Mads Nissen, Denmark
Tibetan Unrest

On March 10, 2008, a series of demonstrations began in Lhasa to mark the 49th anniversary of an unsuccessful Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.

The protests began peacefully but escalated into Tibet's most violent unrest in nearly two decades. Police battled against angry Tibetan protestors, vehicles were overturned, shops set on fire and ethnic Chinese attacked and killed.

The Chinese authorities cracked down by using detentions and brutal force, which triggered yet more protests. With the help of modern technology, such as the Internet and mobile phones, the protests rapidly spread to other Tibetan areas in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Sichuan and Qinghai.

With less than half a year to the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government was eager to keep everything under control -- and out of sight from the rest of world.

Martial law was promptly imposed in all Tibetan areas with checkpoints, surveillance and a massive presence of police and PLA (People’s Liberation Army). All reporters and foreigners were denied access.

On assignment for Newsweek, I managed to get into the town of Tongren in the Gansu Province and its Tibetan monastery. These images are all from there.