Tens of Thousands of Chinese Tourists on the Indian Border

A few days ago, China Tibet News published an article entitled ‘Enjoying Prosperous Life’.
It described some worrying developments on the border with China in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Chinese government website reported: “In recent years, a series of tourism infrastructure construction projects have been implemented and constantly improved in Tsona County, Shannan City, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Farmers and herdsmen, whose tourism reception capacity and service quality have been significantly enhanced, have unprecedented enthusiasms to participate in tourism industry.”
This development is taking at a time when the 19th-century Inner Line Permit is still a must for Indian tourists, visiting the Tawang District of Arunachal.
The infrastructure on the Chinese side is linked to several villages known as Xiaogang villages (the literal meaning of ‘Xiaogang’ is ‘moderately well-off’).
The astonishing news is that according to the website, a total of 55,943 people visited in 2018: “Legpo (Lepo) Valley scenic spot, the tourism revenue reached 25.64 million yuan RMB, realizing year-on-year growths of 41.6 percent and 60.5 percent respectively.”
Nearly 56,000 visited Lepo located a few kilometers north from the Line of Actual Control (LAC); it is difficult to realize that this village had only a few huts and probably less 50 inhabitants five years ago. (Khenzimane is the nearby border post and Zeminthang and Shoksen are the first Indian villages on the Indian side of the LAC).
The Chinese website adds: “In July 2019, Lepo Valley scenic spot was awarded with the title of ‘China Natural Oxygen Bar’.”
It must be tempting for the Chinese tourists.

What are the Xiaogang Villages?
For the Communist Party, an important event took place in 1978: 18 farmers in Xiaogang village, in Anhui Province, signed a secret agreement to divide collectively-owned farmland into individual pieces and drop the collectivization of the Great Leap Forward (GLF), which between 1958 and 1960 resulted in some 40 million casualties; in Xiaogang itself, 67 villagers out of 120 had died of starvation between 1958 and 1960.
Forty years later, the name ‘Xiaogang’ is been used for a different project: the building of a large number of ‘model’ villages in Tibet, along the border with India.
On October 19, 2018, the same China Tibet News had reported that since the beginning of the year, Tsona County, north of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang District, has been “vigorously promoting the construction of border ‘Xiaogang’ villages’.
Already in 2018, Tsona County had invested 519 million yuan (US$ 74 million) in the construction projects of nine border villages, benefiting 1,961 people from 617 households. More than 40% of the project has then been completed, and an investment of 2.2 billion yuan (US$ 314 million) spent.
In May 2018, China Tibet News affirmed that Lepo, the first village in Tibet, north of the border boasted of a rich vegetation and clear waters: “With impressive natural scenery and unique ethnic customs, Magmang ecological civilization village is also situated in Lepo Valley, Tsona County.
Magmang is another hamlet.
The website said: "The construction of Magmang ecological civilization demonstration village began on March of 2014 and was completed on December. On January of 2015, the village was inaugurated and a year later, Magmang was awarded 'China's beautiful leisure village' by the Ministry of Agriculture."
China has 26 national key tourist attractions; the Lepo Valley, close to the Thagla ridge, which saw the first clashes between India and China in October 1962, is one of them.
The new tourist scheme, "Slowing down the speed of tour, enjoying the sea of azaleas in Lepo Valley", prolonged the peak season, explained the Chinese authorities.

A 1962 War Memorial
Near Lepo, north of the Thagla ridge of the 1962 fame, a war memorial can be found; it was the Forward Command Post of General Zhang Guohua, who commanded the PLA operations against India in 1962. His headquarter has been reconstituted and is opened to visitors. It is located in Marmang village, the other hamlet north of Lepo.
‘Information Warfare’ will certainly be an important part of any battle tomorrow.
This memorial is an instrument of disinformation.
The gazetted national-level historical site mentions the ‘Sino-India Self Defense Counter Attack Battles’; it paints the Indian troops as the 'attackers' in 1962; hotels are already mushrooming to tell this to the visitors.
Incidentally on March 30, 1959, the Dalai Lama spent his last night in Tibet in Magmang; he was on his way to India. The next day, he crossed the border at Khenzimane. He would certainly not recognize these villages.

The Party carries the people in its heart …when they are away from the border

'Happy' relocated Tibetans in their new home

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) policy on the Indian borders is two-fold: one, to build ‘model’ villages (the villagers are said the ‘Guardians of the sacred land and the builders of happy homes’); two, to relocate recalcitrant Tibetans to place further away from the sensitive Indian borders.

