Expedice Gabriela Bonvalota napříč Tibetem, z Francie do francouzské Indočíny.
In 1889 Bonvalot was one of the first Europeans to visit the Tibetan plateau. The expedition was financed by the Duke of Chartres and his son, Prince Henri of Orléans.
Bonvalot's original plan was to cross Asia and reach Tonkin in French Indochina. Bonvalot wanted to cross Europe and Russia by train and then continue on foot and horseback to the border with Chinese Turkestan. Bonvalot then wanted to be the first European to cross the Gobi and Lop Nor deserts. He thought that he could then cut across the Tibetan plateau and try to visit Lhasa, which had been closed to foreigners for the last half a century. Finally he intended to cross 1,700 kilometers of land in eastern Tibet that had been unexplored by Europeans until he reached Yunnan, where he would travel down the Mekong River until to Indochina. In total his planned expedition was 9,500 kilometers and traversed lands that were still unknown to Europeans. Bonvalot was accompanied in his travels by Father Rachmed, who joined the expedition in Russia, and Henri of Orléans, who acted as his photographer.
The expedition began with relative comfort and did not become difficult until they reached the border between Russian and Chinese Turkestan. The group crossed into Chinese controlled territory and traveled through the Ili Valley, Tian Shan Mountains, the Tarim Basin, and the Lop Nor. [1] They then had to spend the winter in Tibet. Bonvalot's expedition again coerced the population into providing horses and guides and even threatened the local commander with imprisonment. Just before they reached Lhasa, they were detained by officials of the Tibetan government. [1] They were not allowed to enter Lhasa and Bonvalot's expedition was only allowed to continue its journey after lengthy negotiations. The group then continued traveling across the Tibetan Plateau to its eastern extremities. [1] In June they finally reached Kangding in Qing controlled territory. They finally reached Hanoi in late September 1890.