People are few and far between up here. Most are semi-nomadic, cultivating their plots of land but also travelling with their animals in search of pasture when they need to. Life looks as if it has not changed in thousands of years. There are no electricity cables, no paved roads, schools or clinics. Life seems to continue untouched by the Chinese occupation.
Looks are deceptive.
The Chinese may not yet live in the countryside in any large numbers, but they are still in control. We've reached the end of the track and the monastery of Tsurphu. We climb out of the jeep. There are monks crouching by the walls and we head vaguely in their direction, fortunately discovering just in time that they are not engaged in a meditation on stones, but rather answering the call of nature. We set off to walk over to the other side of the mountain and come upon a river, whose banks are soft, mossy and covered in tiny blue flowers.