Shigatse: the center of Later Tibet and the starting point of Everest

Shigatse is the center of Mount Everest and the gateway to Everest. Four days and three nights, between the monastery's golden summit and the Everest Highway, you head toward the roof of the world.

Tashilhunpo Monastery was the Panchen Lama's residence, with its golden roof shining brilliantly in the sunlight. Inside the Jamba Buddha Hall, a gilded Maitreya statue stands 26 meters tall, overlooking all beings, its solemnity breathtaking.

Heading south along the Everest Highway, the road becomes increasingly dangerous and the scenery increasingly strange. At the entrance of Gawula Mountain, five 8,000-meter-high snow mountains are lined up in a row, forming a rare "snow mountain viewing platform" on land.

Arriving at Everest Base Camp, the tent area trembled in the wind, and the flags and clouds of Everest shifted across the way. At night, the Milky Way hangs down to the peaks, and in the morning, sunlight stains the pyramids golden red, enduring all the bumps.

Passing by Rongbuk Monastery, the world's highest-altitude temple, red and white buildings clinging to the cliffs. The lama said that chanting sutras here is worth thousands of times across the plains.

The distance of Shigatse is about turning 'arrival' itself into meaning. When you shiver in your tent but are moved to tears by a cloud of flags, you'll understand: sometimes the destination is just an excuse.