wall with a rough-hewn masonry base and a rust-red painted upper band.

Sunlit tree branches frame a colorful painted Tibetan monastery roof with a red banner behind them.

A neon-yellow phone booth casts a green shadow beside a green hut, with prayer flags and barren mountains behind.

Close-up of a black horse decorated with a Tibetan bridle, brass bells, yellow silk, and a pink rosette.

Smiling man in a blue cap leans beside a bridled pony as Tibetan women and pack ponies wait on a dusty mountain trail.

Stacked stones pinning white and colored Tibetan prayer flags against a backdrop of arid mountains.

A lone red tractor plows a dark furrow across a vast expanse of dry, tan farmland.

Rows of golden autumn poplars line barren cultivated fields below a barren brown Tibetan mountain under deep blue sky.

Incense smoke drifts from a whitewashed burner before a sunlit Tibetan monastery with an ornate gold-and-blue eaved roof.

Smiling man in sunglasses aims a DSLR camera beside a rock outcrop, snow-capped mountains behind him.

Smoke rising from a whitewashed monastery incense burner against a deep blue Tibetan sky.

Blue roadside sign in Tibetan and Chinese reading "The slope is steep and the road is Slippery," against a rocky slope.

Rows of weathered wooden prayer wheels line a monastery wall as a small Tibetan mastiff looks down from a rooftop.

A shaggy brown dog peers down from a stone rooftop above a colorful pleated Tibetan doorway valance.

Golden Tibetan sun-and-moon rooftop finial gleaming against a barren mountainside

Brass no-photography plaque with a red crossed-out camera, Chinese "不准拍照," and misspelled "Nophto.

A gilded Tibetan rooftop banner ornament topped with a flame crest against a deep blue sky and barren mountains.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags fluttering against a blue sky above snow-capped Himalayan mountains and arid valleys.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags strung along a rocky red hillside trail in bright sunlight.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags printed with scripture and deities strung above a mountain valley.

Dense pile of colorful Tibetan prayer flags printed with black Tibetan script and Buddhist figures.

Yumbulagang palace on a ridge above the Yarlung Valley, draped in colorful prayer flags.

Masses of colorful Tibetan prayer flags strung across a mountain pass with snow-capped peaks beyond.

Man in a green jacket and face mask on a motorbike with a US-flag-covered backrest, on a Tibetan street.

Rear window of a white car with gold "Respect Value — Luxury For Genuine VIPs" decal text

Rows of ornate spiral-carved bronze snail-curl knots covering a Buddha statue's head, weathered with gold traces.

A tattered green prayer flag and bare branch rise from a painted Tibetan rooftop against a blue sky.

Gilded Tibetan deity statue with a jeweled crown and cobra hoods, holding an offering bowl.

Angular carved wooden statue of a robed figure displayed on a pedestal before a wooden slat screen.

Traditional Tibetan-roofed pavilions mirrored in a still courtyard pool, with a bare mountain rising behind Lhasa.

An ornate "R" crest on a window overlooking mountains and rooftops in Lhasa under a clear blue sky.

Close-up of weathered, cracked red-painted wood with green undercoat showing through.

Backlit Tibetan market street at dusk with crowds beneath a red banner reading "庆祝西藏自治区设立23周年

Worm's-eye view of a weathered Tibetan stone building's balconies and windows against a clear blue sky.

Rack of colorful Tibetan silk brocade robes and chubas hanging on white hangers at a market stall.

A young man in a green sweater and canvas apron carries a load atop his head past a Tibetan shop with carved wooden signs.

Tibetan pilgrims in leather aprons and hand guards prostrating in prayer outside shops near Lhasa's Jokhang Temple.

Tibetan prayer flags and a Chinese flag on a rooftop silhouetted against dusk sky

A boy in a yellow tracksuit prostrates on a prayer mat outside Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.

Ornate Tibetan lantern street lamps silhouetted against a dusk sky over a plaza with trees.

The white and maroon Potala Palace rising up a hillside against a deep blue sky in Lhasa, Tibet

Whitewashed walls of the Potala Palace rising against a deep blue Tibetan sky, with a tree at lower left.

