I flew into Lhasa on 28 Oct.

Yarlung Tsangpo River near Lhasa.

A huge Buddha image carved into the roadside from the airport to Lhasa.

Locals making Yak Dumplings.

Back view of the Potala Palace.

The sky is very blue here.

View of the city from the back of the Potala.

Walking up the steps to the Potala.

Windows of the Potala. The black design is supposed to keep away evil spirits.

Me on the steps of Potala.

Liu Fang on the steps of the Potala. She is one of my travel mates on this trip.

Same spot, minus the posers.

Corner of the Red Section of the Potala.

Holy toilet bowl. Right above a cliff.

The store where they keep their holy sutras. Pilgrims will walk under the racks to gain merits.

Inner courtyard at the Red Section of the Potala.

The Golden Roof of the Potala.

Me at the Golden Rooftop.

The Golden Roof of a Tibetan temple is made from.. what else? Solid Gold!

Detail of roof ornament and a branch perched on the ledge.

View of Lhasa from the roof top of the Potala.

Gold vs Blue vs White

Detail of the red walls of the Potala. It is not made from bricks or wood, but compressed twigs of a special plant.

Overview of the main entrance.

Me in front of the main entrance.

Corridor around the entrance courtyard.

Holy Loo version 2.

Gateway to heaven.

Settlement around the Potala.

Devotees climbing up to the Potala.

Liu Fang at the gate of a house.

On the way down from the Potala.

More devotees.

Looking up at the Potola against the blue sky.

More devotees.

One of the youngest devotees I saw at Potala.

Another group of devotees.

Front facade of the potala.

Potala Palace. Looks very grand from this angle.

Me in front of the Potala.

Chinese flag over Potala Square.

Blue sky over Potala.

Barkhor Square.

Yak-butter lamps.

Roof of the Jokhang.

From the courtyard of the Jokhang.

Balcony of the Jokhang.

Devotee in the courtyard of the Jokhang.

Decorative details above the door of the Jokhang.

Golden roof of Jokhang.

View of Potala and Bakhor Square.

Bumpo Ri hill.

Wheel of Law on top of the Jokhang.

Over view of the golden roof.

Devotees in the Jokhang courtyard.

Devotees spinning the prayer wheels.

Spinning prayer wheels.

Devotees taking a rest while encircling the Nangkhor pilgrim circuit.

Sighted a rainbow on Bakhor Square.

Close up of the rainbow.

Rainbow over Bakhor Square.

The rainbow adds a sense of holiness to the Jokhang.

The Jokhang.

Me under the rainbow at the Jokhang.

Liu Fang under the rainbow.

Me under the faded rainbow.

Sunset at the Bakhor.

The Bakhor is buzzing with activites.

Sun set in the Bakhor.

Street market with meat and vegetable stall in a side street off the Bakhor.

Looking down at the Bakhor from the roof top of the Makye Amye Restaurant.

Grace and our new found friends from Guangzhou struggling over some lamb ribs.

Night view of the Bakhor.

View along the Yarlung Tsangpo River on the way to the Yamdrok-tso.

This is actually the site of a hydro power station.

The highest military post in China. Only 1 soldier is stationed there.

Me at Kamba-la pass, 4852m above sea level.

Yamdrok-tso.

At the lakeside of Yamdrok-tso.

Deng Xin washing away his sins in the water of the holy lake.

A sheperd and his sheep.

The sheep along the shore of Yamdrok-tso.

Nojin-Kangstang Glacier.

Nojin-Kangtsang Glacier, front view.

Entrance to the Assembly Hall of the Pelkor Chode Monastery.

Gyantse Kumbum

Roof ornament of the assembly hall.

The monastry is sited along the slope of a hill.

Serenely gazing eyes.

View of the kumbum against the blue sky.

Gyantse Dzong, sunset.

On the road to Lhatse.

On the road.

Me on the road, trying to look cool.

Accidents like this happens often.

The market at Lhatse.

To market.

Vegetable sellers.

Little boy begging for food.

They are playing Majong, Chinese style.

Playing a game of cards while our vehicle is being repaired.

Not praying, but playing a game of murderer.

Gyatso-la pass, 5220m.

Night scene.

Thanks to the fact that our driver's permit is 2 months overdue, we are stuck at the border checkpoint at midnight and have to dine on overpriced instant noodles.

