Lhasa was on full alert in the lead up to Tibetan New Year, or Losar, on Feb. 25, while tensions remain high ahead of the one-year anniversary of riots that erupted in Lhasa on March 14, 2008 and quickly spread throughout Tibetan regions of China. March 10 also marks the 50th anniversary of a failed uprising against Chinese rule that prompted the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, to flee into exile.