Tibetan culture goes to Texas

If Texans can’t go to the Himalayas, then why not bring the Himalayas to Texas?

On Wednesday, a delegation from Tibet did just that by sharing their history, life and culture in Houston.

Titled Experience China: US Tour of West Region Culture, the exchange was a collaboration between China’s State Council’s Information Office, the Consulate General of China in Houston and the Asia Society Texas Center.

“We came when the US was electing a new president, which made this a more special occasion,” said Lu Guangjin, director of the State Council’s Information Office and head of the delegation.

“It’s has been a few decades since Deng Xiaoping put on a cowboy hat in Texas. The US-China relationship has experienced rainy days and sunshine, but there has been more sunshine. Today we bring part of our west region’s culture to our friends here,” Lu said.

At the University of Houston, five presentations covered topics from Tibet’s natural wonders and Buddhist monks’ dayto-day lives in the temples to the current economic state of the region.

The Third Pole, a film showcasing Tibet and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, was screened for students and faculty.

The photo exhibition at the Asia Society Texas Center drew a large crowd.

Charles Foster, a member of ASTC’s board, said, “The exhibition is very colorful and impressive. I have been to Lhasa and it was a special trip of a lifetime.”

Consul General of China in Houston Li Qiangmin welcomed the audience, saying he had visited China’s west region many times.

“It shares similarities with Texas with its vast open spaces, different ethnicities working together and fast economic growth,” Li said.