Backlit man in sunglasses talks on a phone beside a whitewashed monastery wall at dusk

Close-up of textured red clay wall with a ridged, crumbling surface catching warm light

Hazy morning light over Lhasa's rooftops and valley, with mountains rising behind the city.

A Tibetan woman in a dark chuba carries a child in a bright yellow hooded jacket and Union Jack sneakers along a sunlit whitewashed alley.

Smiling Tibetan woman with a long braid carries a child on her back in a sunlit stone courtyard.

View from a whitewashed Tibetan palace wall over Lhasa's rooftops, a pond, and mountains under blue sky.

Towering whitewashed wall of the Potala Palace with dark windows and red trim against a clear blue sky.

An older Tibetan woman in a sun hat and striped apron uses yellow outdoor exercise equipment in a tree-lined park.

Arched white stone bridge with three arches reflecting in calm water, mountains and trees behind under a blue sky.

Backlit Tibetan market street with vendors, umbrellas, incense smoke, and a Tibetan medicine hospital sign in Lhasa.

Tibetan medical thangka with brocade border illustrating embryonic development stages and childbirth, annotated in Tibetan script.

A Tibetan doctor in a dark blazer takes a woman's pulse in a room with carved golden cabinets.

View through a barred, lace-curtained window of a Tibetan town street and snow-capped mountains beyond.

People crossing a sunlit Lhasa plaza lined with shops, backed by snow-capped Himalayan peaks under blue sky.

A man in a hat carries a saffron-draped prayer object through a busy Tibetan street below snow-capped mountains.

A street sign in Chinese and English reading "The third floor," listing "Coffee Time" and shops for rent.

Two Tibetan pilgrims, a woman in coral beads and headdress and a man in a sun hat, beside a whitewashed wall.

Rows of small hand-molded clay tsatsa votive offerings arranged closely together in warm sunlight.

Close-up of a pile of small gold-painted clay tablets each embossed with a seated Buddha figure.

Rows of white clay tsatsa, small conical Tibetan votive offerings pressed with Buddha figures and stupa patterns.

Rows of hand-molded clay tsa-tsa votive tablets embossed with Buddhist stupa and deity reliefs, drying in sunlight.

A man tends rows of glowing butter lamps in a dark Tibetan monastery.

Close-up of Tibetan mantra script carved into a red-painted stone with white lettering.

Two elderly Tibetan women in traditional dress lean on wooden canes crossing a sunny Lhasa street.

Tibetan hot spring village with colorful stone buildings beside a rushing river in a rocky canyon.

Two men cross a narrow wooden footbridge over a rushing mountain river strung with colorful Tibetan prayer flags.

A crescent moon hangs over snow-dusted Tibetan mountain peaks in the fading blue light of dusk.

Man in a purple knit cap and cream silk Tibetan tunic reads a smartphone against a black mesh wall.

Tibetan woman in a purple robe and headscarf grips a wooden churn staff amid smoky, dim light.

A hand pours milk from a ladle into a metal bowl in a dark room, beside a wooden churn.

Elderly Tibetan woman in a red knit cap smiling in warm sunlight, her weathered face deeply lined.

A hand with a beaded bracelet reaches down to tend glowing embers of a fire against dark rock.

Weathered, deeply wrinkled hand of an elderly person resting on a knee, lit by warm side light against dark clothing.

Two young Tibetan children stand on a dirt path by a wooden stick fence, one in a red shirt smiling at the camera.

A young child in a red shirt peers into a large Canon DSLR camera held by a traveler outdoors.

A child in tan corduroys and pink-and-gold sneakers stands on gravel beside an adult's foot.

Young child in a red mouse-print T-shirt with a turquoise pendant, holding a "Laser Finger Beams" package outdoors.

Smiling young girl in a yellow shirt holds a package of "Finger Beams" LED lights on a rocky village path.

A young Tibetan child holds an adult's hand outdoors on a dusty, sunlit path.

A young Tibetan child in a grey patterned sweater stands in sunlight beside an adult.

Tibetan woman in a teal headscarf and red coat carrying a large bundle of harvested crop stalks on her back.

Fluffy pussy willow catkins on bare branches against a barren mountainside and clear blue sky.