Li Keqiang’s visit
Remember Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Southern Tibet on July 25. The Premier went directly to Nyingchi (Nyingtri in Tibetan) Prefecture (now City) bordering Arunachal Pradesh.
He visited a village (Shiga village?) in Mainling County; it is a new village inhabited by Monpas.
Why Monpas in this area?
According to a press release, the inhabitants of this ‘Monpa’ village have been relocated from 'impoverished areas'.
The ‘impoverished’ region is the wealthy Metok County.
The Chinese Premier asked a ‘relocated’ villager: “What is the main source of income? How much could you make in a year? What about your health care and children’s education? What kind of difficulties do you still have now?”
Kunsang, one of the villagers, told Li that his family moved from Metok County, where ‘road travel is fairly difficult’.
This is rather surprising considering that after a tunnel was opened in 2013, the area is doing rather well, thanks to the tea plantation and large income brought by tourism; at the same time, the Chinese propaganda kept insisting that Metok, after the arrival of the all-weather road (via the tunnel), is doing well.
Better communications, are the positive ‘changes’ often mentioned for Metok.
Kunsang explained to the Premier that his family has now an income of 150,000 yuan a year (US $ 2,400), thanks to farming and tourism. Further, the State “ensured health care service and children’s education program.” There are a total of 72 households in the new ‘relocated’ village and 90% of families have similar income. Li affirmed that he was really pleased “to see that the villagers have cast off poverty, though the relocation program and lived a prosperous life.”
It is difficult to understand why this family was shifted from Metok to Mainling County. The only reason can be: the Party wants only ‘safe’ Tibetans on the borders with India.

Received by the border forces

Strengthening the border north of Bhutan
A few days ago, another article appeared in the French edition of China Tibet Online, it was titled: “Relocation of the villagers of Lhodrak: mission over”
It affirmed “After a first wave of successful relocation on October 15, a second wave is now over.”
Lhodrak, the legendary birthplace of Marpa the Translator is located north of the Bhutanese border.
An explanation is given with several telling pictures: “The villagers' relocation project represents the completion of scheme which is part of the strategy of the CPP’s Central Committee's for strengthening of the border. It is also a good example to illustrate that ‘the Party carries the people in its heart’, it provides a housing solution to families in need, and a strengthening of the masses on the borders and a strengthening of the border defence.”
Tibetan ‘uniforms’ are clearly provided for the photo op.

Relocation started long ago
On October 19, The China Daily published another article on “Relocation raises living standards for Lhopas”.
Lhopa or Lhobas, according to Wikipedia is “any of a diverse amalgamation of Sino-Tibetan-speaking tribes living in and around Pemako, a region in southeastern Tibet.” It included Metok and Zayul counties in Nyingchi Prefecture and Lhuntse County in Lhoka (also known as Shannan). The Chinese government officially recognizes Lhoba as one of the 56 ethnic minorities in China.
The article affirmed: “The lives of members of the Lhoba ethnic group in the Tibet Autonomous Region have improved markedly in recent decades, thanks to the reform and opening-up policy that was launched 40 years ago.”
What were these reforms?
It is explained that until about 50 years ago, the Lhobas were savage, they lived in the forest as hunters: “Now, about 3,000 Lhobas live in Tibet, in sparse communities such as the group in Mainling county.”
A Lhoba named Dawa was interviewed by the newspaper: "As hunters on the mountain, we lived in simple wooden sheds and our diet mainly consisted of meat from animals we hunted, corn we grew, and a few edible wild herbs. People often suffered from hunger, and they were forced to exchange bears' gallbladders and the skins of the animals they hunted for daily necessities such as grain, salt, tea leaves and clothes.”
But in 1985, a first group of 18 households, totaling 80 people including Dawa, were relocated from remote mountain and forest areas to Tsedro, a village where they were given houses, fields and livestock. Since then, the number of households has risen to 41, with more than 190 people.
This was probably one of the first cases of ‘relocation’.
But today’s relocation is done more systematically way and on a much larger scale.

