Winter Tibet welcomes tourists with unique travel sights

No longer a high-altitude city in forbidding winter, but a fascinating tourist attraction, the wintery charms of Lhasa, capital of China's Tibet autonomous region, are attracting more and more tourists from across the globe. Winter in Tibet is not just a harsh season that is cold, dry and short of greenery and oxygen, and the region is now promoting its "Winter Tour in Tibet" campaign, which is being held from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, said Wang Songping, director of the regional tourism bureau. "The winter scenery in Tibet is of magical splendor compared to summer days. The sunshine is more pure and transparent, and the lakes are more blue and surrounded by primeval forest," he said, adding that wintertime Tibet is waiting to be discovered. Travel agencies in Tibet are offering various tourism programs, including an in-depth tour of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, a tour of Mt. Everest and a trip to the birthplace of Tibetan culture. A tour during winter's Tibetan Losar (New Year), the most significant festival celebrated on the plateau, offers visitors a unique experience. Some specially-designed programs are also available, including a tour of Nagri's snow-covered Buddhist holy mountain and sacred lake as well as a sacred land wedding tour. A group of tourists from south China's Guangdong province were recently intoxicated by the colorful forest and fascinating scenery in the village of Qionglin in Nyingchi Prefecture. The group had planned to visit Tibet during summer, but their trip was postponed due to their busy schedules. During their trip, the group experienced a different, but beautiful Tibet. "I feel great because the trees, leaves and everything else in this season offer a colorful world," said Huang Li, a tourist from Guangdong. "The sunshine there was beautiful and made you feel warm and comfortable. Anyway, this is a good season to travel in Tibet, and it is awesome," she said. Tibet is a popular destination for both domestic and foreign tourists interested in checking out the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, Potala Palace and Mt. Qomolangma, among other scenic spots, . To attract tourists in the off-season, local authorities also worked out a series of preferential policies in cooperation with travel agencies and airlines, such as discounted entrance fees, passenger tickets and accommodations. More than 21.25 million tourists traveled to Tibet over the past five years, up 30.6 percent from the previous five-year period. Tibet estimates that 15 million tourists will visit annually by 2015, generating a total tourism income of up to 18 billion yuan (about 2.8 billion U.S. dollars), according to the region's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015).