Editor's note: Tibet Autonomous Region, known as the "Roof of the World" and the "Third Pole of the Earth" lies in the southwest of China. Nowadays, famous for its spectacular scenery, broad land and diverse geographic features, Tibet has become the heaven for outdoor sports.

Mountaineers try to clime to mountain tops to show their respect for nature and experience the mountaineering joy, and cross-country enthusiasts drive off-road vehicles across mountains and rivers to pursue freedom and dream in Tibet.

Photo shows two mountaineers in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo/Chinatibetnews.com]

Mountaineering in Tibet

Since ancient times, Tibetans have showed great respect for the snow-capped mountains on the Tibetan plateau.

In modern mountaineers' eyes, these mountains stand for the heaven for mountaineering so they try to clime to the mountain top to show their respect for nature.

Tian Xiaochen, a member of the mountaineering club of Beijing University of Technology, has been longing for Tibet to enjoy its quiet morning and witness those devout believers... He never thought he could come to Tibet for mountaineering.

"With my university's club, I have climbed two mountains in Tibet under the guidance of local guides from Himalaya Expedition affiliated to Tibet Mountaineering School," said Tian. "On the one side, it can ensure our safety and on the other side, we can learn mountaineering skills from them."

Tibet Mountaineering School degan to enroll its first batch of students in 1998 and was officiallly set up in the next year. So far many of its graduators have been become  famous mountainneer in China and even in the world.

Different mountaineers may have different feelings and gain different pleasure from mountaineering. In fact, the real attraction of mountaineering doesn't lie in the spectacular scenery seen from mountain tops but the courage to challenge oneself and surpass oneself.

Mysterious Tibet has long been one holy place everyone looks forward to. Its best tourism season starts from May and continues till October in autumn.

At the moment, Tibet becomes the heaven for outdoor sports and even in chilly winter, there are still courageous outdoor adventurers to climb mountains and experience the mountaineering joy.

Tibet has always embraced a magic power to attract people.

Driving off-road vehicles in Tibet

A group of cross-country enthusiasts pose for a photo in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo/Chinatibetnews.com]

Off-road vehicles are seen everywhere in Tibet's streets, fields and mountains with various series of Toyota Land Cruiser as the majority, such as Toyota LC60 and LC80.

To cross-country enthusiasts, China has the world's most exciting and changeable cross-country environment and especially Tibet, deemed as the cross-country heaven, boasts of the most attracting cross-country environment.  

In recent years, it has become a new fashion to drive an off-road vehicle to Tibet. A camera, a backpack, an off-road vehicle and roads to heaven. One cann't control his passion.

There are also many local cross-country enthusiasts in Tibet: they buy and refit their off-road vehicles, establish their own organizations to do cross-country activities across Tibet, set up their own teams to train racing drivers and navigators, and take part in various large cross-country races, getting "Tibet" in the national cross-country sports platform.

While running on dangerous roads, they do charity activities in orphanages and remote schools, bringing the cross-country spirit to a new level.

What vehicle can show one's manhood, sports cars or luxury cars? Neither. Only the off-road vehicle can fully show a man's masculine physique and unrestrained emotion.

Perhaps even in his childhood, he cherished a wish of driving a real off-road vehicle across mountains and rivers to pursue freedom and dream. Nowadays, such a wish is realized everywhere in Tibet.

Photo shows Toyota Land Cruiser, an off-road vehicle widely seen in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo/Chinatibetnews.com]

Photo shows a cross-country club in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Photo/Chinatibetnews.com]