The Modern Villages
On October 19, China Tibet News reported that since the beginning of 2018, Tsona County, near of Tawang District of Arunachal Pradesh has been “vigorously promoting the construction of border well-off villages.”
We are told that Tsona County has invested 519 million yuan in the construction projects of 9 border well-off villages which can benefit 1961 people of 617 households. Some 42.3% of the total project quantity has been completed, and an investment of 2.2 billion yuan has been spent.
In May, China Tibet News said that Lepo Valley, the first village in Tibet, north of the Tawang district, boasted of a rich vegetation and clear waters: “With impressive natural scenery and unique ethnic customs, Magmang ecological civilization village is also situated in Lepo Valley, Tsona County. …The construction of Magmang ecological civilization demonstration village began on March of 2014 and was completed on December. On January of 2015, this village was put into operation. In 2016, Magmang village was awarded the name "China's beautiful leisure village’ by China's Ministry of Agriculture.”
China has 26 national key tourist attractions; Lepo Valley is on the list.
A new scheme is now implemented, "Slowing down the speed of tour, enjoying the sea of azaleas in Lepo Valley", it prolonged the peak season said the authorities.
Dekyi Tsomo, a 27-year-old villager of Magmang, told the journalist: "Previously, houses in the village looked fairly rundown, and all roads leading to the village are muddy. Nowadays, the houses we live in are comfortable and big, with underfloor heating and hot water supply. This kind of house costs more than 400,000 yuan. We only pay 120,000 yuan, the other is paid by the government. Facilities in family inns are provided by the government, for which we all feel grateful.”
The Chinese website concludes: “Magmang village persists in following the notion that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, focusing on the ecological conservation and promoting ecotourism.”
Incidentally on March 30, 1959, the Dalai Lama spent his last night in Tibet in Magmang; he was on his way to India. The next day, he crossed the border in Khenzimane/Chuthangmu.
Since then, he never returned to Tibet. He would certainly not recognize the ‘model’ villages.

China develops India's borders: one stone, many birds

Tsona village, north of Tawang district

A quick review at the Chinese press related to Tibet during the last few weeks shows an extremely worrying trend for India.
While the Indian media has been concentrating on Doklam, the happenings on the other side of the border, especially north of Arunachal Pradesh are disturbing.
A few weeks ago, an article in The Tibet Daily mentioned these new developments: “Making the border villages prosperous and well-off is the top priority of the poverty alleviation campaign."
China's second objective is to build-up the border defenses.
It says that some 628 border villages needed to be turned into prosperous and well off administrative villages.
But let us go through some of the articles/comments.

Border Representation at the National people’s Congress
During the recently-concluded National People's Congress (NPC), Phurbu Dhondup, a deputy and Governor of Lhoka, said there were 96 such border villages in Lhoka Prefecture alone.
He asserted that the provinces of Hunan, Hubei and Anhui would help Lhoka “make the dramatic transition" from poor border villages to prosperous ones with electricity, first rate access roads, irrigation systems and potable water.
The participation of the 'rich' provinces of China in the scheme is to be noted.
As earlier mentioned in this blog, Drokar (alias Choekar) has been in the news.
Other delegates from the borders with India are:

1. Tashi Gyaltsen, a 29 year old Lhoba who worked in building village organization
2. Mi-ma Guo-ji, (his Tibetan name is not clear), a young man who builds electricity transmission lines to villages.
3. Kesang Dikyi who comes from Metok, north of Tuting sector of Arunachal, which recently witnessed a border intrusion (with Chinese excavators). She is a primary school teacher in a village near Metok.
   As mentioned earlier, Kelsang Dekyi was born in 1978, symbolically the beginning of an era which saw the Chinese people “relying on knowledge to change its destiny;” she grew up in Metok County “once a remote, poverty-stricken, and information-poor area.”
   Kelsang Dekyi told a press conference in Beijing: “Our school building was very poor; teachers and students had to pick grass to cover the roof. The grass was taller than we were, so when we were walking back we'd often trip, and we often had our hands cut. However, if we didn't pick the grass, we couldn't cover the roof, and rainwater would leak into the classroom."

The CPPCC’s TAR delegation has a member from the border area, a Loba lady from Tsari village, east of Yume.
Let us remember that the Tsari chu (river) enters India south of Migyitun which saw the first border incident between India and China in August 1959 (Longju).
The lady cadre is called by what seems a Chinese
name, Gong-jue Qu-zhen.

