Letter from Lhasa: A taste of vibrant Tibetan culture

by Yue Xitong
LHASA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) — I went on a work trip to southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region recently and spent a week there. The picturesque scenery made the need for a few oxygen tanks each day worthwhile. But beyond that, I was even more amazed by the splendor of Tibetan ethnic culture that has been well preserved and protected.
For tourists planning to go to Xizang for the first time, visiting numerous temples will not let them down. Every time I stepped into a temple, or simply an obscure chapel in the countryside, my first glance was always seized by the exquisite woodcarving cabinet for worshiping Buddhas and other related decorations inside.
A local tour guide told me that almost all the wooden artifacts are Shidiao, literally meaning louse carving, a type of traditional handicraft of the Tibetan ethnic group. It is said that over 300 years ago, Shidiao craftsmen could carve a kernel of Tibetan barley into the shape of a louse, hence the name given to this tradition of craftsmanship.
At a Shidiao woodcarving cooperative in Chanang County in the city of Shannan, I was conquered by a set of gorgeous cabinets that feature superbly intricate patterns beyond my imagination. Among them are eight items bearing auspiciousness and good blessings such as lotus, goldfish and treasured vase.
Padma Dradul, 63, founder of the cooperative and an inheritor of Shidiao, said that completing such a set of cabinets requires a craftsman to work for a whole year. This woodcarving craft was enlisted as a national-level intangible cultural heritage in 2021.
In order to better pass on and develop this traditional ethnic culture, Padma Dradul established the cooperative with financial assistance from local government. He opened training programs to make the craft accessible for unemployed youth, while also offering them jobs.
“Are there still students dropping out of school at a young age in Xizang?” I asked, in a quest to learn more about the backgrounds of such apprentices.
“Hardly, because our kids have free education for 15 years, from kindergarten throughout senior high school,” Padma Dradul replied.
He is correct. Xizang is the first provincial-level region in China to provide 15-year free education. In 2023, the gross enrollment rate in senior high schools in Xizang had reached 91.22 percent, while the enrollment rate for universities there stood at 57.62 percent last year.
The next day we went to Tashi Qudeng, a village which is home to 132 Tibetan households. Titled the cradle of Tibetan opera, a Tibetan art form that has a history of over 600 years, this modern community is now a popular tourist attraction well known for its distinct Tibetan opera performances as well as homestays that have strong ethnic flavors.
In this village we visited a two-floor Tibetan-style house, with the first floor converted into guest rooms. Owner Lhapa Yangzom said her homestay can accommodate eight guests, each bed charged for 50 yuan (about 7 U.S. dollars) per night.
Lhapa Yangzom received us in an impressive manner, draping traditional Tibetan scarves that symbolize purity and auspiciousness around our necks, while also serving us both sweet and salty Tibetan tea. In addition, she truly surprised us by voluntarily singing folks songs for us. The reception rituals conveyed not only her hospitality but also a sense of pure happiness.
Village official Tsering Dekyi told me that there are currently 82 households running homestays in the community, earning an average of 16,000 yuan last year.
Notably, when we were at a theater in the community to watch a Tibetan opera performance that night, Lhapa Yangzom again appeared in front of us, but this time as a dancer. Dressed in traditional festive costumes, Lhapa Yangzom and her fellow villagers performed Tibetan opera, ethnic dancing and instrumental music against a stage background of a piece of thangka depicting the creator of Tibetan opera.
Lhapa Yangzom said she and 27 other villagers form a part-time Tibetan opera troupe in the community, securing a monthly income of 3,000 yuan during peak tourism seasons. “We used to depend on nothing but farming and working in Lhasa to make a living. But now we have inns, and I can also earn more with the troupe,” said Lhapa Yangzom.
Considered a living fossil of Tibetan culture, Tibetan opera has been well protected and is gaining increasing popularity. In 2006, this art form was included on the first national-level intangible cultural heritage list. It was also included on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. There are now over 150 part-time Tibetan opera troupes active across the autonomous region.
“In the West, opera or drama performances are confined to the upper classes, but opera is for and by ordinary people here,” said a group of foreign tourists who were amazed by the feast of Tibetan opera performances. ■