Deqin - as close to Tibet as we're going to get

Our first experience of China flexing it's military muscles was in Gyalthang (Shangri-la) where daily marches and displays interrupted traffic. The closer we got to Tibet the more the authorities attention turned to the tourists. On a long bus ride to Deqin our bus was stopped twice and us and our passports received a thorough looking over.

Deqin is more Tibetan than Lhasa with around 80% of it's inhabitants having origins in the vanishing country. I'm not sure why China is so worried about keeping tourists away because all we came across was locals going about their daily duties in a very vocal and cheerful way. On a walk into the valley below the village we were staying in we passed through a few small villages, receiving the usual surprised looks and excited greetings (Haro!). The fields were rich with colour with green rice and pink cherry blossoms but even more beautiful were the voices of the ladies harvesting, with wonderful songs echoing through the hills.

The area is made for walking with huge mountains and yak trails cutting across every slope. The monstrous Kawa Karpo mountain looms mightily over the tiny village of Felaisi and even though we could only just make out the Mingyong Glacier and a couple of the lower peaks our walk was worthwhile. Walking another hour along the road, that connects China and Tibet, we rounded a bend and looked down upon the Mekong River, a bit more like a stream at this stage but destined for big things further south.