All townships in Tibet to be reached
On March 4, Xinhua announces ‘Highways to reach all townships in Tibet by 2020’.
 The article says: “Tibet will strive to make highways reach all townships and administrative villages by 2020 in a bid to boost rural development. …By 2020, all townships which meet necessary conditions and 80 percent of administrative villages would have access to bus service.”
This includes the border villages, north of Arunachal, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and Ladakh.
According to a senior transport official of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), “road construction will help the region reduce poverty and increase the income of farmers and herders, according to the official.”
In 2018, the region will launch projects to make 13 townships and more than 1,000 villages connected by asphalt or cement roads. Rural road mileage in Tibet is currently 60,421 km, compared with 53,244 km in 2012.
In other words, 'an integrated transportation system'.

The Dual Mission
The objective is dual, poverty alleviation and ‘protection' of the border.
When the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) entered Lhasa in September 1951, General Zhang Jingwu, the representative of the CPC’s Central Committee told Sumul Sinha, the head of the Indian Mission in Lhasa that the Chinese had come to Tibet for two reasons only (he spoke of ‘a dual mission’): to eliminate all imperialist influences and to improve the standard of living of the Tibetans.
Of course, there was no ‘imperialist influence’ on the Roof of the World, but poverty was there.
What is surprising is that, 66 years later, the Chinese government still speaks about fighting poverty on the Tibetan plateau.
It means a colossal failure for the Communist State.
The new Helmsman wants to rectify this.
An article in China Tibet Online recently noted: “Through the establishment of archives, and accurate identification of those requiring help, the number of poverty-stricken people has reduced by more than 500,000 in the last four years. The TAR's Poverty Alleviation Office has gradually established a targeted poverty alleviation system, whereby the causes of poverty are analyzed and the limited special funds are used on the poor people.”
Apart from the Targeted Poverty Alleviation, the article speaks of Industry Poverty Alleviation, Education Poverty Alleviation, Tourism Poverty Alleviation, Health Poverty Alleviation, while asserting: “Tibet explores the practice of ‘the rich helping the poorer to wealth’, and uses the capable people as one of the main driving forces of poverty alleviation.”
One Tsering, deputy director of the Lhasa Poverty Alleviation Office, told the website: "these capable people have experience, skills and the mind, and also have the ability to help the poor escape poverty. With some help they are running a series of projects, which can provide the poor families with an income salary as well as a bonus and other secure incomes. The results are clear to see.”
For Beijing, tourism is perhaps the best way to alleviate poverty ...and to protect the border (by buying the local population on China's side).
And provinces have been called to the rescue to 'invest'.
It is worrying, because there is no doubt that each investor will want a 'return'. What does it mean for Tibet is difficult to predict.

Infrastructure development
On March 23, VTIBET.com writes ‘Tibet builds integrated transportation system.'
The website publishes a photo of the new roads, taken near Gongkar Lhasa Airport with the caption “expressway from Lhasa to Zedang (Tsetang in Tibetan) Township of Lhoka City.”
The article says: “In the past five years, China has been increasing the investment in infrastructure construction in Tibet Autonomous Region. An integrated transportation system based on highway, railway, aviation and pipeline has been built up to now, which provided a strong support for the economic development and prolonged stability of Tibet Autonomous Region.”
The repetition of the word ‘stability’ while speaking of the region, probably means that presently the TAR is not too ‘stable’.

How to stabilize Tibet?
By bringing millions of tourists who will bring good revenue to the local population.
How to stabilize the borders?
By bringing millions of tourists to the borders and develop the border villages

Another site en.tibetol.cn mentions the 'New highway to link Chamdo with Tibet’s highest-altitude airport.'
It says that the construction of the Chamdo-Bamda Airport section of the National Highway 214, linking Tibet's highest-altitude airport at an elevation of 4,334 meters to Chamdo city has started. It will greatly help to develop tourism in Eastern Tibet.
The article asserts that the distance of 120 kilometers can be presently covered in two hours; once the new highway is completed, it will take just one hour: “The highway will also facilitate communication between east Tibet and the outside.”
Some technical details are given: “The first phase is to be completed within 24 months. 21 mega bridges, 11 medium bridges, 2 tunnels and 11 cross-river bridges will be built along the 26.9 kilometers highway with a design speed of 80km/h. Tibet has already opened seven high-level roads including the Lhasa-Nyingchi road, with a total length of 660 kilometers.”
Another site, China Tibet Online notes that  'Tibet on fast track to facilitate travelers'.
According to Wang Songping, head of the Tourism Development Committee of Tibet: “The increasingly improved transportation infrastructure has allowed travelers to spend less time on road as they tour in Tibet.
Wang said that highways, railways and airports have improved continuously to facilitate travelers' trips and meet their need to move fast on their way to scenic spots.
With most part of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Highway opened to traffic, “it will be more convenient for travelers to pay a visit to Nyingchi,” noted Wang.
All this infrastructure being built for 'dual use' (civil and military), means that ultimately, it will bring more pressure on the Indian border.

