The Best of Yushu 玉树 : Discover 5 Things To Do Among Tibetan Nomads in Qinghai Province
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Yushu (玉树; Yùshù; also known as Gyêgu, “Gyêgudo”, “Jyekundo” or “Jiegu”) is a town in Qinghai Province located on high rolling grasslands at 3,700 metres (12,100 ft).
Yushu has an alpine subarctic climate with long, cold, very dry winters, and short, rainy, and mild summers. Average low temperatures are below freezing from early/mid October to late April; however, due to the intense high altitude sun the average high never goes below the freezing mark during this long winter season. In November, the city receives 2,496 hours of bright sunshine annually. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −7.6 °C (18.3 °F) in January to 12.7 °C (54.9 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 3.22 °C (37.8 °F). As with most areas in northwest Sichuan and southwest Qinghai, about 74% of the annual precipitation of 486 mm (19.1 in) is delivered in the relatively rainy season from June to September.
Highlights of your visit to Yushu may include a walk up the hill to the Jiegu monastery, also known as the Jyekundo Dondrubling Monastery, which has an excellent view over the town below.
The Gyanak (Jiana) Mani Stone Pile, Tibet’s largest pile of sacredly engraved stones with 100’s of pilgrims that walk and prostrate around its perimeter, is a 30-40min walk to the east on the main road. Or it’s convenient to take bus #1 or #2 for just 1 RMB to this interesting spot. The best time to visit the Gyanak Mani, assembling over 2 billion individually carved stones, is in the early morning when locals show up en mass to make the pilgrimage circuit before the day’s activities. At this time, the Mani Stone pile is buzzing with energy and you could easily spend 2-3 hours just people watching as a wave of Tibetan nomad culture walks right in front of you.
Another highlight in the Yushu area is the Temple of Princess Wencheng. The Temple of Princess Wencheng is a historical and cultural relic left by Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) on her way to Tibet in the year of 641 to marry the then ruler of the Tibetan Kingdom, Songtsen Gampo, in a move for political unification. This is an excellent place for a 2-3 hour hike around an entire mountain totally covered in a blanket of bright colors of prayer flags. From a distance the mountain appears to have been the home to a giant spider who has woven its all encompassing web from mountain top to mountain top. A taxi to the Temple of Princess Wencheng cost around Y50. Try to negotiate with a driver to see both sites as they are both outside of town in different directions.
Geygu Temple, Yushu
As a result of distinct ethnic and religious traditions, Gyegu Temple has become one of the centers of rescue-effort organization in disaster-hit Yushu. The Lamas' rescue efforts, consisting of digging with their bare hands and intoning sutras to pray for blessings, have proceeded in parallel with the modernized rescue efforts of the government and military; the people of Yushu have obtained what they need from each side
UNICEF 青海玉樹捐助者震後探訪 2011 Donor Visit to Yushu
2010年4月，一場7.1級地震重創青海省玉樹藏族自治縣，令2,700人死亡，上萬人受傷。之後一年，聯合國兒童基金香港委員會為當地救災及重建工作籌得善款港幣2,800萬元，為整個計劃貢獻逾65%經費所需。一批捐助者及MC Jin組成的探訪團更於災後前往探訪，了解UNICEF在當地的食水衞生、教育、婦幼健康等工作。了解更多UNICEF的工作，請前往 unicef.org.hk
In April 2010, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Yushu Tibetan Autonomous County in Qinghai, leaving 2,700 people dead and over 10,000 people injured. In one year, UNICEF HK raised HK$28 million for the relief and recovery work, contributing 65% of the total funds. Later on, some donors and MC Jin visited the county and witness how UNICEF make use of their donation to improve maternal heath, water and sanitation, education. unicef.org.hk
MaximsNewsNetwork: CHINA: EARTHQUAKE RECOVERY (UNICEF)
MaximsNewsNetwork: 26 April 2010 - UNICEF: Jiegu, China - As search and rescue efforts continue in the aftermath of the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that shattered Jiegu, China earlier this month, UNICEF works with local authorities and tens of thousands of children and families are just beginning to cope with the disaster.
100,000 people have been left homeless, including many orphaned children, making them vulnerable to cold, hunger and psychological distress. 80 percent of primary schools and 50 percent of secondary schools were also severely damaged in the earthquake.
