Tourists Banned from Tibet

Several travel agencies in China have recently said that foreigners were banned from traveling to the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Chinese name for central Tibet, for at least June.

The agencies said they had been told of the ban recently. One agency said the ban was expected to last until September, while another said there was a chance the ban could be lifted by July.

In late May, two Tibetans set themselves on fire in front of the Jokhang, the holiest temple of Tibetan Buddhism, in the center of Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, to protest Chinese rule. One man died. Those self-immolations were among at least 38 that have taken place in Tibetan regions since 2009.

Foreigners were barred from Tibet from late February to early April, a period that coincided with the anniversary of large protests against Chinese rule.