Tibetan dog is another name for Lhasa Apso. Before the 20th century, people could seldom see this breed in other places except in Tibet-its place of origin. There are two origins of its name: One is from Lhasa Tibet. Apso means “barking guard dog ” in Tibetan; the other is from Tibetan word Lhapso, as its coat is as long and hard as steel wire.
History: Lhasa Apso has a long history at least 2,000 years. At first it was raised as pet of monks and nobles, while later it was used to guard monasteries.
Besides, Lhasa Apso is regarded as sacred. It’s believed that the soul will still be living within the dog’s body after the caretaker dies, which will bring good luck to him. So it was impossible to purchase this kind of breed at first. But later it was sent as gift when Dalai Lama visited foreign officials, which enables its spread to the world wide.
Character: Lhasa Apso is a strong, friendly and determined dog. It has a strong suspicion of strangers which can be kept as intelligent and happy family dog. It’s coated with golden or honey-colored hair and sometimes called Tibetan Lion-dog. The caretaker must have its hair cut regularly to prevent its beautiful coat curling.
Head: narrow skull, black nose with heavy long hair, fair length of beard.
Ears: pendent, heavily feathered.
Eyes: dark brown, neither very large nor very small, oval-shaped, white in eyes
Body: the length from the point of shoulders to the point of buttocks longer than height at withers, horizontal back, strong loin.
Coat: long, thick and straight upper coat, heavy lower coat, divided into two parts clearly along its back bone.
Colors: honey, golden, dark grizzle, slate, black, white and brown etc.
Legs: heavily furnished with hair, forelegs straight, hind legs of good strength.
Feet: well feathered, round with good pads.
Tail: well feathered, there may be a kink at the end, low carriage of stern is a serious fault.
Size: About 25cm in height at shoulder for dogs, bitches slightly smaller
Tibetan yak is a cold-resistant species peculiar to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. With strong and heavy bodies,
they can survive in rocky, alpine terrain of the plateau. They are well adapted to endure heat and cold and show superb resistance to anoxia. They have a sharp sense of smell, fierce nature and are good at running. They possess super vital function and reproductive capacity. They move around in a range from the lower valleys of 2,000 to 3,000 meters above the sea level in winter to higher places of 5,000 to 6,000 meters in summer.
The medicinal use of Tibetan yak’s penis was firstly recorded in Records of Renowned Doctors and the Tibetan doctors call it “zhong”. Yak’s penis and testis are not only rich in protein, vitamin C, A , inorganic calcium, phosphorus, iron, and testosterone etc, which can accelerate the development of male genitals and maintain its normal functions in accordance with the theory of traditional Chinese medicine-“organs for organs”. Moreover, it’s the best food therapy for middle-aged and senior males to promote their sexual function.
Pantholops hodgsoni, the chiru or Tibetan antelope, belonging to Pantholops and is in the family Bodivae of order Artiodactyla.
Chinese nickname: Tibetan antelope or Long Horn antelope. It’s called Zu in Tibetan dialect.
Size : The male chiru stands 80-85 cm at the shoulder.80-85cm, female: 70-75cm.
Weight: Males weigh about 35-40 kg while females 24-28 kg.
Coat: Male: dark brown or gray with a white belly and black eye-catching spots on its forehead and four legs.
Female: pure brown with white belly.
Horns: The male alone has horns about 50-60cm long.
Maximum Age: At least about 8 years
Habits: The chiru herds vary in tens to thousands. They can be found in high mountain meadows, alms and artic-alpine deserts at elevations from 4,300 to 5,100m (lowest point:3,250m and highest: 5,100 m)
In summer female chiru migrate along the regular route to the north to breed calves in June and July, then they move back to join the males in wintering grounds and mate with them in November and December. There are few herds that will not migrate. Chiru distribute around Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, with ChangTang as its center, reaching the north of Lhasa in the south, Mt. Kunlun in the north, the north of Chamdo and the south-west of Qinghai in the east and the Chinese-Indian border in the west. Sometimes a few chiru cross the border to Ladakh of India.
Population: The chirus population is less than 75,000 (Schaller 1999
Status: listed as the country's first-level protected wildlife.
Nature reserves: To better protect the chiru and other endangered animals on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Chinese government has set up three state-level nature reserves on the plateau - Altun Mountain (1983), Changtang (1992), and Hoh Xil nature reserves (provincial-level in1995 and upgraded to state-level in 1997).
Now quite a few people appeal that the chiru, the spirit of the plateau, should be the mascot of the 29th Olympic Games, who list the reasons as follows:
1. The habitat of chiru is the cradle of the Chinese.
2. Chiru possesses the Olympic spirits of “higher, swifter, stronger”.
3. Chiru is the symbol of green ecological animal.
4. It accords with the idea of “People’s Olympics” if chiru is decided as the mascot of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
5. The 29th Beijing Olympic Games is an excellent chance for both China and the world: for China can go a step further into the world and the world to understand China better.
1. “zha xi de le!” (mandarin pronunciation of Tibetan) is the most-commonly heard Tibetan phrase. This auspicious blessing welcome the white Hada presenting to the guests from the hosts.
2. Time of the world: land on, click the sign of the city on the map and you can find the corresponding time.
3. Food: The staple Tibetan food and beverages are tsam-pa, meat, diary, butter tea and high-land barley wine. Tsam-pa is a peculiar staple food of Tibetan. It’s made of roasted barley ground into very fine flour which is mixed with a little butter tea and then rolled into small lumps and eaten with fingers. Salt tea, yoghurt and high-land barley wine add flavor.
4. Ceremonies and customs:
Presenting Hada-Presenting Hada(a long narrow scarf made of silk, embodies purity and good fortune) is a common practice among the Tibetan people to express their best wishes on many occasions, such as wedding and burial ceremonies, festivals, moving to a new home, visiting the elders and the betters, worshipping gods and the Buddha and seeing somebody off.
Kowtow: Another common practice in Tibetan. Tibetan perform ritual kowtow towards Buddha, stupas, living Buddha and the elders.
Presenting gifts: Tibetan people attach great importance to presenting gifts. They present gifts on every festival and they must present gifts in return or it’s regarded as indiscretion.
In addition, bow, proposing a Toast and Tea are also the commonest and general Tibetan rituals.
comments powered by Disqus