Extended tourist season
The season has been extended and winter is promoted as the best season to visit the Roof of the World.
Photos appeared on one website showing the scenery in Lhasa: “the Potala Palace is extremely beautiful after the strongest snowfall since last year's winter arrives in Lhasa, capital city of southwest China's Tibet.”
Note the Land of Snows, is always called ‘China’s Tibet’.
Would we write in India, ‘India’s Tamil Nadu or India’s Arunachal’?
No.
Does it mean that China is not sure if Tibet is China's?
Beijing seems to have a serious problem here.
Other pictures show a Park in Lhasa, capital of China's Tibet, “after the strongest snowfall since last year's winter arrives in the evening of March 17, 2018;” another illustration pictures a child is playing in the snow.

Developing the Indian Borders
I often wrote about Yume, the hamlet north of the McMahon (Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh).
In October 2017, Chairman Xi Jinping had written a letter to two young Tibetan herders who had introduced their village to the Chinese President.
A letter from the Emperor always shows the trend in the Kingdom.

Yume village

The Global Times recently reported: "A sparsely populated township in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has been connected to the state electricity grid, ending life without electricity for its 32 residents."
The village is Yume.
The Global Times' article quotes the contractor, a Xining-based electric power company who worked on the project: "The 15-kilometer 10-kilovolt power line, which took five months to complete, is connected to remote Yulmed [Yume] Township in Luntse [Luntse] county, Shannan [Lhoka], via 108 electric poles over a 5,000-meter-high mountain."
According to the tabloid, Yume (also spelt Yulmed) is located "at an average elevation of 3,650 meters above sea level and its population was once just a three-member household. Currently, it has nine households."
It is further explained that in 2008, the local government built a small hydropower station, but the project failed to meet the increasing power demands of the 32 residents: "Due to improved living standards and growing need for electricity of the residents, power outages were frequent."
But that is not all.

Uplifting the border villages
The China Daily recently announced: "Investment in infrastructure in the Tibet Autonomous Region is helping to lift 628 villages along the border out of poverty." It further asserted: "After getting access to electricity and the construction of new roads, tea farmers and herdsmen in a village some 200 kilometers southwest of Lhasa in Tsona county founded a cooperative that provides skills training and job opportunities for villagers."
Tsona is located north of Tawang district of Arunachal.
The area has been extensively developed.
In November 2016, I wrote The Chinese tourists arrive on the Indian border. It was about the village between Tsona and the Indian border. 
Now China admits: "Starting last year, more than 100 million yuan (15,263 million US dollars) has been invested in infrastructure in the village of less than 100 families as a part of a broader construction project to build model villages with moderate prosperity in the border area. The construction of well-off villages along the border is designed to advance the living and working conditions in surrounding villages." 
The China Daily estimated that the road access rate in the area will reach 100 percent and the per capita disposable income will double by the year of 2020.

Dances in Tsona

Tsona again in the news
On March 23, China Tibet News reports, “Tibet’s border villages speed up development of rural tourism.”
The short article is accompanied by a photo showing “the beautiful border village in Tsona: “the construction of Tibet's border moderately prosperous villages, tourism in border villages develops rapidly. Tsona County, Shannan City of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, makes great efforts to boost rural tourism, which also increases the income of local villagers.”
Again in China’s TAR!
Tsona is also been linked with Tsangyang Gyaltso, the Sixth Dalai Lama born in Urgyeling, near Tawang. He would have stayed in Tsona on his way to Lhasa to be enthroned. Every year, a Tsangyang Gyaltso Festival is being organized by the Communist authorities, who, when it is convenient, promote the Dalai Lamas.

Chumbi Valley

Danses in Yatung (Dromo)

On February 28, VTIBET.com mentions that “Dromo County held sending culture and art to villagers activities”.
Though the title is not very clear, Dromo is the Tibetan name for the Chumbi Valley, east of Sikkim.
Probably due the vicinity of Dolkam, the activities were not only ‘cultural’, a photo showed officers from People’s Court of Dromo County handing out ‘basic legal knowledge’ leaflets to villagers.
What were these ‘legal leaflets’ about is not clear?
That the entire Chumbi Valley belongs to China?
Other illustrations shows Dromo County’s folk art troupe “performing wonderful song and dance programs.”
Nothing has been published in the railway line to Yatung in Chumbi Valley recently.
China is keeping quiet about it, since the Doklam episode.