UNICEF has provided 150 school tents and 5,000 student supply kits in an effort to re-establish normalcy for the children of Jiegu. As food supply is also a serious concern in the earthquake zone, UNICEF and its partners are providing vitamin and mineral supplement packets along with staple foods for children to assist them on their road to recovery.
SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Yushu Nimajiangcai, teacher:
We are in the most urgent need for the tents, textbooks, food and clothes for the students because all the students are homeless. Their houses have collapsed. They dont have any change of clothes. Moreover, we need a toilet for the students. All the toilets have collapsed and there arent any toilets.
Makeshift schools opened last week in an important step in helping children overcome psychosocial stress in emergency situations.
SOUNDBITE (Tibetan) Suonobaji, orphaned student:
When the earthquake struck, I was in school. My parents died in our house. I had no place to go, so Ive been living with my teacher these past few days. My food and clothes are provided by my teacher.
......... ( UNITED NATIONS CHILDRENS FUND: UNICEF TELEVISION ) ....
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GIVING POWER & RESONANCE TO THE VOICE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY .....................................................
WRAP Mass cremation for quake victim; aid handed out, bodies recovered
(17 Apr 2010) SHOTLIST
Yushu county, Qinghai province
1. Monks putting bodies of earthquake victims in order for mass cremation
2. Close up, tracking shot of monks carrying body of earthquake victim with blanket
3. Wide of monks carrying bodies for mass cremation
4. Monks covering bodies with yellow sheet
5. Close up of monks at cremation site with flowers
6. Monks pouring butter oil onto bodies covered by wood and cloths
7. Wide of monks chanting Buddhist scripture while watching cremation from hill
8. Medium, pan of monk setting light to pyre
9. Various, monks watching cremation
10. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Ze Wang Ji Mei, Tibetan monk:
This (mass cremation) is very special, as there are too many bodies of the earthquake victims and we can''t have sky burials (exposure to carrion-feeding birds) for all of them at the same time. There are not enough vultures for all these bodies, so the bodies will become very dirty and it is not good for the souls to rest in peace. Therefore, we think the mass cremation is the best funeral for all these earthquake victims.
11. Wide of two vultures circling
12. Close up of Tibetans watching cremation from hill
13. Wide, pan of Tibetans and monks watching cremation
14. Low angle shot of monks chanting Buddhist scripture
15. Back shot of monks watching mass cremation with smoke rising
Jiegu, Yushu county, Qinghai province
16. Wide of monks, rescuers and other residents gathered around remains of collapsed guesthouse
17. Monks on top of rubble of collapsed building directing a crane to remove debris
18. Cutaway to crane operator
19. Monks guiding hook of crane
20. Cutaway of onlookers
21. Crane lifting collapsed wall
22. Various of monks carrying away dead body in blanket
23. Wide pan of collapsed building where searchers have been looking for survivors
24. Tilt-up from rescuer workers to collapsed entrance to building
25. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Zhou Yong, Rescuer from Sichuan:
They''re in there. There are people alive there. Up on top they detected survivors with their detectors.
26. Wide of collapsed building and crane
27. Wide of news conference at Relief Command Headquarters
28. Cutaway to journalists
29. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Geng Yang, Director, Qinghai Province Civil Affairs Bureau:
At present, here in the disaster area, the biggest challenge is currently food. Drinking water and supplies to protect against cold are major difficulties.
30. Various of monks cooking large pots of soup on wood fires
31. Survivors eating soup
32. Soup being poured into cup, tilt-up to monk
STORYLINE
Hundreds of victims of an earthquake that struck western China''s Qinghai province were cremated on Saturday as necessity forced local Tibetans to break with centuries-old sky burial traditions.
About 1,000 monks were on hand on a mountain beside Jiegu, the hardest-hit area by Wednesday''s earthquake, to chant Buddhist prayers as the bodies were set on fire.
While the cremation took place, rescue workers were still searching through rubble in the remote western region in a bid to find any remaining survivors, with officials saying the death toll had climbed to 1,144.
The quakes struck an ethnic Tibetan area, where ''sky burial'' is the custom. The corpse is cut into pieces and left on a platform to be eaten by vultures, but the numbers involved forced a change from tradition.
There are not enough vultures for all these bodies, so the bodies will become very dirty and it is not good for the souls to rest in peace, said Ze Wang Ji Mei, a Buddhist monk.
At Jiegu monastery, the bodies were prepared for cremation, carefully wrapped in colourful blankets and piled three or four deep on a platform, then covered with timber to keep the fires burning.
