Yes I did, in the summer of 2005, part of my 21-day-backpacking trip in western China. We stayed in Tibet for about 5 days, not enough time to appreciate the beauty of it. Then we proceed to Gansu and Dunhuang.

Well, but I did have a wonderful time, even though it’s not exactly what I had hoped. Most people I saw on the trip, are Sichuanese, and people from other neighboring provinces. And the Tibetan people are quite sinicized, longing for Coco Cola and imported cigarette. I’m not saying they should not though, it’s just not what I had in mind.

While we were in Lhasa, it happened to be Shotan Festival. In Drepung Monastery, the festival begins with the unfurling of a huge thangka bearing the image of Sakymuni (Gautama Buddha). In order to get there early, we had to get up around 4 am and walk with the Tibetans to the monastery. There were thousands and thousands of Tibetans. The monastery charges non-Tibetan a fee to get in.

I tried their yogurt (another feature besides Drepung Monastery in Shotan Festival), and it was the best I had ever tasted.