To apply for a passport in a Tibetan area, you must first buy a travel contract, right? After buying a travel contract, can I not travel?

To apply for a passport in Tibetan areas, you do not need to buy a travel contract. You can just bring your ID card, household register and photo to the Exit and Entry Bureau of the county-level public security bureau where your household registration is located to apply for it.

According to the "Administrative Measures for the Issuance of Ordinary Passports and Entry-Exit Passes of the People's Republic of China"

Article 4: When a citizen applies for an ordinary passport, he or she must apply to the county where his or her household registration is located. The entry-exit management agency of the public security bureau of the local people's government at or above the level must submit the following true and valid materials:

(1) A recent bareheaded photo and a completed "Application for Chinese Citizens to Leave the Country (British Territory) for Private Purposes" Form" (hereinafter referred to as the application form).

(2) Resident ID card, household registration booklet and their copies; during the period of collecting, renewing or replacing the resident ID card, you can submit your temporary resident ID card, household registration booklet and their copies.

(3) Citizens under the age of 16 must be accompanied by their guardian and submit the guardian’s consent for leaving the country, the guardian’s resident ID card or household registration book, passport and a copy.