Visit the Only Christian Village in Buddhist Tibet: From Sky Burials to Church Cemeteries.西藏唯一基督教村

It's truly unbelievable—hidden deep in a remote canyon of eastern Tibet’s Kham region is a Christian church, and the local Tibetan villagers here don’t follow Tibetan Buddhism like most others do. Instead, they practice Christianity. When they pass away, they don’t have traditional sky burials—instead, they’re laid to rest in Christian cemeteries. This faith has been passed down here for over 300 years.

In my understanding, all Tibetans are Buddhists. So visiting this village today completely shocked me—it opened my eyes to something totally outside of what I thought I knew. Every person in the village is given a Christian name by a priest at birth. So someone might be called Tashi Dolma, a traditional Tibetan name, but also have a Christian name like Mary. And in their homes, the traditional Buddhist altars you usually see in Tibetan praying houses are gone.

I looked up the history of Christianity in Tibet, and it turns out missionaries first came here in the 17th century when Tibet was surprisingly open. One of them, Ippolito Desideri, lived in Lhasa from 1716 to 1721. He mastered Tibetan and even debated with monks, but sadly, he didn’t leave behind much success—only a few converts. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Tibet became more closed off, but a few missionaries managed to reach the Kham region, where they preached and even translated the BIBLE into Tibetan.

This piece of history is incredible. Seeing Tibetan villagers so devoted to Christianity and giving up sky burials to be buried in church cemeteries genuinely amazed me.

After visiting the Christian village, I also stopped by the thousand-year-old salt fields of Yanjing. Here, people still use the oldest salt-making methods—drawing brine from deep wells and drying it in the sun beside the Lancang River. From a drone’s perspective, the pink salt flats are a stunning reminder of the ancient harmony and struggle between humans and nature.

If you ever visit the Kham region of Tibet, don’t miss these two incredible places: the Christian village and the Yanjing salt fields. And don’t forget—reach out to me! Let me guide you through the real Tibet.

Contact: Tibet Vista Jamyang Tour
Ph: +86 13989918639
Email: [email protected]
Wechat: Jamyang-1234
www.tibettravel.org