Tibetans are preparing to mark their new year this week amid a heavy police presence a year after unrest that ended in deadly riots in Lhasa and elsewhere.
Some Tibetan parts of Sichuan and neighbouring Gansu province erupted into violence after protests in Lhasa, regional capital of Tibet in far-western China, in which the government says 19 people died, though exiled groups say the number was much higher.
This year's anniversary is extra sensitive as 2009 also marks the 50th anniversary of flight into exile of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule.
In Kangding, a town in southwestern Sichuan province historically part of Tibet and heavily populated by Tibetans, soldiers have massed at a base camp on the town's outskirts while police cars cruise the streets ahead of the February 25 holiday.
Chinese forces in Lithang detained up to 24 Tibetans for taking to the streets shouting support for the Dalai Lama, an overseas rights group said earlier this month.
The protests were sparked by the arrest of a Tibetan who called for a boycott of New Year celebrations, they said.
The idea of a boycott has met with a mixed reception, with some Tibetan families quietly refraining from celebrations and others marking the holiday as usual.
In a further sign of government wariness, Internet services throughout the area have been cut and people are unable to send or receive mobile telephone text messages, residents say.
Reuters