12JAN07 Adbusters - "Chinese Tourists in Tibet"

An interesting article published this month from Vancouver-based "Adbusters" organisation, commenting on the impact of Chinese migration and mass tourism into Lhasa and surrounding areas:

"Today Lhasa resembles a typical Chinese city complete with karaoke bars and cellphone shops. A steel telecom tower sits on top of the once holy hill of Chagpo Ri beside the Potala Palace. Come nightfall, it is illuminated into a garish neon red replica of the Eiffel Tower. The Tibetan population has been squeezed into a small area around the Jokhang Temple while the steady influx of Chinese continues to expand the city boundaries, shooting up the price of real estate and other commodities.

The Chinese are hoping tourism will succeed where forced assimilation could not and are busy cashing in on Tibetan chic. Money is being pumped into massive infrastructure projects in the hope of turning the region into a vacation hotspot and the strategy is bearing fruit. "

Here's the link: Chinese Tourists in Tibet
The article certainly mirrors much of my personal experience during a short stay this past November, but as the Dalai Lama says, "Go there and see for yourself."