An Enchanting Tour of Northern Tibet

　　Our tour group of 19 members left Nagqu in a Mitsubishi jeep and a Dongfeng truck. Yang Yong, our group leader, said that this was the first tour group from China's interior to northern Tibet.

Beautiful Trap
　　We left the highway at a point 40 kilometers north of Nagqu, and planned to go to Nam Co from a feeder highway from Ziri to Baingoin, a section of 260 kilometers. From there, we could see the main peaks of the Nyainqentanglha Mountains reflected on the surface of Nam Co Lake. But soon we met great difficulties. Upon entering the feeder highway, the road became very difficult, and the speed of the motor vehicles slowed to 20 kilometers per hour. At a small river near Namarqe, the dongfeng truck got stuck in the mud. In pouring rain, we dug out the mud and put stones beneath the tires. Fortunately, a passing truck gave us a tow.

　　The two motor vehicles continued the journey cautiously. At five o'clock in the afternoon, we saw a big lake to the north. In the mist, we could not see the far shore. We decided to camp there. Our jeep startled a flock of white aquatic birds. Then another misfortune befell—the truck got stuck again in the marshland on the lakeshore. The rain was pouring down heavily. Again we put stones under the tires. We used the jeep to drag the truck, plus manpower. But the truck got stuck deeper.
Pung Co is a saltwater lake. When the rain stopped, we found that the lake was not very wide. We could clearly see the mountains on the other side. Here we were 4,500 meters above sea level.

　　The next morning we heard birds singing as we awoke. The mountains were shrouded oin clouds, and the meadows looked golden-yellow in the sunshine. The mountains on the other side of the lake changed color constantly. Following the rising of the sun, the lake water looked bluer. The sun decides the scenery of the plateau, and there is a great difference between a fine day and a gloomy day.

　　Yang Yong recruited two Tibetan men who were experienced in towing trucks stuck in the mud to pull us out.

Three Kilometers, Three Hours
　　Not far from Pung Co, to the south, is Bam Co, about the same size. According to a legend, Bam Co is the maidservant of Nam Co, but our truck could not make it to the latter lake because of the mud. Instead, we went to Baingoin.

　　Travelling over grassland, we saw several Mongolian gazelles, and at dusk, after traveling 20 kilometers, we arrived at Maqian Township, situated 4,815 meters above sea level. We bought a goat there for 200 yuan. We heard that there were wolves in the area, and were afraid that they might be attracted by the smell of the goat. So that night we placed basins full of water outside the tent, and prepared to fight off the wolves. Fortunately, none approached us.

　　We got up early, and took Yang Yong's vehicle to another settlement. At sunrise, Tibetan women were milking goats, and children and men were herding other goats on the mountain slope. They lead a life almost completely isolated from the outside world. The settlement has only two or three houses and about a dozen people.

Night Camping at Salt Lake
　　Leaving Maqian Township, we went back to the main road. The road branched out into ten roads, and we chose the one to the northwest. When we arrived at another settlement, we were told that we had missed the road to Baingoin, and were on the road to Xainza.

　　The road became more difficult, and there were more branches. We had to rely on the compass, and went northeast, heading for the Northern Tibet Highway. Not long after we passed Baingoin Pasture, we saw a lake in the distance, which was surrounded by desert and bare mountains. We spent a long time looking for fresh water, and when we found some we camped for the night.

　　After leaving Nagqu, we camped every night. Our journey on the Northern Tibet Plateau was conducted between 4,500 meters and 4,800 meters above sea level. So ordinary chores like pitching tents, blowing up air cushions and fetching water were much more difficult than at lower altitudes, because of the rarity of the air. Also, since the atmospheric pressure was low, to cook almost everything we had to use high-pressure cookers. Because the liquefied gas could not fully burn due to lack of oxygen, it took us two or three hours to cook a meal. To save time, we cooked two meals a day—at eight or nine in the morning and after ten in the evening; in between we had to eat solid food. The most pleasant time of the day was when we sat in a circle eating a cooked supper.

