Luxury Hotel in Lhasa

In a bid to attract more tourists to Tibet, the Chinese government has opened the disputed region's first luxury hotel, the St. Regis Lhasa. From the Lhasa airport, guests of the new hotel are whisked away to the property in a Mercedes-Benz limousine. Personal butlers escort them to one of the hotel's 150 suites or 12 private villas, and offer helpful tips on surviving Lhasa's 12,000 ft altitude.

For example, guests are instructed now to shower on the first day because hot water is believed by the Chinese to open up blood vessels and suck oxygen away from the brain. Each room is also equipped with tanks of oxygen. The hotel features a spa, swimming pool and restaurant serving up Cantonese and Sichuan delicacies such as yak meat. There is also a wine bar with hundreds of premium bottles that are specially flown in.