Woman backpacker, 24, missing in Tibet

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A 24-YEAR-OLD woman has been missing for nine days while backpacking in Tibet with two companions, and some netizens blame online accounts glorifying backpacking on the cheap for putting such young people in danger.

The cyclist from Cixi City in Zhejiang Province surnamed Xu was reportedly en route to Medog, described as a place for unique scenery in Nyingchi Prefecture, the Zhejiang-based City Express newspaper reported today.

A microblogger who also a backpacker wrote that Xu and two young men sneaked into the tourist destination of Pai Village on the evening of August 17 without paying entrance fees. With only 200 yuan (US$32.66) in her pocket, she has since been out of contact ever since.

The two men weren’t identified.

Police from Mainling County in Nyingchi have started searching for the three missing people, but it has been slow going since the three apparently did not contact anyone in Pai Village.

Netizens said online accounts of such “adventures’’ downplay or don’t mention the risks.

Also, media reports praising independence and self-exploration also can be misleading to young people without mentioning the potential danger, some commenters said.

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