Tintin in the Land of Snow: Tibet, China, and the West

Ah, Tibet.  Land of the high plateau, the monstrous snowy peaks, the lofty lamaseries, and the mysterious Yeti.  When I was a child, I devoured the Tintin books.  The story of how Tintin and Captain Haddock bravely rescue the Chinese boy Chang after Tintin has a premonitional dream of his friend surviving a plane wreckage somewhere in the mountains of Tibet—what an epic tale!  Who could forget the surly Nepalese porter, the wonderfully humane Abbot who harbours Tintin and the Captain after their near death, the levitating seer, the heroic struggle and refusal to abandon their Chinese friend despite all the dangers, and of course, the loveable and misunderstood Yeti?

Read More