ABSTRACT
Popular perceptions of Tibet are characterized by ambiguity and strong polarization oscillating between its idealization as a (lost) spiritual kingdom and a hell on Earth, either poor and underdeveloped or suffering under the oppression of the Chinese Communists. After the rapid government-subsidized development during the past two decades, the authorities of the People’s Republic of China seek to show the world a new face of Tibet: modern, ecological, imbued with a kind of healing spirituality stemming more from beauty of its pristine nature than from religion – and Chinese. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Western social media platforms were flooded with hundreds of videos, often in the form of personal vlogs, showing the face of Tibet desired by the Chinese state. This chapter analyzes vlogs published on YouTube between spring 2020 and autumn 2022 by Tibetan influencers introducing the region for the purpose of tourism promotion. The material is examined in the context of official tourism promotion in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, highlighting its political undertones and aims to identify these videos as a part of government-orchestrated mind-engineering campaign with ultimately political goals. Building on three seemingly incompatible aspects based on popular perceptions, cultural stereotypes, and ideologically determined historical narratives – spiritual exotica, red history, and modern development – these vlogs strive to portray Tibet as a happy place flourishing under the 70 years’ leadership of the Chinese Communist Party to contradict claims of human rights abuses and cultural annihilation made by the exile government and international organizations.