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Please donate to in Tibet Yushu Earthquake ga kyegu monastery
For information about the earthquake in Tibet please visit kyegurelieffund.org
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Mass cremation for victims of quake as Tibetans break with local traditions
(17 Apr 2010)
1. Monks putting bodies of earthquake victims in order for mass cremation
2. Close up, tracking shot of monks carrying body of earthquake victim with blanket
3. Wide of monks carrying bodies for mass cremation
4. Monks covering bodies with yellow sheet
5. Close up of monks at cremation site with flowers
6. Monks pouring butter oil onto bodies covered by wood and cloths
7. Wide of monks chanting Buddhism scripture while watching cremation from hill
8. Medium, pan of monk setting light to pyre
9. Various, monks watching cremation with bodies on fire
10. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin), Ze Wang Ji Mei, Tibetan monk:
This (mass cremation) is very special, as there are too many bodies of the earthquake victims and we can''t have sky burials (exposure to carrion-feeding birds) for all of them at the same time. There are not enough vultures for all these bodies, so the bodies will become very dirty and it is not good for the souls to rest in peace. Therefore, we think the mass cremation is the best funeral for all these earthquake victims.
11. Wide of two vultures circling
12. Close up of Tibetans watching cremation from hill
13. Wide, pan of Tibetans and monks watching cremation
14. Low angle shot of monks chanting Buddhism scripture
15. Back shot of monks watching mass cremation with smoke rising
STORYLINE:
Hundreds of victims of an earthquake that struck western China on Wednesday were cremated on Saturday as the community broke with tradition because of the large numbers of dead bodies.
About 1,000 monks chanted Buddhist prayers as the bodies were set on fire in deep trenches, fuelled with precious ceremonial butter oil and the wreckage of houses they had once inhabited.
And as the smoke rose from the funeral pyres, into skies where vultures circled, rescue workers searched through rubble in this remote western region, trying to find any remaining survivors, with officials saying the death toll had climbed to 1,144.
The quakes struck an ethnic Tibetan area, where ''sky burial'' is the custom. The corpse is cut into pieces and left on a platform to be devoured by vultures but the numbers involved forced a change from tradition.
There are not enough vultures for all these bodies, so the bodies will become very dirty and it is not good for the souls to rest in peace, said Ze Wang Ji Mei, a Buddhist monk.
At Jiegu monastery, the bodies were prepared for cremation, carefully wrapped in colourful blankets and piled three or four deep on a platform, then covered with timber to keep the fires burning.
Monks at the cremation were not able to give an exact number of bodies burned.
Relief goods continued to arrive, having come along the single main road from the Qinghai provincial capital, 12 hours away and police said they had increased security at areas were relief supplies were being handed out.
The local police chief said the biggest challenge was still getting enough clean drinking water and food for estimated 100,000 people affected by earthquake.
Residents of the largely Tibetan town say it was the monks who were first to help when disaster struck on Wednesday, pulling people from the rubble and passing out their own limited supplies.
Yushu county, the area hit by the quakes, is overwhelmingly Tibetan, 93 percent by official statistics but it largely escaped the unrest that swept the Tibetan plateau in 2008.
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Tibet Yushu EarthQuake
Racing to save lives in Yushu county CCTV-International
001 Yushu to Batang...
30 klm
from Google Earth
Yushu earthquake edited
On April 14th, residents of China's remote Yushu County, located on the Tibetan plateau, were awoken by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake. In the sparsely populated villages and the larger town of Gyegu, thousands of wood-earth buildings collapsed and many larger structured heavily damaged or destroyed. The region is difficult to reach for the response teams of the Chinese government outside aid groups - lying at an elevation of 3,700m (12,000 ft) and connected by few roads, most of which were damaged in the quake.
Tibetan dance 3-3
2007-7, Yushu, Qinghai, China
Mask dance of Tibet
2007-7, Yushu, Qinghai, China
CEEDS 2010 Earthquake Region Summer Camp Report - Qinghai TV
From June 29th to July 9th 2010, Cambridge CEEDS society organized a summer camp in Sichuan (Wenchuan, Beichuan, Shifang) and Qinghai (Yushu) earthquake regions and visited six local primary/secondary schools. The visiting team stayed 4 days in Qinghai Yushu county. This is a TV report from Qinghai TV station about our visiting in Yushu Jiegu town orphanage. The children in this school are living in temporary bungalows after the recent 7.0 magnitude earthquake took place in April 2010.