China has ramped up security to quell the Tibetan uprising, with hundreds of military trucks and thousands of heavily armed soldiers seen pouring into the remote Himalayan region.

Huge military convoys were heading towards Tibet, while a build-up of troops also took place in nearby provinces, after a week of violent protests against China's rule of the region, witnesses, activist groups and media reports said.

More than 400 vehicles were seen heading to Tibet through mountain passes in western China, a BBC reporter said, without specifying his location because of Chinese restrictions on foreign press reporting in the area.

"Over the past two days I've seen increasing numbers of troops heading for the Tibetan border but this is the largest deployment by far," the reporter said.

"It seems that China is dramatically increasing its military presence in Tibet just days after the riots in Lhasa."

Dalai Lama

Meanwhile the Dalai Lama says he will be ready to talk to Chinese leaders once the violent protests in Tibet die down.

"I (am) always ready to meet our Chinese leaders, particularly Hu Jintao," the Dalai Lama told reporters, referring to the President of China.

He added he was ready to travel to Beijing.

The Dalai Lama has called on Tibetans to eschew violent means of protests and live side by side with the Chinese, but his "middle way" tactic has been questioned by other protesters who wants independence from China.

China blames the Tibetan spiritual leader of masterminding the protests in Tibet from Dharamsala, the seat of his Government-in-exile.

The Dalai Lama has appealed to the outside world to find out what is going on in his homeland.

He was speaking after the last-known foreign journalist had been forced to leave Lhasa.

On the way to the railway station under police escort, German journalist Georg Blume said he sees things getting tougher for Tibetans.

"It's gonna be very difficult to stop the military, police and all the generals connected to them for taking back Tibet completely into their hands," he said.

Tibet's tourism industry hit hard

Chinese travel companies specialising in tours to Tibet say they expect the security lock-down of the Himalayan region to keep foreign travellers out for up to three months.

Chinese tourism authorities have ordered travel companies not to apply for permits for people wishing to travel to Tibet, and many foreigners have been diverted elsewhere or had their payments refunded, travel agents said.

"The Tibet Travel Bureau said that because of the incidents in Lhasa, they do not want to issue permits for travel into Tibet," said the manager of one company in Chengdu, capital of south-western Sichuan province which borders Tibet.

"Some people who had already booked tours with us and been issued permits have not been able to go, and I think it will be impossible for independent travellers for some time," she said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Tibet has been sealed to outsiders since the weekend.

- AFP/Reuters