TIBETAN SURVIVAL IN SHANGRI-LA: TOURISM, BUDDHISM, AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 CHENGDU 000181 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM, DRL, G E.O. 12958: DECL: 9/3/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON SOCI CH SUBJECT: TIBETAN SURVIVAL IN SHANGRI-LA: TOURISM, BUDDHISM, AND ECONOMICS IN NW YUNNAN REF: A. A) 08 CHENGDU 000197 ¶B. B) 08 CHENGDU 000238 AND PREVIOUS ¶C. C) 09 CHENGDU 000149 CHENGDU 00000181 001.2 OF 004 CLASSIFIED BY: David E. Brown, Consul General, U.S. Consulate General Chengdu. REASON: 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Summary: A recent visit to Shangri-la by CG and ConGen staff found a booming tourism industry that some say threatens the local Tibetan Buddhist landscape, though the local Party Secretary asserts that it benefits religious life, bringing necessary financial support. New high-end, Tibetan-themed spa hotels catering to Chinese and Western tourists have opened, with some actively supporting Tibetans in the local economy (one is even owned by a Tibetan). Life in nearby monasteries is less encouraging, with monks made to read patriotic newspapers and sell trinkets instead of practicing Buddhism. Allegiance to the Dalai Lama persists, though Tibetans are uncertain of what lies ahead should the Dalai Lama choose not to reincarnate. Despite rules for bilingualism in autonomous prefectures, local signage is overwhelmingly Chinese and opportunities to study Tibetan extremely limited. But despite creeping Chinese acculturation, post sees hope for Tibetans who find ways to thrive and preserve their cultural identity in Shangri-la's new economy. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Consul General, along with PolEcon Officer and ethnic Tibetan LES, traveled August 13-15 to Shangri-la (formerly known as Zhongdian),seat of the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in northwest Yunnan Province. Meetings included Diqing Party Secretary, Qi Zhala; manager of the Banyan Tree Ringha Hotel, Luhu Winarno; Manager/Owner of the Songtsam Hotel, Pema Dorje; Managing Director of Yueliang Wan Company (aka Gyalthang Eco-Travel Service Company) Uttara Crees; and Tibet Poverty Alleviation Fund (TPAF) Country Director Tony Gleason (reported septel). Informal contacts included numerous monks, shopkeepers, and local Tibetans. Tourism, the Environment, and Buddhism -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Diqing's priorities are economic development and environmental protection, Diqing Party Secretary Qi told CG. Diqing sees 3-4 million tourists per year, with roughly 400,000 from overseas, and the prefecture is trying to encourage more high-end tourism. Noting his admiration for U.S. models of protecting the environment while allowing for economic development, Qi said he hopes to see similar developments in Diqing Prefecture. Eco-trekking businesswoman Crees commented separately that Diqing Prefecture understands the value of tourism and environmental protection better than most local governments in China. ¶4. (C) When asked about religious freedom in the context of development priorities, Qi emphasized that cultural activities are secondary to livelihood. Building/rebuilding temples and monasteries requires financial resources, he said, noting the prefecture government's support in this area. Moreover, the government helps monks and nuns reap the benefits of the growing tourism industry by building roads and water pipes and providing electricity, medical insurance, and basic living expenses for elder monks and nuns. The government has also built a Buddhist college in the prefecture where monks and nuns can receive a high quality Buddhist education, he said. ¶5. (C) The impact of tourism development on monastic life around Shangri-la varies dramatically. A government worker in Zhongdian recently told Tibetan LES that the biggest monastery in the prefecture, the Sumtsen Ling, has established a tourism management bureau and that each day some 3,000 tourists pay the entrance fee of 85 RMB (USD 12). The worker said that many monastic leaders are getting more interested in tourism development than in religious education. In contrast, a monk told PolEconOff his monastery is 101km from Shangri-la high up in the mountains, so tourism has had no impact whatsoever there. Other monks said there are 24 or so monasteries in the area, but only 4-5 of them really see any tourists. Tibetans as Hoteliers and Tourism Operators -------------- ¶6. (SBU) At the Songtsam Hotel in Shangri-la, ranked as the top Yunnan hotel on the Chinese version of Tripadvisor.com, ConGen staff met highly successful Tibetan businessman Pema Dorje. Already having 30 percent stakes in several area hotels, owner/manager Dorje took a 50 percent stake in the Songtsam, a majority-Tibetan staffed hotel exquisitely decorated with traditional thangka paintings, antique rugs, and painted doors from old buildings -- all authentically Tibetan. Responding to PolEconOff's comment that the hotel appeared true to Tibetan style down to minute details like antique window locking CHENGDU 00000181 002.2 OF 004 mechanisms, Dorje said he was unable to find local artisans still trained in traditional Tibetan building and had to recreate the hotel from his memory of growing up in a Tibetan