---
title: 'Lhasa: Slow and Heavy'
date: 2026-03-27T13:00:00+08:00
draft: false
showtoc: false
tocopen: false
type: posts
author: ["Xinwei Xiong"]
keywords: ["Lhasa", "Tibet", "travel", "reflection", "faith", "Namtso", "Drepung Monastery"]
tags:
  - Travel
  - Tibet
  - Reflection
categories:
  - Travel
description: >
  Reflections from a stay in Lhasa, February to March 2026. On the body slowing down, the public nature of faith, collective memory, and the struggles of Tsangyang Gyatso.
tldr:
  - "The English version of this article is not yet published; full translation is in progress"
  - "Reader should consult the Chinese version for complete reflections on Lhasa's altitude, silence, and spiritual weight"
  - "Article explores themes of body slowing down, public faith, collective memory, and challenges faced by Tsangyang Gyatso"
---

*This article is available in Chinese. An English translation is in progress.*

From February to March 2026, I stayed in Lhasa, Tibet — a city that forces you to slow down before you can begin to understand it. The altitude arrives first, then the silence, and finally the weight of everything the city carries.

This piece explores what it means to be a stranger in a place where time moves differently, where the landscape is both physical and spiritual, and where the ordinary and the sacred exist side by side.

*(Full English translation coming soon. See the [Chinese version](/zh/growth/posts/2026-03-27-lhasa-slow-and-heavy/) for the complete article.)*
