A Photographic Tibetan Adventure

• Travel into seldom visited parts of Eastern Tibet
• Become involved in the Litang Horse which includes horseracing, Tibetan-style wrestling, archery, shooting and folk dancing
• Cross a wide range of landscapes including tributary valleys of the great Asian rivers, scree covered mountain passes and across vast green pastureland

This is a journey across the Tibetan plateau which will start in one of China’s most populous cities, Chengdu and end in Xining, capital of Qinghai Province.

The early part of the tour is based in the Kham region of Sichuan Province and will then cross into the Amdo region of Qinghai. Then travel across a wide range of landscapes and through large tributary valleys of the great Asian rivers, across high scree covered mountain passes and across vast green pastureland.

This is the time of the horse festival when Tibetans participate in horse racing, wrestling, lifting weights and partying so it is hoped that you will come across a festival.

Day 1  Fly London Heathrow/ Dubai/ Beijing – Overnight flight to Beijing.

Day 2  Arrive Beijing – Arrive and transfer to hotel.

Day 3  Fly Beijing/ Chengdu – Arrive and transfer to hotel.

Day 4  Drive Chengdu / Kangding (Dartsedo) – Drive along tributary valleys of the Yangtse River to Kangding, an historic tea trading centre.

Day 5  Drive Kangding (Dartsedo)/ Litang – Drive to Litang where on nearing the town large herds of yak can usually be seen grazing. The pastureland is dotted with the black yak hair tents of nomads.

Day 6 and 7  Litang – Two days exploring the nearby monasteries, seeing the nomadic camps of the Tibetan herders and looking at flora and fauna. Also take in the Litang Horse Festival, a gathering of Tibetans who participate in horseracing, Tibetan-style wrestling, archery, shooting and folk dancing.

Day 8  Drive Litang / Batang – Set in fertile valley, Batang was on the border between Han China and the Tibetan World. Europeans including American Protestants and French Catholics lived and worked here prior to 1949.

Day 9  Batang – A leisurely day visiting the town and monasteries. Gina will chat about Tibetan costume.

Day 10  Drive Batang/ Baiyu (Pelyul) – Travel through beautiful mountain landscapes with extensive blushes of wild flowers that clothe the river valleys.

Day 11  Drive Baiyu (Pelyul)/ Dege (Derge) – Another day of dramatic scenery with limestone scarps forming a stunning backdrop to a high pass. A short drive with multiple stops to photograph the landscape, flowers and people herding their yaks and flocks of sheep.

Day 12  Dege (Derge) – Many consider this the heartland of Kham culture and it still has many aspects of traditional life. Visit a printing house where hand cut wooden blocks are used to produce sutras and a paper making outlet.

Day 13  Drive Derge/ Manigango – Drive to Manigango.

Day 14  Drive Manigango/ Serxu – Drive to Serxu across mountain passes decked with fluttering prayer flags and cairns of stones. Visit the monastery at Serxu.

Day 15  Drive Serxu / Madoi (Matoi) – Cross into Qinghai Province over a mountain pass. There are Tibetan villages along the way where men and women can often be seen spinning yak and sheep wool.

Day 16  Drive Madoi (Matoi)/ Xining (Ziling) – A day full of variety. Hopefully you will see wild horses and a species of deer. Birds of prey are usually seen. Nearing the urban areas crops of wheat and rape are grown. Xining itself is a modern high city, a complete contrast to the terrain that you have travelled through.

Day 17  Fly Xining (Ziling)/ Beijing/ Dubai – Time at leisure in Beijing. Gina will be on hand to make suggestions for visits. Transfer to airport for departure flight.

Day 18  Fly Dubai/ London Heathrow – Arrive in London.

Gina Corrigan

Gina Corrigan, BSc. MEd. FRPS., was born and educated in England. She completed a London external BSc degree while teaching and then went on to Nottingham University to study for a Masters degree in Education. After gaining her Masters degree, she changed course, helping to plan tours to China during the 1970’s. In 1980, she launched her own company, Occidor Adventure Tours, which organised special interest tours to China. Gina led many of the tours herself and has travelled extensively for over 35 years throughout China, pioneering new programmes.

In 1987 Gina organised her first textile tour to S.W. China and from then on, became fascinated by the textiles. She began collecting costumes and textiles from Guizhou because she was concerned that they were going to disappear from everyday use. Her collection has been exhibited at three major venues in U.K: James Hockey Gallery, Farnham; The Holburne Museum, Bath: and the Glasgow School of Art. Accompanying lectures were given. In 1998, Gina’s collection of over fifty Miao costumes was acquired by the British Museum with a documentation file for each costume, containing illustrative material from her large collection of related photographs. A selection of the costumes was exhibited at the British Museum in the new B.P. gallery in 1998. Her book published by the British Museum followed, based on the Miao collection. Her personal collection of other minority costumes toured museums in Hampshire in 2007 and her additional Miao collection was exhibited at Birmingham, London, Harrogate and Dublin at the prestigious Knitting and Stitching Shows 2007.

She continues to study the textiles, visiting Guizhou frequently, carrying out further research and taking at least one textile tour every year. Gina lectures widely on Guizhou textiles and speaks regularly to Embroiderers’ Guilds throughout UK. She has lectured on various subjects relating to the Miao, at the Hong Kong and Kuwait Textile Societies, The Oxford Asian Textile Society, The Royal Geographic Society, The International Batik Conference in Ghent, The Museum der Kulturen, Basel and at the International Forum on Guizhou Rural Tourism in Guiyang 2004. Gina’s greatest love is photography and she gained her Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Gallery using a selection of Chinese images. Her photographs have been published in a wide range of books and articles. Gina was co-author of a geography textbook of China.

She wrote and illustrated the Odyssey Guide to Guizhou, which was published in 1995 and updated in 2001. A photographic book entitled “Images of China” was published in 1997. In 2003 Gina organised and chaired a research team studying some of her Miao textiles. This resulted in the publication in 2005 of ‘Miao Embroidery from South West China’ by Ruth Smith and a second companion book on Guizhou minorities entitled ‘Ethnic Minority Costumes: Textile Techniques from SW China’ edited by Ruth Smith was published in 2007. Gina has provided all the photographs and written the chapters on fibres, indigo, dyes and finishes, skirt pleating and wax resist, as well as the introduction and conclusion. The book, with a gallery of the costumes of Guizhou, has been well received.

Other tours led by this lecturer:

• Japan - Textile and Photographic tour