Jay Dunn: Journalism for Social Justice

  • Portfolio
  • Video
  • Services
  • Links
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archive
    • All Galleries
    • Search
    • Cart
    • Lightbox
    • Client Area
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
x
All Galleries
Download Add to Cart
twitterlinkedinfacebook

China: "In the Clouds, Gansu" Jay Dunn 27 images Created 26 Mar 2008

China, Qinghai, 2003. "In the Clouds" is a meditation on the endurance of Tibetan Buddhist culture in two western provinces in China. Long a part of Tibet, Qinghai retains its flavor today as a separate jurisdiction, encompassing almost 720,000 square kilometers of high-altitude grassland, spectacular mountain ranges and forbidding saline stretches. Gansu is alternately dry and dusty, lush and lonely. Caravans along the famed Silk Road made stops at its many oases, and threaded their way through the province's mountain paths. Both provinces still seem neglected in a way, places to travel through perhaps, but not to stay, despite a wealth of attractions.

Qinghai's remoteness, for instance, made it an ideal match for those banished by kingdoms and governments alike. But perhaps because of their minimalist and often hostile environments, Qinghai and Gansu remain strongholds of Buddhist belief for many who may prefer the freedom and space of traditional occupations over the homogenization of city life. Labrang Monastery in Gansu is a shadow of its former self, where once a thousand monks were housed and educated. But it is there, as are those who pray and practice, farm and tend their flocks, and live the lives they always have, whether or not, for the nomad, the motorcycle has replaced the horse.
-- More at www.jaydunn.org --
Humanitarian Issues & Cultural Tradition Worldwide
View: 100 | All

Loading ()...

  • China, Anye Machen, 2005. A full "kora," or circumnavigation, of this holy mountain takes Buddhist pilgrims eight to ten days. At a base elevation of almost ten thousand feet, it is cold here year round..
    China.01.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Anye Machen, 2005. These hardy souls tend yak at 15,000 feet near Anye Machen, a mountain sacred to Buddhists. Subsisting almost entirely on their animals, they are self-sufficient in a forbidding place..
    China.02.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Anye Machen, 2005. Prayer flags at a Qinghai "mani ka," or prayer hill. Inscribed with verse, and tied to the highest places men can reach, prayers are released to heaven each time the wind blows..
    China.03.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Guoluo, 2005. At the base of a "mani ka," or prayer hill, a Tibetan sews prayer flags to the lines that will suspend them in the air..
    China.04.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Sanke Pass, 2005. Hundreds of nomads on horses and motorcycles descended on this inhospitable spot near Xiahe in Gansu. Chosen as the best rider from his group, this boy would let no one touch his mount before the race..
    China.05.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Hezhuo, 2005. A stupa rises high above Tibetans who came from all over Gansu to enjoy the two-day Hezhuo Cultural Festival.
    China.06.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Xiahe, 2005. Lustrous in the soft afternoon light, the distinctive low rumble of Tibetan Buddhist horns graces both daily prayers and celebrations..
    China.07.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Xiahe, 2005. Winter footwear is kept outside the debate hall at Labrang Monastery in Xiahe. This important monastery once housed and educated over a thousand monks..
    China.08.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Xiahe, 2005. A welcome home to an important elder is marked by painted sand patterns and monks in attendance..
    China.09.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Xiahe, 2005. This Tibetan bride is wearing her finest on wedding day. They marked the day combining a traditional Tibetan ceremony with a Chinese-style dinner afterwards..
    China.10.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Xiahe, 2005. Relatives wait outside for the bride and groom to arrive. Participants were welcomed to a traditional Tibetan ceremony and a Chinese dinner..
    China.11.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Xiahe, 2005. With all the enthusiasm a roomful of friends can impart, these women sing their hearts out at a friend?s Tibetan wedding..
    China.12.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Xiahe, 2005. The right hands of the truly devout are often calloused from the effort of keeping prayer wheels constantly turning clockwise..
    China.13.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Xiahe, 2005. A monthly meeting of monks from the province was occasion for cleaning and festive arrangements at Labrang Monastery in Gansu..
    China.14.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Anye Machen, 2005. Summertime's moody weather obscures the summit of 15,000 ft. Anye Machen (to the right), sacred to Tibetans and a place for merit-gaining pilgrimages..
    China.15.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Huangzhong, 2005. A chilly afternoon does not prevent these monks from gathering for the afternoon lecture. The Kumbum Monastery, as it is also known, is a prominent center for the Gelukpa, or Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Buddhism..
    China.16.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Anye Machen, 2005. One of the many approaches to the eight day "kora" or circumnavigation of Anye Machen, which at 15,000 ft, is holy to Tibetan Buddhists..
    China.17.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Xiahe, 2005. The strongest young riders and the fastest horses are chosen for a single wild race at this nomad ceremony near the Sanke Pass in Gansu Province..
    China.18.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Hezhuo, 2005. A chain of riders stretches over the hills in a scene worthy of an epic film. Every August the Hezhuo Cultural Festival attracts thousands of Tibetans..
    China.19.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Gyalthang, 2005. A fall storm looms over this well-tended stupa near Gyalthang, the Tibetan name for the town recently renamed "Shangri La" by the government..
    China.20.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Guoluo, 2005. A beautifully etched Buddha is draped in white and yellow, symbols of respect from pilgrims attracted to the thin air and clean life in this town at 8,000 feet..
    China.21.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Xiahe, 2005. Nomads from camps far away make it to the ceremonies before the annual horse race high up on the Sanke Plain.
    China.22.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Xiahe, 2005. Tibetan nomads gather every year for a ceremony and horse race on the high altitude plain near Sanke Pass.
    China.23.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Xiahe, 2005. High up on the 6,000 ft. plain near Sanke Pass, nomads choose the best young riders for a single race, bringing prestige to their clan..
    China.24.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Guoluo, 2005. In the bright sun of midday, a Tibetan man surveys the empty streets of Guoluo.
    China.25.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Guoluo, 2005. The symphony of colors and shades present in a Tibetan man's traditional clothing.
    China.26.JDUNN.clouds.jpg
  • China, Hezhuo, 2005. Riders wait on the crest of a hill to join a massive display of horses and horsemanship at the Hezhuo Cultural Festival..
    China.27.JDUNN.clouds.jpg