　　The weather in northern Tibet is very changeable. On a fine day, the temperature can range from 15 to 20 degrees Centigrade. When it rains, the temperature drops to 10, and at night, 3-5 degrees.

　　To our surprise, the next morning, those of us who went to the lakeshore to take pictures of the sunrise said that the lake had dried up.

Sacred Mani Stones
　　Before we continued our journey, a truck driven by a Tibetan whom we had met before arrived. He said that this section of the highway had collapsed, and he would lead us on a detour. The area around the salt lake was basically desert. As we went northward, we noticed how barren the mountains were.
　　We arrived at a big settlement, where the Tibetan driver stopped to load some goods. There was a pile of Mani Stones there. These are stones inscribed with Tibetan scriptures, and piled with goats' heads.

　　We went ahead without our Tibetan truck driver guide, but got so hopelessly confused that we ended up back in the settlement we had left. Fortunately, the truck driver was still there, and he finally led us on the Northern Tibet Highway. The highway was muddy, and there were many large potholes. Our Mitsubishi jeep slipped quite a lot. There we met fewer motor vehicles and settlements. The only good point was that on the trunk highway we would not get lost.

　　We had wanted to stay at Qangma Township, 20 kilometers ahead, that night, but our truck got stuck on the grassland. As night fell, it began to rain. We women members slept in the truck. Our quilts got wet because of leaks in the awning.

Leaving Northern Tibet
　　The next morning it was still raining. At ten o'clock, we saw the first truck since we had got stuck. It was a truck refused to tow our truck, afraid that his own truck might get stuck.

　　At three o'clock in the afternoon, Yang Yong got a Tibetan who was driving a truck from Qangma Township to tow our truck, but this truck too got stuck. Then we placed stones beneath the tires and installed tire chains. Finally, our truck got out of the mud.

　　At eight o'clock in the evening, we arrived at Co Nag, a big lake. Yang Yong told us that if we looked at it closely, we would see that the lake water was half red and half blue. The lake water looked red because the soil on the land and the mountains around the lake was red. Coma Township lies besides Co Nag Lake. The grass was lush there, and we saw herds of cattle, goats and horses grazing.

　　After passing Co Nag, we came to a rushing river, over which the bridge had collapsed. A truck was stuck in the river, and we saw that it was the truck whose driver had refused to help us. We dared not try to cross the river, but went back to Coma Township.

　　The next morning, at the riverside we saw another truck stuck in the river. We were 20 kilometers from Amdo, from where we could reach the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. Our jeep took the lead crossing the river, and the truck followed safely. We could not help cheering.

　　One hour later, we arrived at Amdo, and thus we had left northern tibet. Since we had started our journey from Golmud, in Qinghai Province, we had traveled on the plateau for 10 days. We had not had a shower for ten days, and we smelled and looked like refuggees.

A Guide to the Northern Tibet Tour
　　Northern Tibet refers to the area mainly around Nagqu Prefecture. Most tourists travel along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway via Amdo, Nagqu, Damxung and Lhasa. The area west of the Qinghai-tibet Highway is seldom visited by tourists.

　　The area between the Qinghai-Tibet Highway and the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway is called a "no-man's land" because of its sparse Population. Actually, in the area threr are several county towns and some settlements. In the 1980s the government called for developing the "no-man's land," and the number of herders entering the area has increased somewhat.

　　Northern Tibet is one of the most enchanting tourist destinations in Tibet, covering one fourth of the autonomous region's total area. Northern tibet has many lakes, most of them saltwater lakes, and the lake waters show different colors. There are many wild animals, such as Mongolian gazelles, chirus, and cranes. Sometimes tourists can see wild yaks. Remains of the ancient Zhang-chung Kingdom are located near Nyima in northern Tibet. The primitive religion of Tibet—Bon—originated there, and the religious customs are much different from those in other areas of Tibet.