But those standing at guard duty are stone-faced. "No, I can't tell you anything," one told me abruptly as I tried to strike up a conversation. "We have strict rules," he explained.

The locals do not seem to mind the tightened security. Losang, who runs a souvenir store in Porgor Street near the Jokang Temple, is even grateful. "I hope no one will come to smash my store this year."

Losang has photos of the damages his store sustained in last year's violence. "They broke the glass and took away some of my most valuable items."

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2009)