12. Feb 2009
Many Tibetan areas closed to foreigners
(AP) China is banning foreigners from the region ahead of the politically sensitive 50th anniversary of the failed Tibetan uprising of March 1959, Associated Press (AP) reported. Large swathes of Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai provinces - home to large ethnic Tibetan communities - are now off limits to foreign travellers, local officials confirmed to AP. An official at the tourism office of northwestern Gansu province's Gannan TAP said the region was closed to foreigners and would not be open until late March. The official did not say when the restrictions were put in place. In Sichuan province, many areas open just two weeks ago are now closed to foreign tourists until April, according to officials at the Kardze prefecture tourist bureau. Only three counties in that prefecture will remain open to foreigners. Qinghai province's tourism bureau also said that many areas remain closed to foreigners. Chinese officials did lead a tightly controlled tour of Tibet this week for some foreign reporters.