Entering Gyantse along the Southern Friendship Highway from Simi Pass |
Shophouses along Shanghai Avenue in Gyantse's new town |
Our home for the night, the Gyantse Hotel |
There was still penty of daylight left so I ditched the guide and went off to check out Gyantse on my own |
Side entrance to Gyantse Hotel |
"Main Street" Gyantse - Yingxiong Nanlu |
"Main Street" Gyantse - Yingxiong Nanlu |
Gyantse Dzong, the impressive hilltop fortress |
Haier shop, Yingxiong Nanlu, Gyantse |
Yingxiong Nanlu, Gyantse's main commercial street |
Shops overflowing with goods, Gyantse |
The middle of Gyantse |
Weiguo Lu, Gyantse with the "Family Guest House" |
The main intersection in the middle of Gyantse |
Monument to the People's Heroes, Gyantse |
First view of part of Pelkor Chöde Monastery on the distant hill |
Tibetan old town of Gyantse along Pelkor Road |
Tibetan old town, Pelkor Road, Gyantse |
Old Town Gyantse |
Gyantse Dzong rising above the old town |
Horse-drawn cart, Pelkor Road, old town Gyantse |
Pelkor Road looking southeast towards the fortress, Gyantse Dzong |
Gyantse Dzong above old town |
Tibetan old town, Gyantse |
Carpet weaver on break, Gyantse |
Gyantse Dzong, the fortress, looming over Pelkor Street, old town |
Typical Tibetan house, old town Gyantse |
A dusty side street leading deeper into old town Gyantse from Pelkor Road |
A cat resting in the sun behind a rock, Gyantse |
Circling to the west of Pelkor Chöde Monastery |
Tibetan child with rosy cheeks |
Dispite being right next to the famous Pelkor Chöde, I feel that I'm off the tourist trail |
Circling around the west side of Pelkor Chöde Monastery |
Village shrine with a large prayer wheel |
Trees changing color along the lane at the base of the western wall of Pelkor Chöde Monastery |
Old Town Gyantse to the northwest of Pelkor Chöde Monastery |
The walls neatly lined with drying dung paddies |
Dung paddies drying on a wall |
Dried manure is used for fuel in the Himalaya |
Looking back to the south with and the western wall of Pelkor Chöde |
Canal channeling water to the fields north of town, Gyantse |
Irrigation canals on the north side of Gyantse |
The grain harvest waiting to be collected |
Tibetan farmers in the fields to the north of Pelkor Chöde Monastery |
I believe it's barley |
Bringing in the autumn harvest, Gyantse |
Using a tractor to thresh the grain |
Dog on patrol, Gyantse |
Looking north at Rabse Nunnery with autumn foliage |
Tibetan doorway, Gyantse |
Orange-white cat in Gyantse |
Tibetan old town east of Pelkor Chöde Monastery, Gyantse |
Tibetan old town with the mountains northeast of Gyantse |
Looking east across the Tibetan old town to the east of Pelkor Chöde Monastery |
Village shrine on the ridge between Pelkor Chöde Monastery and Gyantse Dzong |
On the ridge behind old town |
Exploring the back alleys of old town Gyantse |
Greeting from a Tibetan girl in old town |
Gyantse's Tibetan old town is split by a narrow ridge |
A young girl waves from her rooftop perch |
Tibetan old town with Gyantse Dzong |
Tibetan old town with Gyantse Dzong |
Tibetan old town with Gyantse Dzong |
Ruins of a tower in old town Gyantse |
Old town Gyantse |
Looking north to Pelkor Chöde Monastery from the path connecting the two halves of Old Town |
Looking north to Pelkor Chöde Monastery from the path connecting the two halves of Old Town |
Small house high on the ridge below Gyantse Dzong |
House along the path connecting the eastern and western halves of old town Gyantse |
The eastern half of old town Gyantse from the ridge saddle path |
Tibetan old town with autumn colors, Gyantse |
Riche Ganden Retreat on a mountainside north of Gyantse |
View northeast from the base of Gyantse Dzong road |
A fully loaded horse in old town Gyantse |
Traditional style house along Yingxiong Beilu |
Yingxiong Beilu headed back to the center of Gyantse |
It's later afternoon and I need to get back to meet the guide and driver for dinner |
Tractor driving through Gyantse |
New house in old style, Yingxiong Beilu, Gyantse |
Gyantse pupils walking home from school |
Back at the main intersection in the middle of Gyantse |
Tourist restaurant Gyantse Kitchen |
Colorful dining hall of the Gyantse Hotel at breakfast |
Costumes of the Tibetan Opera on display at the Gyantse Hotel |
View over old town Gyantse from the ridge at the southeast corner of Pelkor Chöde Monastery |
Old Town Gyantse from the ridge between the monastery and the fortress |
Old town Gyantse with Pelkor Chöde Monastery |
View towards the monastery from the ridge |
Solar cooker on the roof of a house in old town Gyantse |
Pelkor Chöde Monastery and the roofs of old town from the ridge to the south |
Pelkor Chöde Monastery and the roofs of old town from the ridge to the south |
Western half of the Tibetan old town from the ridge splitting Gyantse in half |
The guide called this the "village god" |
Shrine covered with prayer flags on the ridge bisecting old town Gyantse |
Village shrine, Gyantse |
Good view of Pelkor Chöde Monastery from the village shrine on the ridge |
Flat roofs of old town from the village shrine on the ridge, Gyantse |
Old Town Gyantse and Pelkor Chöde Monastery from the ridge |
Old town and monastery, Gyantse |
Old Town Gyantse next to Pelkor Chöde Monastery |
Cows in a courtyard of a house in old town Gyantse |
Overall I found Gyantse's old town in very good condition |
Old Town Gyantse |
Lane through old town Gyantse between the ridge and Pelkor Road |
Cows at home, old town Gyantse |
Old Town Gyantse |
Old Town Gyantse headed to Pelkor Chöde Monastery |
Lane through old town Gyantse between the ridge and Pelkor Road |
Old Town Gyantse |
Lhasa Beer - Beer on the Top of the World |
Shanghai West Road, Gyantse |
Park at the base of Gyantse Dzong |
Monument to the People's Heroes, Gyantse |