Threads of Tibet

In a remote corner of China, an atelier is bolstering the economy of a small villageand giving Tibetan culture global reach.

- Chris Schalkx

WITH HALF-FROZEN fingers, I googled "Do vultures attack humans?" on my phone. I was alone on a grassy hilltop in central China's Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture when the birds, large as foxes and with beaks curved like meat hooks, appeared out of nowhere. Though this region isn't part of modern-day Tibet, Tibetan culture is prevalent, and sky burials (in which bodies are left to be eaten by vultures) are still practiced. Fortunately, the birds are harmless to those still breathing, but, on this frigid November afternoon in a sparsely populated corner of China, the encounter got my blood pumping.

Two hours earlier, I had left my room at Norlha House (doubles from $300, including meals) in the small village of Zorgey Ritoma to ramble in the highlands of Gannan. Once the village's gold-roofed Ritoma Monastery and the last of its yak herds had disappeared into the distance, all I could see was the undulating steppe.

For every ridge I crossed, another one, just as barren, emerged behind it. The closest large city, Chengdu, home to more than 20 million residents, was 400 miles away. Most international travelers connect through Beijing or Shanghai before flying in to Lanzhou, a city in northwestern China. I, however, flew in to a tiny airport in Xiahe County.