Traditions Meet Modernization in Tibet

The Qinghai-Tibet railway has opened the vast expanses of Tibet to the world and brought new concepts to the once isolated plateau. How will the ancient culture exist alongside moves towards development and modernization?

He Fei has more.

The Potala Palace, prayer wheels, buttered tea, people lining up to kowtow.

Is this the Tibet you have in your mind?

What about this?

A cup of coffee, black barley pizza and ice-cream, dim lights with live music.

It is also Tibet, after the thousand-year-long traditional culture blended with modern lifestyles. With roads, railways and airlines, Tibet is no longer an isolated land.

Guo Kefan is an expert on Tibetan culture with the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences. He says living cultures are not immutable.

"All cultures, if they are unchangeable, don't have any vitality. They all keep developing along with the ever-changing external conditions."

Meng Bo is a tour guide from east China's Shandong Province. He came to Lhasa five years ago, because he thought that railway would boost tourism in Tibet. Now, he has settled down here and married a Tibetan girl.

"I think new settlers are bringing new thoughts to Tibet. Although to some extent it may impact the local culture, it will also boost the development of the culture, drawing more inspiration from multiple cultures."

Lhasa native Baima Dunzhu works in the Potala Palace as a researcher on cultural relics. He welcomes cultural interaction as well.

"The railway not only boosts tourism and economic development, it also plays an important role in promoting cultural interactions between Tibetans and other ethnic groups."

However, some dislike the commercialized life style. Labu Ciren is a Tangka painter, who works in a Tangka store in Bakuo Street.

"With a lot of tourists coming in, Lhasa has become commercialized, which I don't like. People come to see a different Tibet, not a similar modern city. I myself like the old easy life, without the fierce commercial competition."

Tangka is said to be the most wonderful pearl on the crown of Tibetan art.

Labu Ciren says now fewer young people choose to learn Tangka painting, as the learning process is too long, taking at least 7 to 8 years, even for those who are gifted.

Protecting traditional cultures against the side effects of modernization has long been a challenging task for many countries.

Professor Guo Kefan of the Tibetan Academy of Social Sciences says the government should play an active role in saving traditional cultures from excessive market pressures.

For CRI, I'm He Fei from Lhasa.