bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Dinah Gardner

When her best friend died from leukaemia last year, Ran Jing made a promise to herself;  she would travel to Tibet as soon as she graduated from high school. Her classmate  had been a Buddhist, and it had been her dream to see Lhasa.
A few months after her 18th birthday, Ran set off  alone from her home in Henan province, taking buses and sharing cars, on a pilgrimage to the Tibetan capital in memory of her friend.
'I'm doing this for her,' she says, breaking her inbound trip in a youth hostel in Xinduqiao,  a small town in  Kandze (Ganzi  in Chinese), an autonomous Tibetan prefecture in western Sichuan. 
RAN WAS JUST ONE of tens of thousands of young Chinese tourists who visited Tibet this summer. Reliable statistics are hard to come by, but the Tibet Tourism Bureau  reports that 2.25 million tourists visited the  Tibet Autonomous Region  in the first half of  the year, up  almost  25 per cent year on year.  The entire population of the  region is just under three million.  The bulk of these tourists were domestic; foreigners require a special permit to enter Tibet and were banned in March, June and July.
National Highway  318,  which links Sichuan's provincial capital, Chengdu, with Lhasa,  saw flocks of Han Chinese  pedalling their way to Tibet, sometimes  their bicycles appearing to outnumber vehicles on the road. These spiralling tourist statistics  are also reflected in the success of local hostels. 
In 2006, Sichuan native Yang Xiaohui opened his first guesthouse - called Denba, after the  adopted Tibetan name Yang now goes by - and aimed it at the Chinese backpacker and long-distance cyclist.  In  fewer than five years, his business has grown from that first hostel, in  Dardo  (Kangding) in  Kandze, to 13 budget guesthouses: two in  Tibet, one in Yunnan and 10 in Sichuan. 
The most obvious draw for the increasing number of young Chinese visitors  is, of course, the region's natural beauty. Alpine grasslands, fresh air, snow-capped mountains and spiritual mystique hold a  special attraction for the new urban rich who have grown up in  crowded, polluted cities.
'Lhasa is one of the top tourism destinations for Chinese travellers,' says Zhou Qinwen, 35,  from Shanghai, who spent two months travelling around Tibet this summer. 'It has blue skies, white clouds, mysterious Tibetans and  architecture.  
'I was tempted to go  after looking at other travellers' postings and photos on the internet. Those photos were beautiful. I was spellbound. When I got there, it was beyond my expectations.' 
Others say they  are intrigued by the spirituality, honesty and generosity of the people.
'My guests see Tibet as a sacred place,' says 34-year-old Denba. 'They admire the religion.'
Xiong (he requests that only his first name be used), from Wuhan, in Hubei province, is 22 years old. He  cycled from Chengdu to Lhasa alone, inspired by a story a friend had told him.
'My friend was on a bus in Tibet when they stopped in a village,' he explains. 'A little girl came on board and gave the driver  1,000 yuan [HK$1,200], and asked him to pass it to her brother in the next village. That driver didn't know the girl or her brother, but he drove to the next village, found the right guy and gave him the money. That couldn't  possibly happen in my city. I cherish this kind of trust. 
'Tibetans have Buddha in their hearts, but we Han people don't  have any religion, and this is frightening. I'm beginning to believe in Buddhism myself now.'
It's not just in tourist figures that  a growing fascination for Tibet  and its culture can be seen. He Ma's The Tibet Code,  a  series of thrillers, is a long-standing favourite read; Kora  (Zhuan Shan),  a Chinese film about a young man cycling to Lhasa in memory of his dead brother, opened in mainland cinemas  on November 3; and  a growing number  of Han are converting to Tibetan Buddhism. Thousands of Han students study at the sprawling Buddhist Institute in  Serthar  (Seda), in the north of  Kandze.
Indeed, the fascination with Tibet has  led to the coining of a new term, zang piao ('Tibet drifter'), which describes someone who leaves urban life to temporarily hang out in Tibet in search of their own Shangri-la.  Zang piao can be compared to those young Westerners  who  flock to India in search of spiritual meaning.