Tibetan workers, one shouldering a heavy stone block, at a hillside construction site with lumber piles and prayer flags.

Close-up of a rough, textured wall coated in vivid yellow-ochre pigment with visible tool markings.

Two smiling Tibetan women in traditional dress climb a rocky trail carrying bundles under a bright blue sky.

A winding dirt road climbs golden hills toward snow-capped peaks under a deep blue sky with a single cloud.

Weathered yellow and red oil drum topped with painted enamel bowls against a snow-capped Tibetan peak

A yellow makeshift wind turbine made from a cut oil drum against snow-capped Tibetan mountains and a winding valley road.

A weathered yellow bucket rigged with scrap-metal blades as a makeshift wind spinner against rocky Tibetan mountains.

A rusty yellow tin with enamel bowls wired to it atop a wooden post against deep blue sky.

A carved stone mani slab depicting a seated Buddha leaning against a weathered wooden post outdoors.

Man in a sun hat photographing with a DSLR on a Tibetan hillside strung with prayer flags.

A man in a grey Kappa sweater laughs warmly in sunlight beside a budding shrub.

Rugged gray rock face dotted with sparse green shrubs and red autumn foliage in crevices.

Weathered yellow tins and glass bowls mounted on wooden posts atop a stone wall in an arid mountain landscape

A half moon in a deep blue sky above a snow-dusted mountain ridge.

Two people string colorful Tibetan prayer flags across a rugged rocky mountainside.

A gnarled, weathered tree clings to a sunlit rocky cliff face above a shadowed gorge.

A group of trekkers and a red-robed monk pause on a hillside below snow-capped Himalayan peaks.

Monk in maroon robes gathers dried dung fuel on a hillside above a snow-capped Tibetan valley.

Steam rises from a hot spring beside a river and Tibetan stone buildings, backlit by low sun.

Turquoise Yamdrok Lake winding between barren brown hills below snow-capped Himalayan peaks in Tibet.

Turquoise Yamdrok Lake winding between barren brown hills below snow-capped Himalayan peaks in Tibet.

Decorated yak with red tassels and an embroidered saddle beside a turquoise lake and snowy peaks in Tibet

Turquoise waters of Yamdrok Lake below brown Tibetan hills and snow-capped Himalayan peaks under a blue sky.

Weathered Tibetan prayer flags and white khata scarves flutter in the wind above a lake and snow-capped peak.

A smiling bearded man in a black hooded jacket and sunglasses stands above the turquoise Yamdrok Lake in Tibet.

Turquoise waters of Yamdrok Lake winding between barren brown hills toward snowcapped Himalayan peaks under a deep blue sky.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags strung from a monastery rooftop above a turquoise lake and mountains.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags strung above the ornately painted eaves of a red monastery against a deep blue sky.

A snow-covered mountain summit with a glaciated face against a deep blue sky.

Empty highway curves past a snow-capped Himalayan peak under a deep blue sky in Tibet.

A crescent moon and golden sunset-lit clouds over silhouetted mountain ridges in a deep blue sky.

Silhouetted mountains and a still lake at dusk, with orange-lit clouds glowing over distant snow-capped peaks.

Snow-dusted Himalayan peaks and a river winding through silhouetted valleys under a pink-clouded dusk sky.

Colorful Tibetan prayer flags draped around the base of an electricity pylon at dusk in the mountains.

Weathered yellow "Himalayan Enfielders" sticker on the black engine casing of a Royal Enfield motorcycle

The tiered white-and-gold Kumbum stupa at Palcho Monastery with pilgrims walking below against a deep blue sky.

Ornate brass door knockers on a red Tibetan temple door draped with white, yellow, and colorful prayer scarves.

Light streams through open windows onto a Tibetan monastery's ornate painted ceiling and richly decorated interior walls.

Gilded multi-faced Buddha statue with jeweled gold crowns, blue-lined eyes, and colorful silk robes in a Tibetan temple

Crimson monks' robes and yellow crested hats laid out on cushioned benches inside a dim Tibetan monastery hall.

Close-up of a weathered gilded Buddha statue's hand beside red silk brocade with dragon motifs.

