I went to Lhasa to see how the Chinese occupation has changed Tibet. I was moved by the reverence and inner strength of the people. I thought if the Chinese can embrace Tibet, i.e. The Dalai Lama, they will find the secret to longevity.
On the other hand, the amount of infrastructure being done by the Chinese to combat the consequences of Climate will save Tibet from certain ruin.
It occurred to me that the clash of two cultures here in Tibet is really a symbiotic dance for survival. One is in need of inner strength in the modern age of materialism, the other is in need of fundamental structural and financial strength in a time of ecological threat.
The Potala Palace was built at the time of Songtsan Gampo in the 7th century. Since the 5th Dalai Lama reconstructed the palace in the 17th century, it has become the residence of the successive Dalai Lamas until the 14th (the current) who fled the Chinese to escape to India in 1959. The Chinese propaganda machinery has made sure that no mention or image eulogizing the 14th Dalai Lama in the Palace. Recently, however, reconciliation talks have begun again. After the Tiananmen Event in 1989, talks broke down after the Dalai Lama stood up against the excessive military forces used against the peaceful protestors. Ironically, in front of the Potala Palace today, the Chinese forces cleared a swath of cultural and historically significant landmarks over heavy local objections. Many brave Tibetan died in protest before another Tiananmen Square-like setting was built for display. As much as China wants to make a case for their legal rights over Tibet going back to the Tang Dynasty, the reality is that Tibet is an occupied territory. Cameras are everywhere, looking out and looking in. Militarized armor-clad police centuries every two blocks with their APC vehicles stationed nearby…. To protect what? I think peaceful commerce… Yes, Lhasa has become a high-end shopping center. 
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Mt.Everest 09/23-27/2018
