Xigaze delivers nonstop moments of awe

Sheep graze on the grassland by the Yamdrok Co (Lake). [Photo by Zhang Hao / for China Daily]

Pala Manor is a major tourist site in Gyangze county, Xigaze. [Photo by Zhang Hao / for China Daily]

In Xigaze, prepare to be dazed.

There is the sun, strong and heating up the wintry land to more than 10 C during the day. There is also the lack of oxygen. Bring an oxygen bag if you're driving from Lhasa, as it's a climb of a very formidable few hundred meters in altitude. Above all, the scenery is beautiful for a first-timer.

If you're taking the longer, winding road up (the other option is the slightly less eventful 318 State Highway), the Yamdrok Co (Lake) will be the first sight that arrests you.

It translates into "jade-like": The paper-fan-shaped stretch of 130 kilometers of water can assume colors from azure to steel, depending on the season. At the end of February, it's between bondi blue and blue gray.

It's the quiet time of the year: Grazing time is over, wild birds have departed and islets look bleak. But the "holy lake" beckons you to stay for the still, calming openness.

You can, and not just in a makeshift camp. Guesthouses equipped with electric heaters have sprouted up in the nearby Zhamalong village over the past year, offering a Tibetan-style stayover at a very reasonable price - 20 yuan ($3.20) per bed. Just follow the signs along the way.

Or if you resist the temptation, serene Gyangze county four hours away is good for a pit stop.

There, Pala Manor is a must-see.

The manor is the most intact among 37 that belonged to the noble Pala family, who had 3,000 serfs and 14,900 head of cattle in the late 19th century.

It's a rare glimpse into the days of serfdom. As displayed articles from before 1959 show, the nobles were living on the sunlit, resplendent upper third floor, drinking Hennessy, clutching LV bags, smoking Marlboros and wearing coats of mouse skin.

But one floor below, the serfs were crammed in dark, cave-like dens and toiled their lives away. Not for very long though, as Pubu Tsering, the guide at Pala Manor explains. The life expectancy for the serfs was 28.

That number is made manifest on March 28, the Liberation Day for serfs. It has also become many of the survivors' birthdays since they did not track dates before 1959.

Nearby rural inns run by local Banjiulunbu villagers are family houses, a comforting sight.

Prayer rooms are scented, flowers bloom in sunlit living rooms, table trays are filled with local snacks, and hosts won't stop nudging you to have yet another bite of cheese balls, sweetened fried dough, sweets and buttered tea.

When you're stuffed, visit the local fair. If you're lucky, you'll catch horse-racing, platoons of Tibetan dancing and Tibetan Opera singing. The 12 counties of Xigaze have been rotating fairs among themselves year-round with performances by local villagers.

Then set aside a whole morning (and morning only, if you observe the tradition) for the prefecture's crown jewel, the Tashilhunpo Monastery, in the city of Xigaze.

It is one of the Six Big Monasteries of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat Sect). It's almost 600 years old. It has the world's biggest statue - 26 meters in height - of a sitting Maitreya Buddha, inside its Maitreya chapel.

It houses the sacred stupa-tombs of past Panchen Lamas. There is the Thangka Wall that oversees the city. On average, 10,000 Tibetan Buddhists come to the monastery every day.

The monastery is an amazing experience not only for its stunning use of gems, silver and gold in construction, or its exquisite murals, but for its people as well.

From all over Tibet, believers come to bow down and circle the monastery. They come to ring the bells three times dutifully at each chapel. Holding their palms open, they line up to pray for harmony in the cosmos.

And the lamas, who are well-versed in scriptures as well as math, astronomy and other sciences, chant peacefully alongside them.

And right there, you get dazed again.