Gilded Tibetan Buddhist statue's serene face and jeweled crown, its blue-and-pink hand raised in a mudra.

Close-up of a golden Buddha statue's hand draped with colorful silk offerings in a Tibetan temple

A monk in maroon robes gazes intently to the side, lit softly against deep shadow.

Sun-lit weathered plaster wall with peeling golden-yellow paint fading into bare, cracked concrete.

Reflections of visitors and a sunlit courtyard in the glass of a dim, ornately painted Tibetan monastery shrine.

A woven black yak-hair post with an embroidered face motif below a golden Tibetan monastery roof against blue sky.

Ornate curved Tibetan temple roof against a deep blue sky, framed by juniper branches in the foreground.

Sunlight streams through a barred window in a dark Tibetan monastery wall, casting striped shadows on the sill.

Weathered carved stone dragon relief with faded blue and orange paint on a Tibetan wall.

Colorful weathered relief sculptures of a figure and mythical creatures on a Tibetan temple wall.

Weathered blue, white, and terracotta painted stone statue with cracked, peeling surface in bright sunlight.

Close-up of a weathered blue and orange statue with a painted, cracked eye and peeling paint.

Ornate painted relief carving of a fierce blue Tibetan lion or dragon face with yellow eyes and orange flourishes.

A tan dog with a dark muzzle and floppy ears stands on dusty ground, one eye squinting.

Ornate street lamp against blue sky, with a Tibetan building and colorful prayer flags behind it.

Tourists walk a dusty Tibetan village street lined with whitewashed prayer-flag-draped houses, a hilltop fortress ruin ahead.

A dusty village street in Gyantse, Tibet, framed by whitewashed buildings and prayer flags, with a hilltop fort beyond.

Weathered cloth awning over a wire-screened window on a sunlit whitewashed Tibetan monastery wall.

A reddish-brown puppy sleeping on sunlit dirt and gravel ground.

Painted cylindrical ornament atop a whitewashed Tibetan rooftop, backlit by sun with wires fanning across a clear blue sky.

Weathered woven cord knotted with orange and red threads, hanging against a soft-focus forest backdrop.

View through a dark Tibetan monastery doorway to a sunlit whitewashed stone wall beyond.

Ornate brass dragon door knocker on a red Tibetan temple door, hung with a braided rainbow-colored silk scarf.

Braided blue and gold silk tassel hanging before a painted Tibetan monastery mural with gilded script.

A silhouette shadow of a person standing, cast across a cracked flagstone courtyard beside a red wall.

A tarnished brass plaque with a dark red left-pointing arrow, mounted on a deep red brick wall.

Ornate golden roof of a Tibetan monastery with a dragon finial and endless-knot banner against blue sky.

Detail of a Tibetan mural showing rows of gold-bodied seated Buddhas in vivid red, orange, and teal halos.

A monk in crimson robes stands on an ornate gilded temple balcony draped with yellow and red banners.

A robed monk stands on a sunlit rooftop above a shadowed Tibetan alley strung with white prayer cloths.

Silhouetted whitewashed Tibetan buildings and a tattered prayer flag against the backlit sky at dusk.

Ornate gold-and-black Tibetan door knocker with a ring holding two padlocks on a weathered red door.

A parked motorcycle's round mirror reflects the ornate green-and-gold eaves of a Tibetan building.

Close-up of cracked and peeling pale blue paint forming a mosaic of flaking fragments.

Colorful clay bowls of red, blue, green and yellow paint pigments on a worn Tibetan artist's tray.

Detailed black-ink Tibetan thangka drawing of monks, temples, and trees with sparse green shading.

Close-up of a bucket of vivid red pigment powder and paint used to coat Tibetan temple surfaces.

A silhouetted person paints a Thangka at a desk against sunlit white curtains in a Tibetan workshop.

A hand uses a fine brush to ink intricate line-drawn deities on a vividly painted Tibetan thangka.

Trilingual monastery signs reading "GO UP STAIRS" and "THIS WAY PLEASE" below an ornate painted eave.

Tibetan pilgrims performing full-body prostrations on mats in a stone plaza outside the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.

Yellow motorcycle fuel tank decorated with "Jeep 1865" and a pin-up figure decal.

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