Litang

Bus station and main street

Guesthouses, restaurants and minibus drivers within a 10-minute walk; best for one night with bags.

Old town slopes (east)

Traditional houses and homestays on the hillside; quieter, steeper, further from transport.

Etiquette

• Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
• Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
• Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
• Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
• Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
• Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
• Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
• Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4

Scams and watch-outs

• Altitude about 4,000 m: sleep the first night low-effort, no alcohol, and treat headache with vomiting or breathlessness as a reason to descend.
• Autumn and winter rooms often have no heating beyond an electric blanket; ask before you pay.
• Photographs of the Dalai Lama are illegal and police presence is heavy; do not photograph police, checkpoints or monasteries without asking.
• Dust and smoke are constant in the dry months; a cloth mask is cheap and sold locally.
• Dogs bark through the night in much of the old town.