Bettering Tibet

The largest Buddhist academy in the world lies deep in the mountains of the Chinese province of Sichuan. Larung Gar is a holy place of Tibetan Buddhism, where some 10,000 monks and nuns train. Here, under the auspices of a Chinese government antipoverty program, infrastructure "betterment" projects have been launched, aiming to turn the area into a tourist destination. The government has also pushed the resettlement and concentration of Tibetan nomads, education in Chinese language, and patriotic indoctrination. The past 3 years have brought major changes to the lifestyles of Tibetans, who have preserved their unique culture and religious traditions for over a millennium. This carefully documented, on-the-ground report provides the world's first window on these developments.