Han Chinese enchantment with Tibet  is akin to a similar trend in the West, which began in the 1980s, but differs in a number of ways because of the politics of the region.  Beijing insists Tibet is historically part of the nation but  exiled Tibetans and many people in the West believe  Tibet was invaded by China in 1950. 
The Western obsession with Tibet has long been the subject of academic study, and there are plenty of scholarly books on the subject - Prisoners of Shangri-La (1998) by Donald Lopez;  Imagining Tibet: Perceptions, Projections and Fantasies (1996),  a collection of essays;  and Virtual Tibet: Searching for Shangri-La From the Himalayas to Hollywood (2000) by Orville Schell,  to name  a few. In contrast, Han Chinese fascination with Tibet has been little studied.
Dechen Pemba,  a British-born Tibetan rights activist,  is a   Chinese studies graduate from London's School of Oriental and African Studies.  She suggests that increasing affluence and urbanisation are part of the reason for  Tibet's growing mystique  among Han Chinese.
'Whilst it's difficult to generalise about an entire generation or section of society, I do agree that there is a certain type of Han Chinese person, usually of the post-Cultural Revolution generation, who tends  to romanticise Tibet and Tibetan people,' she says. 'At the same time, because of economic growth, Han Chinese are equally searching for roots and tradition, perhaps even spirituality, and looking to other cultures for this.'
There are two other factors  that colour Chinese perceptions of Tibet that are not prevalent in the West. First, from a young age, mainlanders are taught that in 1950, Tibet was liberated from a cruel, feudal society in which the vast majority of people were bonded to a life of serfdom under the tyrannical landowning classes:  the aristocracy and monasteries. Thus, modernisation in Tibet can be attributed to the generosity of the Han Chinese. This leaves many Chinese  with the impression that Tibetan society is  backward, despite its spiritual allure.
'Han views of Tibet are not unlike white American views of Native Americans  50 years ago,' says  Lopez,   a professor of Buddhist and Tibetan studies at the University of Michigan, in the United States. 'Tibet is seen as a kind of Wild West, inhabited by a savage and colourful people, with exotic dress, primitive food and uncivilised ways. [Tibetans are often seen as oversexed as well.] Just as Native American religion became romanticised based on works by Black Elk,  [Carlos] Castaneda,  et al, so Tibetan Buddhism, seen often as a form of magic,  is seen as some kind of alternative to modern life. White American children would often dress up to play 'cowboys and Indians' and go see the latest Western at the movies. But none of this led to the view that Native Americans somehow should be given their country back.'
Because Westerners tend to see Tibet as a victim,  they downplay aspects of its former feudal society in favour of glamorising the role of the Buddhist monks. 
'Romanticised views of Tibet among Westerners are scarcely mitigated by any knowledge of the nature of Tibetan society prior to the mid-20th century,' says  Barry Sautman,  associate professor of social science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. 'Few educated Han people lack such knowledge, and thus their romanticisation is somewhat tempered by it.'
This contrast is reflected to a certain degree in two films: Serf,  a 1963  Chinese government  film depicting the misery of feudalism, widely seen on  the mainland; and 1997  Hollywood hit Seven Years in Tibet, starring Brad Pitt, which paints the Tibet of the late  40s as a paradise of peace-loving Buddhists about to be crushed by the cruel Chinese Communists. 
Seven Years in Tibet sparked a huge outpouring of sympathy for Tibet's status and a fascination among young middle-class liberals in  the West. But both films are, in essence, propagandistic, albeit with different motivations, and both are perceived as factual portrayals by many among their respective audiences.
'Tibet has always been part of China, at least since the Ming and Qing dynasties,' says Zhou. 'Before liberation, Tibetans were all serfs, and then the Communist Party liberated them so they could be their own masters. In the old days, they had horrific practices like skinning people alive.'
The Western image of Tibet as the victim of aggression is incomprehensible to most young Han.
