enter & out

main cities of tibet: lhasa , shigatse , shannan , tingri , nakchu , ngari , nyingchi , tsedang , zhangmu , chamdo

people can go into tibet either by air or overland. currently there are direct flights to lhasa from chengdu, chongqing, xi'an, xining and beijing. the chengdu-lhasa route has two or three flights a day, more than any other route. the xi'an-lhasa route has a flight from either terminal every wednesday and sunday. the chongqing-lhasa route has a flight from either terminal every tuesday and friday. the kathmandu-lhasa route has a flight from either terminal every tuesday and saturday. there are buses from lhasa's gonggar airport the city proper.

in addition, there are five overland routes.

1. the asphalt qinghai-tibet highway goes from qinghai's xining to lhasa via golmud and provides convenient travel. along the way, travelers can see qinghai lake (china's largest saltwater lake), the snow capped kunlun mountains, the tuotuo river (upper reaches of the yangtze river), the pass of the tanggula mountains, the northern tibet prairie, and the hot springs of yangbajain. for this route, travelers should first take a train to xining, provincial capital of qinghai, and then change for train to golmud, where there are long-distance buses to lhasa every day. the bus ride takes 30 hours.

2. the sichuan-tibet highway from chengdu to lhasa varies greatly in altitude. a traveler may experience four seasons within one day. it may snow heavily on the mountain. but be warm at its foot. for the most part, the highway is rugged and winding. during the rainy season, the mountainside often caves in, sending down mudslides that block the road. therefore, when taking this route, extra time is needed. scenic spots along the way include mount erlang, luding bridge, kangding, the jingsha river, rawu lake, tangmai (known as the "black spot for mudslides"), and nyingchi where can experience four seasons in a day.

3. if traveling along the yunnan-tibet highway, one can see mount cang, erhai lake (dali), the ancient city of naxi (lijiang), shangrial (zhongdian), and the hengduan mountains. in ancient times, merchants also traveled along this route.

4. the xinjiang-tibet highway from yecheng to lhasa has the highest altitude of all five routes. as this route is uninhabited, it is for the best part devoid of gas stations, communications, or conveniences, and the journey takes at least two weeks. however, scenery along the way is fantastic. having no human habitation it is a veritable paradise for wildlife, where one can marvel at the sight of herds of wild tibetan donkeys and mongolian gazelles galloping and springing along the foot of mountains. along the way is the karakorum mountains, the remains of the ancient guge kingdom, the sacred kangrinboqe mountain, the sacred mapam yumco lake, and the sagya monastery, which is the origin of the variegated sect.

5. the kathmandu-lhasa highway features splendid natural scenery and historical sites. entering china at the port of zham and going across the friendship bridge, one arrives at tibet's nyalam county. after passing through tingri, travelers may see the magnificent himalayas. further on, they arrive at xigaze, tibet's second largest city, where they may visit the zhaxi lhunbo monastery. from xigaze, they can go further on to gyangze and then eastward to lhasa, or westward to ngari via yamzhog yumco, one of the three sacred lakes in tibet.

today, tibet has more than 30 travel agencies of different categories and over 50 tourist hotels, including seven star-rated hotels. it has more than 400 tourist vehicles, and 3,000 or sp people working in the tourist industry.

tibet has affiliated hotels in beijing, chengdu and xi'an and has set up travel agencies and offices in hong kong, nepal, beijing and chengdu. before 1978, there was no tourism in tibet, but by the first half of 2000 a total of 185,000 domestic and international travelers had been to tibet.