home. The wealthiest person in the prefecture is also Tibetan, Dorje noted, and there are other successful Tibetans in the area, including holders of concessions of local scenic areas. (Note: Dorje is sharing his largesse, supporting local Tibetan children with 1000 RMB scholarships for elementary school students and higher amounts for middle and high school students. End Note.) ¶7. (SBU) At the Songtsam Hotel's main competitor, the Banyan Tree Ringha, Indonesian hotel manager Luhu Winarno discussed his company's efforts to blend with and support the local Tibetan community. (Comment: While also a beautiful hotel meant to be done in traditional Tibetan style, the Banyan Tree's decor was a mixture of Tibetan art of varying authenticity and made-to-look-antique Chinese furniture. End Comment.) The international Banyan Tree chain of hotels has its own Corporate Social Responsibility department, he said, so he has clear guidelines to follow. The hotel, with a majority Tibetan staff, attempts to blend with the local culture, working closely with the local village to organize activities and send hotel business to locals, such as renting horses or organizing homestays. The hotel chef also holds a class where he teaches local women about cooking, food safety, and nutrition. ¶8. (C) In addition to their significant role in Shangri-la's hotel industry, ethnic Tibetans appear to share control with Han Chinese over the area's natural tourism resources. For example, the Diqing Prefecture Tourism Investment Company reportedly controls over 80 percent of major scenic spots in the prefecture. A local government worker told Tibetan LES recently that the company is owned by both local ethnic Tibetans and Chinese, and that many Tibetans work for the company. (Note: Ref B discusses post's impression that Tibetans' ability to participate in the economy is one reason Diqing Prefecture has remained the quietest of all ethnic Tibetan areas over the past year. Other reasons include the prefecture's relatively low proportion of both Tibetans and Han versus other nationalities, the presence of ethnically Tibetan officials, and a weaker Tibetan ethnic identity due to early migration of Han into the area. Diqing intellectuals say that the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department, which plays an important role in minorities policy, often visit Diqing Prefecture on study tours to study the reasons for Diqing's stability. End Note.) A Monk's Life: Patriotic Education and Selling Trinkets -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) Qi told CG that religious freedom has liberalized since the reform and opening and if you visit any Tibetan home it will have Buddhist a altar with images of famous Tibetan Buddhist masters. However, he emphasized that "patriotic education" must be carried out in the monasteries, and monks and nuns should promote solidarity among Tibetan Buddhism's different schools. (Note: ConGen staff noticed hanging files of patriotic education newspapers in the local monasteries. According to Tibetan LES, after the March 14 disturbances Han Chinese Communist Party cadres had criticized their ethnic Tibetan counterparts saying, "The Party fills your stomach, but the Dalai Lama fills your mind." End Note.) Some, but not all, monks continue to be assigned to positions by decision of the Democratic Monastic Management Committee. For example, one monk with whom we spoke was selling religious articles at a monastery for one year, leaving him virtually no time to study, he said. Another monk with whom we spoke is currently assigned to a monastic job by the committee for one year, saying either his Buddhist school or the monastic committee will decide his next assignment, though it is possible the committee may simply let the school decide next time, he said. A third monk said he was sent to a small remote temple for one year by his monastery, not the committee. ¶10. (C) Qi praised changes to Chinese law prohibiting those under 18 to enter the monkhood, leaving them to make their own decision as adults. Monks with whom we spoke, however, said the number of monks is steadily declining, in part because delaying religious education until 18 results in some Tibetans having lost interest in a monastic life by that age. At the same time, family planning rules limiting Tibetans to two children mean families can no longer afford to send one of several male children to the monkhood (per tradition),since his help will be needed for herding or agriculture. Nonetheless, an unknown number of Diqing families continue to circumvent the age-18 rule by sending their children to India for study. During a separate trip Shangri-la in July, one Tibetan proudly told PolEconOff CHENGDU 00000181 003.2 OF 004 that 20 students from his village of 200 are currently studying in India. Many were smuggled across the border as children of seven or eight years old, he said. 14th Dalai Lama on Display, But What If No 15th? -------------- --- ¶11. (C) ConGen staff noted several pictures of the Dalai Lama on display, including one at a small hilltop temple with a large and very obvious photo of the Dalai Lama permanently displayed, surrounded by flashing yellow and orange lights. Asked about concern for the photo being seen, the monk, during pauses in his ritual practice and