Gyantso’s ‘Ice-Melting Season’ Shines a Spotlight on Ecological and Cultural Tourism
Tibet. On May 19, celebrated as ‘China Tourism Day’, the special event ‘Ice-Melting Season’ (Darakha Chewa) of the 2026 ‘Snowland Ancient Village, Beautiful Lhasa’ Cultural and Tourism Festival was held at the renowned Gyantso (Namtso) Lake area in Tibet. At the event venue, a stone sculpture served as a welcome gate, its design reflecting the unique rocky landscape of the famous Tashi Peninsula of Gyantso, shaped in the form of joined palms.
Situated at an altitude of 4,718 metres above sea level, the surface of Gyantso Lake is so high that it appears to hang in the sky. According to local resident Kunzang Dorje, it is called ‘Sky Lake’ (Gyantso) due to this very characteristic. As May arrives, the lake’s ice gradually begins to melt, creating a unique high-altitude natural spectacle that locals call ‘Darakha Chewa’, meaning ‘the season when ice melts’. This period is considered the most attractive tourism season of the year at Gyantso.
Tourist Chao Yu, who travelled all the way from Lhasa to witness the mesmerising scenery of the ‘Ice-Melting Season’, said, “Hotels near the Gyantso area are equipped with oxygen supply devices, which is far more convenient than I had imagined.” He also dressed in Tibetan attire for photographs. According to Wang Chao Yu, head of the local Culture and Tourism Bureau, convenient daily transportation access, oxygen supply systems, and diverse accommodation options are attracting an increasing number of tourists to Gyantso, eager to experience unique folk cultural events such as the high-altitude ‘ice-melting’ festival.
During the 2026 May Day (Labour Day) holiday period, the Gyantso Scenic Area collected over 140 million yuan in revenue from ticket sales and sightseeing bus services alone, marking a 44.8 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year. In 2018, a special ‘lake area enclosure’ rectification campaign was launched in the Gyantso region. In voluntary cooperation with the local government, 107 commercial shops, 31 herder shelters, and 45 temporary tents within the ecological core zone were removed. These operators and residents were relocated and systematically settled in the integrated habitation area of Gyantso village. Subsequently, the scenic area expanded unified transportation services through electric sightseeing buses and imposed a complete ban on private vehicles entering the main lake area, thereby minimising damage to the grasslands and pollution from vehicle emissions.
The continuous improvement in the ecological environment has provided deep impetus for tourism development, gradually fostering a positive cycle between conservation and development. From 2018 to 2023, the government provided annual compensation payments to the relocated residents, ensuring the security of their long-term livelihoods and creating a situation where the public could engage in ecological protection without worrying about their living.
In recent years, local authorities have conducted in-depth exploration of folk cultural resources, creating new business formats such as lake circumambulation homestays, photography bases, and speciality dining. This has driven the entire cultural tourism industrial chain, enabling herders to earn tourism income right at their doorsteps. According to Dorje, the young head of the Gyantso Scenic Area Management Centre, in 2025, the Lhasa Gyantso Scenic Area Conservation and Development Company signed a 10-year cooperation agreement with the Gyantso village government, under which annual dividends are distributed to Dagpo and Gyantso villages. In that year, approximately 9.5 million yuan was distributed from the ‘yak and horse rental’ services, boosting the average annual per capita income of residents in both villages by over 3,000 yuan.
Surrounded by clear blue skies and snow-capped mountain ranges, Gyantso is witnessing the brilliant development of its cultural and tourism industry, built upon the foundation of a beautiful ecosystem.