'Part of the Western romanticisation of Tibet juxtaposes a spiritual and pure Tibet against the forces of power, materialism and oppression embodied by  [Beijing] and the Chinese presence in Tibet,' says Elliot Sperling,  an associate professor at Indiana University,  in the US, whose research interests are Tibetan history and Sino-Tibetan relations. 'The lack of this part of the image of Tibet - a result of government strictures on what can be said about the Tibetan situation - is significant. It cuts the dissident, even counter-culturally subversive, part of Western interest in Tibet out of its Chinese manifestation.'
The other factor shaping Han perceptions of Tibet are the 2008 anti-government protests, which started in Lhasa in March that year and spread across the Tibetan region. They were portrayed by  domestic media as violent riots - several Han Chinese in Lhasa were killed - instigated by separatist forces from abroad. As a result, many on the mainland  perceive Tibetans as aggressive and anti-Han.
Says Sautman: 'Many younger Han people do romanticise Tibet, chiefly as a place of exceptional spirituality, in contrast to most of the rest of China. But this age cohort is, of course, huge, so there are still many younger Han who think of Tibet as still relatively backward and, after the racial killings in Lhasa in 2008, as harbouring some people very hostile to Han generally.'
'There is an estrangement between Tibetans and us Han Chinese, but I'm not afraid,' says Ran. 'There are lots of police around.'
Since the troubles of 2008,  People's Liberation Army and People's Armed Police  camps have been  positioned next to or close to monasteries in many towns across  Kandze (two among the recent spate of self-immolations took place in the county). 
Over the summer, the sound of monks praying was frequently drowned out by the sharp bark of military orders and the crunch  of soldiers marching. 
Of course, the elephant in the room  is the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, who in 1959  escaped to India, where he's lived in exile ever since.  According to the Western narrative, the Dalai Lama is a man of wisdom and peace. To Beijing, however, he is a 'wolf in sheep's clothing' and a dangerous separatist. He represents a threat to authority because he still commands a huge following among Tibetans in China.
What do young Han Chinese Tibetophiles think about the  spiritual leader? 
In the Xinduqiao hostel, Xiong cautiously explains his feelings as a  picture of a man he says he doesn't recognise smiles down on him from a shelf. The picture is of the Dalai Lama.
'He is the Tibet people's spiritual leader, and so he should be here in Tibet helping the Tibetan people. It's possible he is doing some political business. It's possible he wants more power and more prestige, because now he is overseas in exile.'
Denba  sees the Dalai Lama as someone who is being manipulated.
'As long as we don't politicise the issue, the Dalai Lama is just a symbol ... but the nature of the symbol has changed,' he says, in one of his new hostels, in  Dardo. 'The Dalai Lama is now in a difficult position.  He cannot express his own views. He's not in control of his role. He's  just a tool, and controlled by all these stakeholders - NGOs, foreign governments and now the Chinese government. It is a really  complicated problem.' 
'Among those Han who romanticise Tibet, the demonisation of  the Dalai Lama is scarcely relevant,' says Sautman. 'They regard  it as a political stratagem that doesn't detract from the Dalai Lama's spiritual role. 
'Even Han who romanticise Tibet deplore the murders of 2008, but are perhaps more understanding of the demonstrations that took place.'
Sperling suggests: 'Even though interest in Tibet within China is  still a minority taste, it may well happen that an interest in a romanticised Tibet will lead a few who hold that interest to confront very real Tibetan discontents.' 
However, for Beijing-based Tibetan writer-poet and activist Tsering Woeser,  Han admirers of Tibet - particularly the zang piao - lack even a basic understanding of her culture. 
In a piece she wrote  this year for Radio Free Asia, translated by London-based Tibet blog High Peaks Pure Earth,  she says: 'As for the currently quite popular 'Tibet drifters' and those middle-class inland people who call Tibet a 'spiritual home' ... those people are in fact quite unfamiliar with the suffering Tibetans endure; perhaps they are even totally oblivious to suffering.
'I have encountered those 'Tibet drifters' sitting at the main entrance of Jokhang Temple  [Lhasa's main temple] laughing, giggling and snuggling up to each other. Cigarettes dangle from their lips; they drink beer and sunbathe while watching Tibetans prostrating ... they also go and prostrate a few times as if it was just some kind of game, just some type of popular amusement.'




The road to enlightenment

Tibet