High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a selection of Woeser’s posts on her Instagram account, starting from early April 2018. This was the first time Woeser had been allowed to return to Lhasa since November 2014.
The posts, mostly photos but some short videos too, are an important visual documentation of Lhasa and her own personal situation. While the format might work better on Instagram, we thought the posts were worth translating and putting online for readers who may not have seen them before. The posts from May and the following months will be posted separately.
Woeser is still in Lhasa and posting on Instagram almost every day, follow her here: https://www.instagram.com/tsering_woeser/
You can also follow High Peaks Pure Earth on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/hpeaks/
April 7, 2018: The first morning back in Lhasa: The white snow on the mountain tops, the Potala Palace at the foot of the mountains, a bird is flying by…
April 7, 2018: Welcome to Lhasa… (April 6, 2018)
April 9, 2018: The happiness of 1984
April 9, 2018: Red lanterns in front of the Potala Palace
April 10, 2018: Architecture is the greatest representation. In his book “After the Last Sky”, Edward Said wrote: “Each new house is a substitute…”
April 12, 2018: My friend edited this image, I feel it fits the following quote, or rather, I try everything to fit the following quote: “There is only one heroism in the world: to see the world as it is, and to love it.” (Romain Rolland).
April 15, 2018: I don’t know who this Chinese star is. His advert appeared in the streets of the Barkhor.
April 15, 2018: There is a military base nearby; the soldiers’ shouting and fighting sounds serve as a daily wake up call. But when I open my eyes, I see the blue sky, the mountain range, the rays of sunlight sprinkled across the rug.
April 16, 2018: When drinking my tea from this mug, will I shed tears and thank our Party…
April 16, 2018: The day before yesterday. I went to the front of the Jokhang Temple and shed tears, (unfortunately, the Tsuglakhang was closed) thinking about the Jowo statue, prostrating in admiration. I talked with this 83-year-old nun, the sun was still shining brightly, but then it started getting windy. Lhasa’s weather can change many times in one day.
April 16, 2018: These two must be having fun in Disneyland.
April 17, 2018: Originally I wanted to walk 20,000 steps today. But construction in this city is simply too crazy, dust everywhere. So I walked 7000 steps and took the bus back home.
April 17, 2018: In a taxi on Beijing East Road in Lhasa. You use WeChat to pay. The driver is Chinese. Tibetan drivers rarely accept WeChat payment. They still accept cash.
April 19, 2018: Randomly shot on the road in Lhasa. The female driver played Bob Dylan songs. And yes, on the right there are the Lhalu wetlands.
April 19, 2018: View from the female toilet in Tsuglakhang.
April 19, 2018: When I raised my head, I saw something green on the top of Potala Palace. It looked like “maintenance” green.
April 19, 2018: At first glance, it looks like Jiangnan in China, but it is Lhasa.
April 20, 2018: “Silence! Time is singing in the ashes–/it is not singing anything in particular, not for anyone in particular.” My Lhasa days.
April 20, 2018: The yellow house on the mountain is Sera Monastery’s retreat house. At the bottom of the mountain, we see a physiotherapy health centre. It feels a bit out of place, doesn’t it?
April 21, 2018: From when I returned to Lhasa, I have been advised to “enjoy time with my family”. But I really am enjoying time with my family.
April 23, 2018: In the afternoon, I came across the newly opened KFC on Beijing West Road, to the west of Potala Palace, it is Lhasa’s third KFC. I took this photo yesterday.
April 25, 2018: A dog on Potala Palace square.
April 25, 2018: A flying pigeon on Potala Palace square.
April 29, 2018: Across the other half of Kyichu River, they built a very long “bride’s escort bridge”, referring to the escorting of Princess Wencheng. She really is the most mysterious “pro-Tibetan cadre”.
Thank you so much.
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