Wow incredible pictures. Also, 4200km is in the exosphere: I think you mean 4200m :)

I think you're correct :D

I wouldn't put it past those monks to live in orbit ;)

How are solid and liquid wastes dealt with in this town? What does it smell like to walk around the area?

Edit: found an answer further down the thread:

> The hygienic conditions are very poor - people doing their business squatting on the streets, no toilets, rubbish everywhere. I am surprised that was not an argument being made by the government for the demolition.

Thanks so much for posting those pictures. Amazing place! Tragic that they'll be tearing much of it down.

Wow. Those are the most beautiful slums I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing!

I believe those photos are taken with a camera capable of HDR, which definitely puts it in better light than it is in reality - it almost looks photoshopped!

Reality (and our eyesight) is inherently HDR. HDR photos can more accurately represent what humans perceive.

The saturation is really high, which makes the colours look unreal.

Assuming most of those little structures are inhabited, how does this city sustain itself? The land around it does not appear to be cultivated, and there does not appear to be much of a commercial area. That's a lot of people to feed.

Whilst the town itself is built in the upper saddle of a hill, the valley itself is fecund and wide, with many farms.

I would assume that most supplies are brought in..

Most male student there, can get a scholarship from the school, about 200-500 USD per month.

It's seldom known to westerners but many knowledgeable Chinese know that there are financial aid programs for minorities. Similar to that of financial support from Canadian government to the natives in northern Canada.

In other words, the money from tax payers of developed areas in China feeds the people. The purpose of the programs is also quite similar to the Canadian government, (at least in the beginning): the people in those area need support.

Unbelievable? I choose some source which can not be some propaganda from Chinese government to partially collaborate my claim (the source of income): http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB868829960463522500 (BTW, the subjective speculation by the author about the motivation of the financial aid can satisfied the western readers but is far from the truth. These false claims happen all the time in almost all western media. The lies fuels anger and nationalism inside China which is not healthy in my personal view. Nobody in western world are aware of that)

Another policy that is favorable to the minorities is the notorious "One Child Policy": All the Han Chinese can have only one child while the minorities include Tibetans are not restricted by the rule.

Those information were never told by western journalist and Free Tibet Movement because they are opposite to the common belief that Chinese government is oppressive regime. The sprite of "Truth, nothing but truth" exist in science/technology/engineering. In politics and religion lies spread.

"Politics, like religion, is a topic where there's no threshold of expertise for expressing an opinion. All you need is strong convictions." --Paul Graham http://www.paulgraham.com/identity.html

Why should an entire nation of people be satisfied with 'minority' status? There's a much simpler solution: 'self determination'. Furthermore, in this instance, it has a compelling precedent: Tibet, which China invaded in 1950.

> Why should an entire nation of people be satisfied with 'minority' status?

Because they are not an independent nation, and actually are a minority in the bigger nation they are part of ?

It's pathetic that you are being downvoted for merely stating facts. I know this happpens on Reddit, but didn't think it would on HN.

Thanks for sharing the photos. There is one showing a metal rooftop with logs and rocks on top. Why are the logs and rocks on top of the roof?

Not OP but I'd guess they're to help keep the sheet metal from blowing off the roof.

I've seen the same sort of thing in pre-industrial-era Japanese house design. My guess, is that although the roof is fixed down, it helps to have it also weighted down with big rocks when the wind picks up. Japan gets typhoons, and I think Tibet is kinda windy on account of being high up.

Right, I had always assumed that it was to keep the roof on. For the reply below, temperatures vary wildly, as it's in altitude - even between the shade and sun in summer, there's a large variation, and in winter, it gets coooold.

It's probably a temperature thing? A metal roof probably gets really hot. I have no idea what the temperatures there are though...

Gorgeous pictures.

I know next to nothing about this area but my first uninformed thought is as neat and cool as the pictures are how do I know this isn't actually a slum? As an example the Kowloon Walled City arguably needed to be destroyed. It was amazing but its existence was arguably a human rights violation and its destruction was arguably the right thing to do, even though I personally found the place super intriguing.

Does any of that fit this situation? In the Kowloon case afaik the government provided housing for all those displaced. Not just housing but better and safer housing on probably nearly every axis.

Love the photos! Could you share info on what gear you used?

Thanks! Shot on a Canon 5D, with a very battered 70-200L F4, and a 16-35 F2.8.

Have a selection from the smartphone that came out very nicely too, surprisingly!

That looks like a clean and civilized first class city compared to parts of Mexico that I drive through regularly.

Fantastic photos, thank you for sharing

I've been to Kangding and Tagong before, how far is it from those places?

Not far from Kangding. You will pass Kangding if you go there from Chengdu.

Geez... thanks for sharing

thanks for the pictures,t they are amazing! So is the place... I hope China will revert its decision, it would be incredibly sad to loose this :(((

agreed!!

hey, what camera settings did you use for those pictures? they are amazing

Camera settings don't matter -- and they would vary from picture to picture and on different camera and lens models anyway. Plus, they won't apply as is to any other lighting condition.

It's all about the subject being inherently nice, and getting the framing as the photographer intended and the exposure right.

So sad. I wish India would step in and relocate them. Buddhism is one of the few religions that aim for legitimate rise of consciousness and it would be a shame to lose institutions dedicated to it.

It looks amazing, but it's still a slum. Unsafe structures, little to no policing, no sanitation or hygiene.

Rebuilding would destroy the history, but probably be better overall for the people living there.

I haven't seen any policeman at there. They are poor because their only income is donation. They are students without families. Even they have a new place, it won't change.