Photo's from Tongren

This is taken from my seat at the front of the bus on my way south from Xining to Tongren. It turned out to be a five hour trip (200km). However it will only take about 2 hours when the new motorway is fully completed.

This a small village south of Tongren where the temple is said to have been there for over 1000 years. Jian Hua Foundation is conducting some projects here including health education and a greenhouse for growing plants in the winter.

In this same village we were invited to a house warming. We were fed fried bread, hot tea, fatty mutton chops and pumpkin seeds. Amazing hospitality Tibetan style.

A couple of days after I arrived it began to snow. This is me in a traditional Tibetan courtyard - which is hard for you see. Houses are built around the periphery of a high mud walled courtyard with a large wooden door.

One of the families I visited were from NZ! We went for a walk/climb down to a secluded stream surrounded by snow and ice - beautiful.

A nurse and a Doctor who I was working with at Tongren Prefecture hospital.

The hospital staff celebrated the arrival of a new ambulance. Fire crackers were lit and sweets handed around in true Chinese celebratory style.

Early morning in Tongren - looking south from the hill above the hospital over the old town.

A classic tractor and trailer sort of vehicle (put-put) cruising past the Bhuddist temple in Tongren.

The local butcher is normally a Muslim as Buddhists donnot believe it is good to kill animals. Carcusses of sheep, goats, cows and yaks lay frozen on the footpath.

The Yellow River pictured on our trip back to Xining. It is wide and deep here as a result of a dam downstream.

At the top of the mountain pass there was a Tibetan alter and display of prayer flags. High places are sacred in the Tibetan culture. One of the bus passengers got out here to scatter little colourful squares to the wind.