Samdumbari Temple and Yigong Tea Farm

I count 20 bends in the first story roof, and 8 in the roofs of the second and third stories. And strung from the bends of each story, connecting to the bends of the story below, are strings of beads. It's the first time I've seen such decoration...
Tibet Diary by Zhou Yun


Monday, May 30

To the south of Bayi town, in Bujiu village, there is a famous Ningma sect temple called Samdumbari Temple (which means either "Bronze Mountain Temple" or "Holy Lotus Temple with Coppered Roof").

The temple is over 500 years old. Its main hall is a three-story tower. What's striking is the architecture of the roofs on each story. Rather than flat expanses, the roofs buckle outward and inward like the uneven shell of a star tortoise. I count 20 bends in the first story roof, and 8 in the roofs of the second and third stories. And strung from the bends of each story, connecting to the bends of the story below, are strings of beads. It's the first time I've seen such decoration.

Tuesday, May 31

Local residents tell me of a wonderful tea farm about an hour's drive from Bayi. The name of the farm is Yigong, which means "beauty" in Tibetan, and it is located in the special Bomi area of Nyingchi. The Bomi area is perhaps the lowest land in Tibet, where the elevation dips to 1900 meters. Despite selling its tea for 125 USD per kilogram and being located down a poor farm road, I'm told Yigong still gets plenty of customers - I think the tea must be good. What a pity it is that it's too late in the day for me to visit. If I go now, it'll be impossible to be backing home before nightfall - and no one wants to navigate the poor farm road at night.

International Children's Day

Baiji is among the first group of beneficiaries of the new policy. She says she herself paid almost no money when she gave birth to her daughter Degiyamzong two years ago. And she decides that she will deliver her second baby in hospital too...

Wednesday June 1st

Today is the International Children's Day. I am quite happy today though it is not my festival.

I visit Baiji, a twenty-seven year old pregnant woman of Zhen Ba village of a small town in Nyingchi prefecture.

She has already had a two-year-old daughter and is going to give birth to another baby in a month.

Baiji says in the past, pregnant women didn't want to go to hospital to deliver babies, they would like to do that at home. Due to bad medical conditions, women get infected and some even died.

Baiji adds women from herdsman families in villages wouldn't like to go to hospital due to their old concepts, inconvenience to go to hospital and high expense of medical treatment.

Under such circumstances, Baiji says village doctors have tried their best to tell women the advantage of delivering babies at hospital. Most importantly, from two years ago, the government has given free medical treatment to herdsman pregnant women, whose medical treatment expenses are under 3800 RMB, or 475 US Dollars. As for the amount exceeding that limit, individuals and the government will share the expenses.

Baiji is among the first group of beneficiaries of the new policy. She says she herself paid almost no money when she gave birth to her daughter Degiyamzong two years ago. And she decides that she will deliver her second baby in hospital too.

Baiji says her mother has given birth to ten children at home, while one of them died just after birth. And she wouldn't like to repeat the tragedy of her elder generation.

Shannan Prefecture-A Goal Too Far

Suddenly, I was wakened up by our driver. There are big stones in our way. We have to get off the car to move away the stones. The more terrible thing is that there are still rocks felling down from mountains. We run the risk of being hit by big stones and quickly get rid of rocks in our way.

Saturday June 4th

We met a rainbow on our way.

After a week's stay in Nyingchi, we left for Shannan, a prefecture in the west of Nyingchi.

We start from Bayi town of Nyingchi prefecture, pass Milin County and arrive at Langxian County after five hours' drive.

We continue our trip after lunch. There are less trees and more sand as we drive west. The monotonous scenery made me fell asleep.

Suddenly, I was wakened up by our driver. There are big stones in our way. We have to get off the car to move away the stones.

The more terrible thing is that there are still rocks felling down from mountains. We run the risk of being hit by big stones and quickly get rid of rocks in our way.

Finally we arrive at Bodangla Mountain, at the boundary of Jia Cha and Qu Song County. It snowed when we reach the peak of the mountain, which is 5088 meters altitude.

We begin to climb down the mountain. And out of our expectation, we see rainbow. It is a kind of refreshment after such long trip.

Our driver told us that there would be at most 2 hours more drive as we head west. However, it seems that our trip will not be that smooth. We miss our direction as the road that we are going to take is under repair and we have to detour.

It is almost dark and we have to open the front lights of our car.

It is already eight o'clock in the evening and we are still trying to find out the right way. It is getting darker and darker and I become more and more nervous.

Finally we drive back to where we took the wrong way and find a Tibetan to ask the way. He tells the right direction and mileage.

It is almost dark and we have to open the front lights of our car. The driver also becomes very concentrated.

Hope arises when we finally see blacktop road. And the hanging stone in our heart finally drops.

It is 12 o'clock in the evening when we arrive at the capital city of Shannan Prefecture Ze dang town.

Tibettour.com.cn/en / CRIENGLISH.com