Yan Jing to Ba'thang
December 2013
"Nobody attempts Tibet in Winter"
My driver was sympathetic to my cause. We discussed about our next step and we decided to attempt the most illegal act of all - smuggling me in
via a different road. From Chamdo, there are only 2 roads leading into Tibet. One was Yan Jing which we attempted but failed and the other was the town
of Ba'thang, which is now a defacto part of the Ganzi Province of Chengdu.
The road from Deqen to Ba'thang is not found on google maps nor any maps for that matter. I had to draw on the google map above to illustrate
this route. It is a series of dangerous, scantily made, dirt and mud tracks known only to the local truck drivers. It essentially serves a
shortcut for locals to quickly made a cross over to Ganzi, Chengu from Deqen, Yunnan via the town of Derong. Do not attempt this path
with an amateur driver - 1 wrong turn and you will be flying down the steep mountain sides.
The entire length of this route is part of ancient Tibet but of course it is now assimilated into China either as Chengdu or Yunnan province.
Of course, the people here have not changed. Traditional Tibetan way of life is all that exists here.
Unfortunately we had no time to explore much of this even more secluded region. We spent close to 14 hours driving non stop and
the driver found himself driving in the dark. It was a frightening experience. We thought he went mad. Throughout the journey, he
has been driving on and on, and it was wrecking his nerves. I believe Ba'thang was his breaking point. The sun was setting and we had not
had dinner because it is so remote out here. He just drove in the dark not knowing when we would arrive at Ba'thang. He had underestimated
the distance. During the journey I was obviously worried about my safety. He was quiet throughout, his eyes affixed only on the roads ahead.
There were no street lamps, no sign posts, just a series of dirt routes and our vehicle ploughed ahead.
We eventually reached Ba'thang about 10pm at night. We got a warm dinner and slept through. We started our ride next morning at 8am.
Before the drive, we roamed around Ba'thang town and got ourselves hot noodles and were ready for the smuggle into Tibet.
editor's note:
the photographs in this series are either digital (pentax k30, sigma 35/1.4, DFA 50/2.8, Tamron 10-24)
or analogue (Pentax ME Super, K50/1.4, assorted films including portras, provia, profotoxl)
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