Tibetan Lung Ta flapping in the breeze
The rules keep changing all the time. This is the byline when in China or if you are dealing with China officialdom.
One time a few years back, the itch to go Lhasa took over and I found myself coming down from Xining Qinghai to Chengdu. They said that that is the place to get a travel permit to enter Tibet (Lhasa specifically).
You can still get your travel documents done in Chengdu but it is better to check first before arriving there. But how? You could check with the Chinese Office in your home city but my experience is that they can’t tell you very much (which could be because they themselves are not sure with the rules changing all the time). On a good day, they will tell you to get a plane to Chengdu and arrange whatever you need from there. That helped?
I remember just a few months ago (was it August 09?) that travel into Lhasa was closed to foreigners. Actually we were told that they relaxed the ban caused by the Xinjiang riots but then again, this is China. We were already in Qinghai t Yushu then. Too bad! The officialdom were very careful and it was close to their 60th National Day Parade and they were not taking any chances. No permits to Lhasa.
Where were we? Yes, the fake official permits. This one you have got to be very careful. There are travel agents round every corner and alley of Chengdu. The lovely lass will get you your permit for Lhasa, never mind the regulations and official line.
I do not really know how you would know it is a genuine permit you have in your hands but from my experience, here are three things to look out for.
First. It has to be the original document, not some photostat copy with your name on it. They can fake anything of course but an original has a better chance of being genuine.
Second. It is a permit for you and you alone. That means it only has your name and nobody else’s on it. Mine came on a ‘master permit’. It turned out to be a fake, at least that was what the secret police in Lhasa said which got me booted out of the city.
Third. Your point of departure and return has to match what is stated on the permit. If you are flying from Chengdu, that has to be what is written in the permit. If not you can’t buy a plane ticket.
If you had pre-bought a ticket to land in some other city other than what is in the permit, good luck!
The rules today may be different. If you have an update your comment in the box below would help. Thanks.
