A land not often considered for tourism, Tibet offers the adventure traveller an authentic experience of a culture untouched by contemporary life. Travel along variegated landscape like the grasslands of the northern Kham, the divide between the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, Bhuddist temples and the foothills of the Anye Machin mountain range.
History and politics aside, China is a land of superlatives, encompassing the Yangtze River, the Silk Road, the bamboo forests of the giant panda and misty peaks immortalised in traditional ink paintings. China has 33 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Chinese food ranks among the world's great cuisines. From acrobatics to martial arts, calligraphy to Chinese opera, the vibrant, distinctive culture of this great land is everywhere to be seen.
Spectacular Tibet (Xihang) has been open to tourists since 1980. Occupied by China since 1950, the Cultural Revolution seriously damaged its cultural identity, yet Tibet's way of life and historically important Buddhism traditions have endured. Now linked by train to the rest of China, Tibet's unique culture faces renewed threats, from hordes of immigrant Han Chinese settlers and tourists.