Ngari, Western Tibet
According to VTIBET.com, the prefecture of Ngari received over 660,000 visitors in 2017
The website says: "Ngari, an ancient prefecture located in West Tibet, received a total of more than 660,000 domestic and overseas visitors last year, with a year-on-year growth of 20 percent. The tourism revenue totaled about 750 million yuan, up by 10 percent over the same period last year.”
Ngari Tourism Bureau affirms “Hailed as ‘Roof of the Roof of the World’, Ngari, at an average elevation of 4,500 meters above, is the birthplace of the four major rivers in Asia. It’s the place where the Himalayas, the Gangdise, the Kunlun Mountains and Karakorum Mountains meet. …There are great mountains, beautiful lakes, vast grasslands and spectacular snow mountains in Ngari. Famous tourist landscapes, including Mapam Yumtso [Manasarovar], Kangrinpoche [Kailash], Guge Kingdom Relics [Tsaparang, Tholing], Piyang-Donggar Caves Relics, Zanda Clay Forest.”
According to Liu Qilin, deputy director of Ngari Tourism Development and Reform Commission: “In 2017, more than 12,000 farmers and herdsmen in Ngari participated in tourism industry, creating income of 153 million yuan, and promoting tourism development of 11 poor villages with tourism development conditions.”
Further, it is said that 12 new tourism projects were built in Ngari last year, with a total investment of about 11,62 million yuan, and a total of 96.6 million yuan budget was approved by the central government to invest 6 key tourism projects that were declared to the 13th Five-Year Plan.

The Pangong Lake

Pangong tso from the Indian side

The report also mentioned Pangong tso (lake), “inscribed in 50 awe-inspiring natural wonders by CNN.”
Part of the lake is in eastern Ladakh, part in Ngari: “This beautiful lake sits at an elevation of 4,350 meters. The lake and sky are both amazing shades of blue that make it become one of the must see scenes.”
The quick development of tourism in Western Tibet is bound to bring more pressure on the Indian border in Uttarakhand and Ladakh.
And this without mentioning, “the smooth progress towards the world's highest altitude gravitational wave telescopes in Tibet Autonomous Region to detect the faintest echoes resonating from the universe, a project insider disclosed.”
During the CPPCC’s 13th National Committee, Zhang Xinmin, chief scientist of the project said that the main part for the first stage of the ‘Ngari plan’, which was launched by China in March 2017 to eyeball the Big Bang cosmic waves at Ngari, is almost completed,
Zhang, a senior researcher at the Institute of High Energy Physics in the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) observed that the project will start operations in 2020 and observation results will be available in 2022.
More tourists in view.

Tibet to limit visitors for 'high quality' tourism
On March 22, according to The Global Times, China's Tibet “vows to control the number of visitors in the region's scenic spots, including Mount Chomolangma, known as Mount Everest in the West.
This is what Qi Zhala (or Che Dralha), chairman of the TAR and a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress, told the China National Radio (CNR)
Tibet will develop ‘high quality’ tourism: “The number of tourists will be strictly restricted at some scenic spots. We introduced a cap of 5,000 visitors for the Patala [Potala] Palace in summer, and we will strictly control the number of tourists to Mount Chomolangma."
Che also admitted that “Tourism is the main channel for the opening-up of the region's economic development and the main force to improve residents' lives,” he added that “developing tourism must stick to the bottom line of environmental protection.”
With the winter tourism promotion scheme offers free admission to 115 major tourist attractions in the region, including the Potala Palace, from February 1 to April 30, plus discounted fares for hotels, local transport, flights and train services.

Some conclusions
In Tibet, China is pursuing a dual policy to tackle ‘poverty alleviation’ and ‘protect' its borders (with India).
Tourism is used in the grand scale to achieve these two objectives.
The support of the ‘rich’ provinces of China is also asked for.
To develop the borders means to ‘stabilize’ the borders.
By 'stabilizing' the border areas, Beijing protects its borders.
Extensive ‘dual use’ (civil and military) infrastructure is built for the purpose.
This creates a worrying scenario for India.