Everest hotel. The hotel is fully booked, so we have to stay in the convention hall instead.

Morning sun on the mountain top.

Mt Everest, or Qomolangma. The highest peak in the world.

Everest or Qomolangma in the middle, together with Makalu and Lhotse on the left, Gyachung and Cho Oyu on the right. These are 5 of the world 14 peaks above 8000m.

This is an unforgettable sight.

Me before Everest.

Mt Everest.

Me, Brother Wu, Liu Fang and Grace.

Morning sun reflected off the frost on the ground.

Prayer flags.

Gyawola Pass, 5210m.

We are indeed very lucky to be here on a clear sunny day.

View of Everest from Rongphu Monastery.

The tower before Everest.

Rongphu Monastery, the highest monastery in the world, 4980m.

Rongphu Monastery and Everest.

The noodles at Rongphu is terrible.

View of Everest from Base Camp.

Me at the foot of Everest.

The hill where one offer prayer flags to Qomolangma, the proper name of Everest.

Storm brewing on Everest.

Parting shot.

Grace at border checkpoint, sunset.

Tashilhunpo Monastery.

Tower containing the pagoda of the 10th Panchen Lama.

Alley of the monastery.

Courtyard through the door.

Looking up at the tower of the Maitreya Buddha.

Looking through the gates.

Turquoise decorations in the floor.

Monk in an alley.

Tower containing the pagoda of the 10th Panchen Lama.

Monk in alley v2.

Outside view of the tower. The pagoda is contained inside.

Monastery courtyard.

Front view of the tower.

Me walking in a alley.

Friendly monk in window. He is very friendy, and speaks a little Chinese.

82 year-old pilgrim.

Looking back at the golden roof of the pagoda tower.

Having a foot massage at the Yangpachen hot springs.

Yangpachen hot springs.

Another look at the power station.

The holy lake Nam-tso.

Mountains around Nam-tso.

Sunlight through an overcast sky at Nam-tso.

Me on the shores of Nam-tso.

Twin rocks formation at Tashi Dor, Nam-tso.

Closer look at the holy rocks.

Overcast sky at Nam-tso.

Pilgrim doing her washing.

Stove in a small restuarant, Amdo.

Locals waiting for their bus. They look quite well off.

Getting ready for a photo session.

Little lady posing for the camera.

Monument at Tangula pass.

Me at Tangula pass, 5231m.

Snow capped mountains around Tangula pass.

The settlement around Tangula military outpost.

Yaks on the hill.

Frosted landscape on the road to Tuo Tuo river, source of Chang Jiang.

Interior of Tuo Tuo hotel, local's best, China's worst.

Military convoy.

Fading light.

Another look at the convoy.

Brother Wu and I.

River bank.

Gas powered lamp.

To school.

Monument to the source of the Chang Jiang river.

Qinghai Lhasa railroad passing through.

When completed, this railway bridge will be the first bridge on Chang Jiang.

Brother Wu.

Me at the monument.

Shadow play in the morning light.

Mt Feng Huo pass.

River system in the Changtang nature preserve.

Pond at the Changtang Nature preserve ranger station.

Tibetan antelope, Chiru rescued by the rangers.

This is a very endangered Red List species.

The water tower and wind turbine of the ranger station.

The original Kunlun pass monument, destroyed in an earthquake.

The new Kunlun pass monument.

Our vehicle is stuck in the mud.

Little boy with his sister. Their parents are owners of a little noodle shop.

Mt Yu Zhu.

The Sleeping Lion rock formation. I feel that it is more like an elephant.

Chef grilling lamb chops.

Me enjoying the feast.

Lovebirds on honeymoon.

Open air billard tables are very popular over here.

Salt lakes.

Salt delivery train.

Blue sky reflected in saline.

Our driver washing his feet in the salt water.

Man washing feet.

Liu Fang joining in the feet washing.

Du Ping at the salt lake.

Me at the salt lakes.

Salt lakes.

Deng Xin.

Salt hills. Almost like the north pole.

Deng Xin and I.

Me relaxing in the train, Golmud to Xining.

Mixing our noodles with its sauce in a plastic bag on a train.

Chef making beef noodles.

Liu Fang, Brother Wu and Grace. Breakfast in Xining.

Liu Fang with our luggage. We are the only 2 people in our group to make our way back from Xining by train.

Our train from Xining to Beijing is very much better than the Golmud to Xining one.