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Little Tibet Revisited

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 Police presence in Chengdu's Tibetan neighborhood

On the afternoon of March 22, I decided to revisit the Tibetan neighborhood in Chengdu. I was overdue for a Tibetan meal with butter tea, and was wondering what the scene was like in that area given the escalation of violent protests which had occurred in Tibet and western China.

I was immediately struck by the heavy police presence, yet despite police cars with flashing lights every 50 meters and motorcycle cops buzzing back and forth, it seemed quiet. A giant police bus was parked across the street from the Tibetan restaurant where I ate. On the surface, it seemed like business as usual.

Tibetan lunch

Butter tea is very salty. If I had made it to Tibet, I would've made an effort to acquire a taste for it. Instead, I focused on my yak dumplings and yak meat and green pepper stir fry – what turned out to be far too much food for me. Then again, how often does one get to eat yak?

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Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking. For more of his adventures, follow him on Instagram or Twitter.

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Comments

  1. Sam says

    April 16, 2008 at 11:40 am

    :razz: Those dumplings look fantastic! I am now on a quest to find dumplings that look like that in the area… I know, I have to go to China to get them, considering they use Yak.

  2. Sam says

    April 16, 2008 at 6:40 am

    :razz: Those dumplings look fantastic! I am now on a quest to find dumplings that look like that in the area… I know, I have to go to China to get them, considering they use Yak.

  9. Kango Suz says

    April 16, 2008 at 11:44 am

    With the buttery tea- do they add butter to the tea for a creamer or is it the main ingredient?
    Those dumplings… yummy!!!! If I hadn’t already planned my Fish Taco Cart Wednesday luncheon I would be now trying to find some dumplings.

    • Dave says

      April 17, 2008 at 12:34 am

      I’m not sure how they make it, but I bet it’s comforting during the cold nights on the Tibetan plateau.

  10. Kango Suz says

    April 16, 2008 at 4:44 pm

    With the buttery tea- do they add butter to the tea for a creamer or is it the main ingredient?
    Those dumplings… yummy!!!! If I hadn’t already planned my Fish Taco Cart Wednesday luncheon I would be now trying to find some dumplings.

    • Dave says

      April 17, 2008 at 5:34 am

      I’m not sure how they make it, but I bet it’s comforting during the cold nights on the Tibetan plateau.