blessings to local Tibetan women who entered during our conversation, said he just covers the picture when local officials visit once or twice a year. Pictures of the deceased 10th Panchen Lama were numerous in all monasteries and temples we visited, but no pictures were spied of the controversial 11th Panchen Lama not recognized by Beijing. One monk showed us his Tibetan religious calendar, produced by the Tibetan exile government and given to him by a monk who had visited India, while another told us of his own trip to India where he secretly met the Dalai Lama. He decided, however, to return as he felt the monastery needed his help. Another monk mentioned that the Chinese Government no longer issued 10-year validity passports to monks, and therefore they must travel illegally without passports. ¶12. (C) Asked what would happen if the current Dalai Lama should decide not to reincarnate as a 15th Dalai Lama (as has been suggested by the Dalai Lama himself),the monk who had met with the Dalai Lama said he was unsure what would happen. Holding back tears, he said it would be up to the Tibetan people and would depend on their karma. PRC Bilingualism: Speak Tibetan, Read Chinese -------------- ¶13. (C) According to Party Secretary Qi, 50 percent of the schools in Diqing offer instruction in Tibetan, utilizing teachers from Qinghai, the Tibetan Autonomous Region, and other ethnically Tibetan areas. Others we spoke with, however, assured us that in Shangri-la itself (Diqing's largest city), the only school that offers Tibetan instruction is the Tibetan Language Middle School (which oddly also includes elementary and high school grades). Businessman Pema Dorje, who himself cannot read Tibetan but said he would like to learn in order to read Buddhist texts, said about 20 percent of local education is available in Tibetan, a number quoted by others. A young girl in the village just outside Shangri-la said no Tibetan is offered at her elementary school or the village middle school. Among several ethnic Tibetans with whom we spoke, none could read Tibetan, though all spoke the local dialect at home. One Tibetan shopkeeper said she studied Chinese instead of Tibetan as she was afraid she would have no job opportunities if she could not read Chinese. (Note: Both Party Secretary Qi and the prefecture governor, also a Tibetan, received Chinese educations and cannot read or write Tibetan. End note.) ¶14. (C) Per ConGenOffs' observations, the apparent lack of education in written Tibetan is reflected in the shortage of Tibetan signage in this ostensibly bilingual autonomous prefecture, evidenced by the fact that while shop signs outside are posted in both Chinese and Tibetan (with the Chinese many times larger than the Tibetan),signage in official buildings appears to be entirely in Chinese. The local Rural Cooperative Bank, where residents can apply for loans, the post office, and even the local hospital only had signs in Chinese (thought the hospital did have "toilet" written in Tibetan). Asked about the lack of Tibetan-language signs in the hospital, two ethnic Tibetan women staffing the hospital registration desk (who also spoke Tibetan at home but could not read it) told PolEconOff that since there are Tibetan-speaking staff at the hospital it is not a problem. (Comment: The women seemed never to have given this question any thought, nor did they seem to think it was a problem since so few Tibetans have learned to read, which was the reaction we got from several Tibetans. End Comment.) Comment: Socialism with Tibetan Characteristics? -------------- --- ¶15. (SBU) Comment: Consistent with previous reporting, the process of "Sinicization" continues in Diqing -- from inadequate offerings of Tibetan education, to a shortage of Tibetan signage, to a string of Han Chinese shopkeepers selling Tibetan cultural items (e.g. at the "Satisfied Minority Race Things" shop). While Diqing's unique history and geography likely contributed to its early susceptibility to Chinese influence CHENGDU 00000181 004.2 OF 004 (reftels),the area's recent boom in tourism may have more dramatic effects, for better or worse. A certain Disney-esque character has taken hold in Shangri-la's old town, but a "Tibetan-ness" still permeates the place (in varying degrees of authenticity),without which Shangri-la's economic potential for tourism would vanish. In this changing economic climate, one sees poor ethnic Tibetans selling vegetables street-side, while Han Chinese sell "Tibetan" products to tourists from brick-and-mortar shops. At the same time, one also sees successful businessmen like Pema Dorje and others thriving. One can only hope Tibetans like Dorje continue to find ways to succeed in the Chinese economy, and that others catch on. ¶16. (SBU) As of yet, at least, Chinese influence here only goes so far: riding to the airport along Shangri-la's newly-built divided highway, we approached a giant white Tibetan stupa serving as a traffic circle where other roads met ours. To our surprise, our Tibetan taxi driver suddenly veered across several lanes of traffic to drive clockwise around the stupa before taking the exit -- the new road and new taxi may be Chinese, but risking life and limb to honor the Buddhist tradition of clockwise circumambulation is decidedly Tibetan. End Comment. BROWN